PROPERTIES OF PARALLEL STRAND LUMBER FROM TWO HYBRID POPLAR CLONES USING MELAMINE UREA FORMALDEHYDE ADHESIVE

Experimental parallel strand lumbers (PSLs) were manufactured from fast growing rotary peeled I-214 (Populus x euramericana) and I-77/51 (Populus deltoides) hybrid poplar clones veneer strands with melamine urea formaldehyde (MUF) adhesive. The results showed that hybrid poplar clones can be used in PSLs manufacturing. Physical and mechanical properties of PSLs were affected by clone types. The I-77/51 clone had better properties and was found to be more suitable for PSLs manufacturing compared to the I-214 clone. PSLs properties were higher than those of solid woods (SWs) and laminated veneer lumbers (LVLs) of the same poplar clones. This increase may be due to materials, densification as a result of high pressure use, and the manufacturing techniques. The degree of contribution of SWs properties to the PSLs properties was lower than that of LVLs. This indicated that factors other than SWs properties played more important roles in the strength increase of PSLs.