Optimal orientation of flakes in oriented strand board (OSB)

摘要

Panelized housing can reduce both the cost and construction time of residential housing. The panels, generally comprised of rib-reinforced OSB sheets, are assembled into floor, wall, and root structures. Irrespective of application, commercially available OSB sheets incorporate flakes oriented generally in the longitudinal direction along the faces and in the cross direction in the core. This often results in directional material properties that are not ideally suited for the specific application, requiring excessive sheet thickness and flake density in order to provide the necessary strength. It is proposed that through proper orientation of flakes, material properties of OSB can be tailored to a specific application, resulting in appreciable improvement in load-bearing capacity over commercially available OSB of equal density.