Temperature and moisture effects on selected properties of wood fiber-cement composites

The effects of moisture cycling on the dimensional stability and temperature cycling on the compressive strength of treated wood fiber-cement composites were investigated. The Kraft softwood fibers and the hardwood fibers were treated with an aqueous acrylic emulsion or alkylalkoxysilane prior to manufacturing into wood fiber-cement composites. Moisture cycling results indicated that the treated fiber-cement composites were more resistant to deterioration than the neat cement specimens. The alkylalkoxysilane-treated fiber-cement composites resisted deterioration more than the acrylic emulsion-treated fiber-cement composites. Treated hardwood fiber-cement composites were more resistant than the treated Kraft fiber-cement composites. The effects of temperature cycling on the compressive strength values produced similar results. The treated fibers were more resistant to deterioration than the neat cement. The alkylalkoxysilane-treated Kraft and hardwood fiber-cement composites had higher average compressive strength values than the acrylic emulsion-treated wood fiber-cement composites.