Effects of wood-based panel characteristics on thermal conductivity

Wood-based panels are used in a variety of residential, commercial, and industrial applications in which their thermal properties may influence the overall performance of the panel or the assembly. These products are composite materials and their properties are different from those of solid wood. Although the thermal properties of individual panel products are relatively uniform, different panel types and similar panels produced by different manufacturers have different thermal properties. There are very limited data on the thermal properties of wood-based panels. As an exploratory study, nine types of commercially produced wood-based panels were tested for thermal conductivity using a guarded heat-flux method. Panels containing moisture and dry panels were tested. The effect of panel moisture content, specific gravity, thickness, and configuration of wood elements is discussed.

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