Evaluation of modulus of elasticity and modulus of rupture of full-size wood composite panels supported on two nodal-lines using a vibration technique

Abstract The objective of this study was to determine the feasibility of using a transverse free vibration testing method to nondestructively evaluate the bending stiffness and strength of full-size (1220 × 2440 mm) wood composite panels (WCPs). Based on the principle of transverse free vibration of a thin plate, the dynamic modulus of elasticity (MOE) of a full-size WCP supported on two nodal-lines was derived using the Rayleigh method. Transverse free vibration test was conducted on 54 full-size medium density fiberboard (MDF) panels and 36 full-size particleboard (PB) panels under a two-nodal-line support. The modulus of elasticity (MOE) and modulus of rupture (MOR) of the panels were then determined by conducting static bending tests on the small samples cut from each panel. The results indicated that the transverse free vibration of a full-size panel supported on two nodal-lines was a valid testing approach for rapid determination of dynamic modulus of elasticity of full-size MDF and PB panels. Strong linear relationships were found between the dynamic MOE of full-size panels and static MOE of small samples, with the dynamic MOE approximately 8% higher than the static MOE. In addition, the two-variate models with dynamic MOE and thickness as predicting variables and the three-variate models with natural frequency, density and thickness as variables were found both effective in predicting the modulus of rupture of full-size MDF and PB panels.