THIRD STATUS REPORT: TESTING OF AGED SOFTWOOD FIBERBOARD MATERIAL FOR THE 9975 SHIPPING PACKAGE

Abstract

Samples have been prepared from a 9975 lower fiberboard subassembly fabricated from softwood fiberboard. Physical, mechanical and thermal properties have been measured following varying periods of conditioning in each of several environments. These tests have been conducted in the same manner as previous testing on cane fiberboard samples. Overall, similar aging trends are observed for softwood and cane fiberboard samples, with a few differences. There is no clear trend thus far to indicate one material ages in a manner significantly different from the other material. Some softwood fiberboard properties degrade faster in some environments, while cane fiberboard degrades faster with regards to other properties and environments. Given the limited aging time accumulated to date in the elevated humidity environments, it is recommended that aging and testing of softwood fiberboard continue for another year. Post-conditioning data have been measured on samples from a single softwood fiberboard assembly, and baseline data are also available from a limited number of vendor-provided samples. This provides minimal information on the possible sample-to-sample variation exhibited by softwood fiberboard. Data to date are generally consistent with the range seen in cane fiberboard, but some portions of the data trends are skewed toward the lower end of that range. Further understanding of the variability of softwood fiberboard properties will require testing of additional material.