Evaluation of the Structural Performance of Wood-Based Panels: Comparison of Structural Particleboard, Conventional Particleboard, and Oriented Strand Board

Abstract

Structural particleboard (SPB) is a promising structural wood-based panel that can be manufactured using existing particleboard production facilities. Although product performance requirements for SPB have been only partially established, developed SPB panels have demonstrated basic product-level properties such as bending performance, internal bond strength, moisture resistance, and formaldehyde emission. However, experimental verification of structural performance is required for practical structural applications. In this study, newly developed SPB was evaluated for product performance and structural performance, including compressive strength, structural bending performance, and in-plane shear strength, and the results were compared with those of conventional particleboard (PB) and oriented strand board (OSB). To assess reliability as a structural material, coefficients of variation and 5^th percentile were examined in addition to mean values. SPB satisfied all product performance requirements and showed superior compressive performance compared with OSB and conventional PB in terms of both mean and 5^th percentile. In bending, SPB exhibited structural performance comparable to that of OSB in the major axis and showed competitive performance based on the 5^th percentile. In-plane shear performance was also stable in terms of mean value, variability, and 5^th percentile. These findings demonstrate that SPB has strong potential for use as a structural wood-based panel.