Laboratory-made cement-bonded OSB with negligible swelling: fact or fantasy?

The purpose of this paper was to evaluate the dimensional stability of cement-bonded oriented strand boards produced from fir strands, which have previously been chemically modified at a weight gain of 10.4%, after 30 min reaction with acetic anhydride. The strands were used to form laboratory boards, which were tested in accordance with EN standards. Boards made from these acetylated strands exhibited negligible thickness swelling even after one month of immersion in water.