Properties of Particleboard from Sweetgum

Several urea boards were made with sweetgum furnish of various heartwood: sapwood proportions ranging from all heartwood to all sapwood. Resin content, press conditions, and furnish were comparable to those currently used in commercial production of southern pine underlayment board. Boards were tested to determine MOE, MOR, I.B. strength, edgewise (plate) shear modulus, and dimensional stability. All boards met commercial standards for type 1-B-2 particleboard. Relationships between several properties (IB, edgewise shear modulus, thickness swell, and irreversible thickness swell) and percentage of heartwood were determined. Sapwood boards had 65 percent higher internal bond strength, 6 percent more edgewise shear stiffness, 22 percent less thickness swell, and irreversible thickness swell. No appreciable differences were found in MOE, MOR, linear expansion, water absorption, and screw and nail holding ability among boards with different proportions of sapwood and heartwood.

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