EFFECT OF TEMPERATURE AND VAPORIZATION TIME ON THE MATURING OF WOOD-CEMENT PANELS

Abstract

The wood-cement panels are versatile, durable, present easy workability and reduced cost when compared to other wood panels. However, this type of panel has some undesirable features, among them the high cement curing time which interferes in the production process. An alternative used to reduce the time needed for maturation of such panels is the use of steam curing. This study aimed to develop a steam chamber for curing time reduction for wood-cement panels. The experiment was conducted under a completely randomized design in a 2 x 3 factorial, with 2 exposure times to the steam (3 and 10 days) and 3 temperatures (50, 60 and 70° C). The results indicated that the vaporization chamber is viable in accelerating the curing of wood-cement panels, the effect of temperature was significant for the physical and mechanical properties studied, and 60°C presents the best performance. For the time, there was no statistical difference in most tests for 3 and 10 days.