On Determining Density and Specific Heat of New Zealand Medium Density Fibreboard

Abstract

To model the burning behaviour of New Zealand medium density fibreboard (MDF), thermal physical properties of density and specific heat were experimentally investigated. An empirical equation is proposed to predict the vertical density profile along the MDF panel thickness. The model focuses on commercial MDF species with vertical density profiles that in general can be reproduced by a second order conic curve. The model predicted density profiles match the experimental data well and in general give better predictions to the core densities than to the peaks, which might partly because the hot pressing process has caused more complicated effects at the surface than at the core. The specific heat of MDF is measured experimentally using Differential Scanning Calorimetry (DSC). A simplified equation is developed based on the experimental outcome, which is found to be different from the models in the literature.