Development of an air-injection press for preventing blowout of particleboard V: effects of board density and thickness on property of board manufactured from high-moisture particles

Particleboards with thickness of 10 mm and densities of 0.6, 0.7 and 0.8 g/cm3 were manufactured from high-moisture particles using urea–formaldehyde resin and the effectiveness of air injection was examined. The temperature in the 0.6 and 0.7 g/cm3 boards was lower with air injection than without during the initial to middle stages of pressing, while the temperature in the 0.8 g/cm3 board remained lower with air injection than without throughout the entire pressing process. Air injection reduced the pressing time required to manufacture the 0.6 and 0.7 g/cm3 boards and also increased the internal bond strength of boards of all densities. In the 0.6 and 0.7 g/cm3 boards, air injection reduced the modulus of rupture (MOR), while in the 0.8 g/cm3 boards, the MOR was similar between those manufactured by injecting and not injecting air. Air injection was also found to be effective for boards of high densities. The effectiveness of the air injection on thick boards was investigated by manufacturing 20-mm-thick boards of 0.7 g/cm3. Without air injection, it was not possible to manufacture the 20-mm-thick boards, even by extended hot pressing, but air injection allowed the boards to be manufactured by pressing for 16 min. Air injection was also shown to be effective for manufacturing thick boards.