Effects of Test Methods on Lateral Nail Resistance of Particleboards

Simulating a nail-joint of wood-based panel onto lumber, a new test method of lateral nail resistance (LNR) was devised. The test jig is a one-plane-shear (OPS) type that does not induce a compulsory pull-through of the nail head. The LNR of particleboard with a thickness of 12 and 15 mm was tested to compare this method and the two-plane-shear (TPS) type of test according to ASTM D 1037. The LNR by the OPS type was found to be forty to sixty percent of that by the TPS type. The rate of increase of LNR due to increase of nail edge distance (de) of nail from 12 up to 24 mm was lower in the OPS type than in the TPS type. There was no significant difference of LNR tested at two nail positions, at the center of the specimen’s width and at a corner, for both the OPS and TPS types in the range of de from 12 to 24 mm. The retention of LNR after two types of accelerated aging that combined water-soaking and drying was found to be two to ten percent higher in the OPS type than in the TPS type.