Wood fibre - cement composites by extrusion

Abstract

Wood fibres derived from both hardwood and softwood, being relatively inexpensive and in ample supply, have gained increasing popularity in the fibre-cement building product industry. Presently, the manufacture of most wood fibre - cement composites employs the Hatschek process. The purpose of this paper is to examine the feasibility of using extrusion technology for the production. Wood fibre - cement sheets, composed of both hardwood and softwood fibres of different fibre contents, were fabricated using an auger-type extruder. The flexural behavior, moisture content, water absorption, and density of all batches were evaluated. To investigate the weathering durability of the extruded composites, materials were also subjected to a temperature-cycling test and a natural exposure weathering test. With a relative ease of manufacture and a much cleaner production, extrusion was found to be a suitable means for making cement composite thin sheets with up to 8% fibres by weight. The extruded composites exhibited a performance comparable to or even better than that of the Hatschek products. Hardwood fibres, which are cheaper and more available than the softwood fibres, were found to be more suitable for extrusion production in terms of the extrudability, finished surface, and long-term mechanical properties.Key words: wood fibre - cement composites, hardwood pulp, softwood pulp, extrusion, strength, toughness index, temperature cycling, natural weathering.