Some technological properties of poplar plywood panels reinforced with glass fiber fabric

Abstract

The reinforcement of solid wood and wood-based composite materials is not a new idea, but there have been very few studies about reinforcing poplar plywood with glass fiber fabric using phenol formaldehyde. In this study, plywood panels were produced using poplar veneer and phenol formaldehyde adhesive and glass fiber fabric. One control group and three different test groups were set up. In addition, perpendicular and parallel test samples for each group were set up for bending tests. Some of the physical and mechanical properties of the reinforced plywood were determined using various tests. The results of the testing indicated that the plywood that was reinforced with woven glass fiber had a significantly increased modulus of rapture and modulus of elasticity of perpendicular samples. It was determined that density of the plywood was increased in the test groups. Thickness swelling and water absorption decreased for the test groups in which the plywood samples had woven glass fibers bonded onto in their surfaces. In the bending tests, the reinforcement provided by the glass fiber fabric decreased the inequalities between the parallel and perpendicular samples.