Mechanical properties of wood based panels with and without fire retardants

Abstract

Wood and wood based products application in the construction is growing due to the increasing trend of sustainable development. Because of the EU policy about constructions, each time requiring improved products against fire hazard, there is the necessity of developing fireproof products to wood and wood based panels. This work characterizes and compares the mechanical properties of different wood panel types: MDF with and without fire retardant, PB with and without flame retardant and OSB4 without flame retardant. For this, the standard EN 310 has been used, with the three-bending point test, determining the MOR and MOE at 0º and 90º orientation, discovering whether there is or not any difference in terms of mechanical properties between panels with and without flame retardant. The results shows that MOR and MOE vary with the sample orientation and in a smaller way, for fire retarded and non-fire retarded panels.