Evaluation of sandwich panels from palm leaves waste and plywood

Sandwich panels are one of the most advanced forms of composite structures that are widely used. The objective of this study was to investigate the effect of three types of resin: urea formaldehyde (UF), melamine formaldehyde (MF) and the combination of urea formaldehyde + melamine formaldehyde (UF + MF) two core layer densities (400 and 500 kg/m3) on physical and mechanical properties of sandwich panels made of palm leaves waste. Pressure temperature, pressure and time for all panels were 175 °C, 35 kg /cm2 and 9 minutes, respectively. The final thickness of all panels was the same and equal to 25 mm. Physical and mechanical properties include; Water absorption (WA), thickness swelling (TS), modulus of rupture (MOR), modulus of elasticity (MOE), impact bending strength (IBS) and internal bonding (IB) were performed on the samples. The results showed that there was a significant (p<0.05) difference between the values of different treatments at the level of 95%. Physical properties (except thickness swelling) and mechanical properties with a density of 500 kg/m3 improved. The use of MF and UF + MF resins significantly improved the physical and mechanical properties of sandwich panels due to its high adhesive quality.