In-Plane Moisture Content and Specific Gravity Evaluation of Oriented Strandboard Using a Radio Frequency Technique

Oriented strandboard (OSB) is a wood-based composite product with the largest market share for residential and commercial construction. Reliable in-line nondestructive evaluation devices are needed to rapidly determine OSB panel moisture content (MC) and specific gravity (SG) after hot pressing. In this report a radio frequency (RF) scanning technique was used to evaluate the MC and SG of OSB. RF scanning apparatuses were built to test OSB specimens at various MC and SG levels. Statistical models of the results were generated with the multiple linear regression method for estimating OSB MC and SG. The results indicated that the MC and SG of OSB can be estimated using RF responses in using voltage attenuation and signal phase shift.