Strength Evaluation of Aluminium Fibre Reinforced Particle Board made from Sawdust and Waste Glass

Abstract

This research investigated the effects of aluminium shavings on particleboards produced from sawdust and waste glass using Urea formaldehyde as binder. Twelve (12) boards were produced and each had different variations of sawdust, waste glass and aluminium shavings with a constant volume of adhesive used. The boards were tested for physical properties such as density, Thickness swelling (TS) and Water absorption (WA) and mechanical properties such as modulus of rupture (MOR) and modulus of elasticity (MOE). The effects of the aluminium shavings on the boards were observed in the MOR and MOE values such that these values for board A1 were 3.30 N/mm2 and 10.45 N/mm2 for 20% aluminium shavings content but reduced to 3.16 N/mm2 and 8.97 N/mm2 respectively for board A2 with 10% aluminium shavings content. This trait was observed in other boards with the same content except in boards B1 and B2 where the MOR and MOE values increased with the values for B1 being 2.06 N/mm2 and 6.98 N/mm2 and 2.91 N/mm2 and 10.17 N/mm2 respectively. The values for density of the boards increased as the sawdust decreased and also as the glass content increased. The boards with the highest values for thickness swelling and water absorption were the first three as they possess the highest quantity of sawdust. From the results, none of the boards produced met up to the requirements for use for structural purposes, board B3 possesses the highest MOR value while board D3 possesses the highest MOE value. Therefore, the boards can serve non-structural purposes such as partitions and indoor uses.