Investigation of gluability and wettability properties of Medium Density Fiberboard produced using vine pruning fibers in combination with wood fibers

In this research, the effect of vine pruning fibers in combination with wood fibers on contact angel (wettability) and surface bond strength of medium density fiberboard was studied. One layer laboratory panels with a thickness of 15 mm and density of 650 Kg/Cm3 were produced. Variable factors were vine pruning fibers content in three levels of 0/100, 30/70 and 60/40 by weight and press time in three levels of 4, 5 and 6 minutes. The wet ability and surface bond strength of panels were measured. Results showed that the contact angle of the boards was reduced when the vine pruning fibers content increased up to 60%. Press time had significant influence on wet ability of test panels. So that the contact angle was increased with increasing the press time up to 5 minutes. Whereas the contact angle was reduced when the press time of panels increased to 6 minutes. In addition, the results indicated that the sanding of panels caused a decrease of contact angle in the boards. Moreover the surface bond strength of panels were reduced with adding vine pruning fibers up to 30% whereas the panels produced using 60% vine pruning fibers showed stronger.