RESEARCH ON MECHANICAL PROPERTIES OF BIRCH PLYWOOD WITH SPECIAL VENEER LAY-UP SCHEMES

Plywood is a wood-based panel material laminated of veneers where the grain direction is perpendicular in adjacent layers. The use of plywood can be extended if there is a possibility to use special lay-up schemes designed to improve mechanical properties which depend on the grain direction in the outer plies. This report contains results of research whose purpose was to determinate bending strength and modulus of elasticity of birch plywood types with special veneer lay-up schemes and of different width, bending flatwise and edgewise. Two special plywood types, 28 mm thick Spec1 and 30 mm thick Spec3, with different veneer lay-up schemes were selected for bending properties determination tests according to standard EN 789. Specimens were tested when the face veneer direction was parallel and then perpendicular to the specimens' longer axis. Moisture content and density were determined as well. This report contains the comparison of bending strength properties of special plywood specimen with different width and load direction. It was found that bending strength was significantly higher for narrower special plywood specimens, and bending strength of special plywood loaded edgewise was 4 % lower for Spec1 and 9.5 % lower for Spec3 than for flatwise loaded specimen of the same cross-sectional dimensions.