9:00 am - 10:00 am
Event details: A graduate exam seminar is a presentation of the student’s final research project for their degree.
This is an ALES MSc Final Exam Seminar by Rodrigo Araya Olguin. This seminar is open to the general public to attend.
Join Zoom Meeting:
https://ualberta-ca.zoom.us/j/99642040167?pwd=TU93Vk9pSXh6b1pHa0E4UTJBbVpJdz09
Meeting ID: 996 4204 0167 Passcode: 709241
Thesis Topic: Moisture Transport and Changes in Mechanical Properties in Oriented Strand Board: Experimental and Modeling
Seminar Abstract:
The demand by the building industry for engineered wood composites is continuously increasing due to its importance as a structural building material. Even though the forest products sector is constantly working to find solutions to improve the design of material properties, research to predict the performance of wood-based composites in service (e.g. subject to moisture) for different manufacturing variables is limited. This presentation highlights a study investigating the moisture absorption and transport of water in unidirectional oriented strand board (OSB). The effect of various material and manufacturing parameters were tested including strand grain direction, wax content, and panel density. In addition, the effect of moisture content on changes to mechanical properties including Modulus of Elasticity (MOE) and Modulus of Rupture (MOR) were also studied. Overall, the results show that moisture absorption in OSB panels are affected by panel density, strand orientation and wax content. Based on these results, a three-dimensional finite element model was developed to predict the moisture distribution in OSB panels, and was used to determine the effective diffusivity coefficients of various panels tested. This model was based on Fick’s second law, and was found to accurately predict the experimental moisture transport during the first stages of water ingress. Additionally, predicted moisture contours from the model were confirmed using moisture maps generated by 2D X-ray tomography. Overall, the results obtained from this research study provide valuable information for further understanding and modeling of moisture absorption/distribution in OSB panels. Tests performed on unidirectional panels also provide a unique set of basic property data which can be used in subsequent studies to create more complex models of real OSB systems (e.g. commercial panels).
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