Prediction of Mechanical Performance of Acetylated MDF at Different Humid Conditions

Change of relative humidity (RH) in surrounding environment can greatly affect the physical and mechanical properties of wood-based panels. Commercially produced acetylated medium density fiberboard (MDF), Medite Tricoya^®, was used in this study to predict strength and stiffness under varying humid conditions by separating samples in parallel (//) and perpendicular (⊥) to the sanding directions. Thickness swelling, static moduli of elasticity (MOE_stat) and rupture (MOR_stat), and internal bond (IB) strength were measured at three different humid conditions, i.e., dry (35% RH_, standard (65% RH) and wet (85% RH). Internal bond (IB) strength was also measured after accelerated aging test. A resonance method was used to determine dynamic modulus of elasticity (MOE_dyn) at the aforementioned humid conditions. Linear regression and finite element (FE) analyses were used to predict the MDF’s static bending behavior. Results showed that dimensional stability, MOE_stat, MOR_stat and IB strength decreased significantly with an increase in RH. No reduction of IB strength was observed after 426 h of accelerated aging test. A multiple regression model was established using MOE_dyn and RH values to predict MOE_stat and MOR_stat. In both directions (// and ⊥), highly significant relationships were observed. The predicted and the measured values of MOE_stat and MOR_stat were satisfactorily related to each other, which indicated that the developed model can be effectively used for evaluating the strength and stiffness of Medite Tricoya^® MDF samples at any humid condition. Percent errors of two different simulation techniques (standard and extended FE method) showed highly efficient way of simulating the MDF structures with low fidelity.