Flexural strength of sandwich panel with lignocellulosic composites intermediate layer – a statistic approach

Abstract

In this study, three different types of lignocellulosic composite materials have been incorporated in sandwich panel structure as an intermediate layer. The experiment was statistically designed based on single factor analysis scheme. The results of experiments have been analyzed using analysis of variance (Anova) followed by Tukey’s, Fisher’s and Dunnet’s tests to obtain the information of how significant those materials contribute to the flexural strength of sandwich panel structure. The total number of samples tested was 48 beams. The results show that the introduction of lignocellulosic composites materials, that are hardboard, medium density fibre (MDF) and plywood, has significantly improved the flexural strength of sandwich panel. The range of improvement contributed by the presence of lignocellulosic composites intermediate layer was around 100 – 150% for samples with balsa core and 130-150% for samples with polystyrene core. The result of this study shows the potential of lignocellulosic composite material to be developed further for producing more sustainable sandwich panel.