ABSTRACT
The production of panels encompasses processing parameters that interfere in the properties and in the equilibrium moisture content of the panels such as specific gravities, compaction ratio, type and amount of adhesive, paraffin content, dimension and moisture content of the particles, time of closing the press, temperature and time of pressing and specific pressure. All these parameters can be controlled aiming to improve the quality of the panels. The study determined the influence of some processing variables (resin content, temperature and time of pressing) in the physical properties of the panels. At the Wood Technology and Forestry Products Laboratory of Universidade Federal do Paraná, 27 homogeneous single layer measuring 480 x 480 x 15 mm were produced with strands without orientation and, at the Wood Technology and Forestry Products Laboratory of Universidade Federal Lavras, samples for the physical properties testing (thickness swelling, water absorption and the nonrecoverable tax - TNRE) were generated. Results demonstrated that the resin content, temperature and time of pressing affect drastically the retention of water by the panels.
Keywords:
physical properties; processing variables; wood-based panel; strandboards.