Influence of veneer orientation on shape stability of plane laminated veneer products

Abstract

One of the most important quality aspects of a laminated veneer product is its shape stability under changing relative humidity (RH). This study aimed to establish an understanding of how the orientation of individual veneers in the laminate, i.e., orientation according to fibre orientation and orientation of the loose (the side with ‘lathe checks’) or tight side of the veneer, affects the shape stability. Three-ply laminates from peeled veneers of beech (Fagus sylvatica L.) were studied. The four types of laminate were the following: loose sides of all veneers in the same direction (cross and parallel centre ply) and loose sides of the outer veneers facing inward (cross and parallel centre ply). Four replicates of each type yielded 16 samples. The samples were exposed to RH cycling at 20% and 85% RH at 20°C, and the shapes of the samples were determined. The shape stability was influenced by the veneer orientation. Laminations with the middle veneer perpendicular to the top and bottom veneer (cross-laminated) showed the best shape stability, especially when the loose sides of the veneers were oriented the same direction. In parallel-laminated veneers, the laminates with opposite directions of the loose sides in the two outermost veneers showed the best shape stability. The major explanation of the behaviour of the laminates is that the loose side expanded more than the tight side from the dry to the humid climate, which was shown by optical 3D deformation analysis (ARAMIS^TM). After RH cycling, the laminates with cross plies showed visible surface checks only when the tight side was facing outwards.

Keywords:

• Adhesive
• distortion
• lamination
• plywood
• thermo-hydro-mechanical processing
• THM
• wood

Acknowledgements

Bertil Enquist, Linnæus University, is acknowledged for the measurement and analysis with ARAMIS^TM.