Bond durability of kenaf core binderless boards I: Two-cycle accelerated aging boil test

Abstract

A two-cycle accelerated aging boil test was conducted on kenaf core binderless boards to estimate their bond durability. This is one of the methods to estimate the bond quality of kenaf core binderless boards, as stipulated by Notification 1539 of the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, and Transport, October 15, 2001, for the Building Standard Law of Japan. Generally, retention ratios of modulus of rupture (MOR), modulus of elasticity (MOE), and internal bond (IB) strength after the boil test increased with increased pressing temperature. In particular, the MOR retention ratio of boards with a pressing temperature of 200°C (average 106.4%) was higher than that of a commercial medium-density fiberboard (MDF) (melamine-urea-formaldehyde resin) (average 72.7%), and the value sometimes exceeded 100%. The durability of kenaf core binderless boards with a pressing temperature of 200°C compared favorably with that of the commercial MDF (melamine-urea-formaldehyde resin), having almost the same retained strength values after the boil test. © 2006 The Japan Wood Research Society.