Woon ENGINEERING HOLDING STRENGTH OF SCREWS IN PLYWOOD AND ORIENTED STRANDBOARD Yusur Z. ERDIL* JILE! ZHANG* CARL A. ECKELMAN” AwstRacT ‘Tests were caried out to determine the holding strength of serews in the face and edges of plywood and oriented strandboard (OSB). Ten distinet proprietary boards \were included inthe study: three southem pine plywood, one Douglas-firplywood, one hardwood plywood, and five OSB boards. Sheet metal type serews of sizes including 6AB,8AB, 10AB, 12AB, and 14AB wereused in he study, Initial tests were conducted tadetermine optimumpilothole diameters, Predictive expressions were fitted tothe re= sults, whieh enable the withdrawal strengths of serews embedded in these materials to ‘be predictedasa function of screw diameter and depth of penetration, and density ofthe ‘board materia Trecesingty, minaicuer are us strength as fiction of ether density ing both plywood and oriented strand- (8) or shear strength parallel to the grain board (OSB) in upholstered furiture 4.5), the holding strength of serewsin frame construction. Reasons fortis use plywood and OSB has not been widely ‘ary, but elimination of several process Fesearched, One notable study of the \atlablesassociated with the we of solid withdrawal strength of screws fom both ‘wood are among the reasons mest often the face and edge of Douglas-fir ply~ tiled, The rational product engineering w00d was carried out by Johnson (7), In of such frames in which screws are used that study, 810 L-inch-long flat head fs structural fsteners requires that de- STEWS were pulled from the faces and signers have factual knowledge of the ©4980 S-ply, Douglas-fir interior A-D holding strength of screws inthese mate--_sradey3/4-ineh-thick plywood. This was fals Soc norman mst necesariy Ateworthy pope, ut bah materials scleaned fom publhedvestresuttsqr atl screws have changed sine it was Cea z Published, A number of his observations dnd conelusions remain valid, however obiained from predictive expressions based on test resus, when such expres- sions are available, A study was under- taken, accordingly, to obtain this infor- ‘mation for representative plywood and Johnson stated, for example, that the resistance of serews pulled from the face of the plywood was greatest at ma- chine speeds of 4 insmin., but that the results obtained atthe other two speeds did not differ significantly. Similar sults have been obrained with solid ‘wood (6). Some guidance inthis area is also provided by ASTM standards D 1761-77 and D 1037-78 (1,2) Johnson (7) also noted that the with- drawal strengths of screws withdrawn from pilot holes that had the same size asthe root diameter of the screws wer significantly less than shen the pilot holes were either 40 or 70 percent of the root diameter. Of particular importance, he also noted that no significant differ tence was found in strength values ob- tained with pilot holes that were ether 40 or 70 percent of the root diameter of the srews, Opuectives ‘The primary objective of the study was to develop estimates of both face and edge serew holding strength that could be used in the product engineering of furmiture frames constructed of ply- ‘wood oF OSB. Secondary objectives i (OSB boards, Presumably, the informa- tion obtained for these boards could then bbe extrapolated to cover other similar boards offered to the furniture industry. Although the holding strength of screws in solid wood has been exten- sively studied and expressions have been developed to estimate holding The authors are, respectively, Graduate Research Assistant, Dept of Forestry and Natural Resources, Purdue University, West Latayette, IN 47907. Assistant Professor. Forest Prod 15 Laboratory. Mississippi Sate University. Mississippi Sate, MS 39762-9820; and Profes Sor, Dept. of Forestry and Natural Resources, Purdie University, West Lafayette, IN 47907, Approved for publication as Journal Amite No. FP 208 ar the Faxes and Wildlife Research Center Mislsipp Sate University. This paper was received fr publication in March 2001 Reprint No. 9277 + Forest Products Society Member, Foret Products Society 2002 Forest Prod. I, 52(6)38-62,cluded determination of the effect of pi- Tot hole size on withdrawal strength and the relationship of withdrawal strength to serew diameter and depth of penetra- ‘on. An important objective Was the development of predictive expressions that could be used to estimate hol strength asa function of board properties, serew diameter, and depth of penetration DESCRIPTION OF MATERIALS ‘The boards included in the study are described in Table 1. A coding system was used t0 identify the boards used in this study. OSB stands for oriented sirandboard; SPLY stands for southern pine plywood; HPLY stands for hard= ‘wood plywood; DEP stands for Doug las-fr plywood. The boards were ob- tained from several different suppliers. In the case of the ply plywood con- struction (SPLY-1, SPLY-3, and DFP- 518), the center ply was aligned parallel, to the face plies. Thus, 3 plies were aligned parallel to the grain direction of the face plies and 2 ples perpendicular to the face, In the ease of the 6-ply ply- ‘wood constriction (SPLY-2 and HPLY), the 2 center plies were aligned in the same direction; as 2 result, a total of 4 plies were aligned parallel to the face plies and 2 plies perpendicular to the face, Inthe case of 7-ply construction (DFP-3/4), 4 plies were aligned parallel to the face and 3 plies were perpendicu- lar to the face, Inthe ease of 4-ply ply ‘wood construction (DFP-3/8 and DFP- V2), the 2 center plies were aligned in the same direction that is perpendicular tothe long dimension of the pane! while the 2 face plies were aligned inthe same direction that is parallel to the long di- ‘mension ofthe panel All ofthe boards were Kept in an envi- onmentally controlled testing room set to produce an average of 7 percent equi- librium moisture content. Representa- tive 8 by 24-inch sections cut from the boards were measured and weighed in order to determine the density of the boards. DESCRIPTION OF TESTS AND CONSTRUCTION OF SPECIMENS PILOT HOLE Tests Pilot hole studies were conducted in ‘order to obtain estimates of the holding strengths of serews, both when pilot holes were not used (face withdrawal only) and when pilot holes of optimum size were used. Only two board types ‘were used in this study: SPLY-3 and 56 TABLE 1.— Desripion of ponls sed nthe ets “Material se Bose descripson ‘Wood sesies Density Thickness (oon 088-1 Oriented suancboard Mixedsofwoods 46934 OSH2 Onset sranboasd Mitedvotwonds 38.1 MM O53 Onentedstandboard Mixedsofiwoods KS 8 OSB-4 Oriented strendboad Mucdsfes = 257 88-5 Orenedsrandboar Mixcdsoftwoads 46134 SPLY1 Spy Sayer oC Souther pine 339302 SPLY-2 bsp. Deemer ales. future grade Souhe pine wes 2a SPLYS Sly seucual sheathing Soutien pine Bog 2382 PLY ply. 2 ene plies, furmitur grade Hardood SS Drpss ply Douglsir Sti bP-2 ply Dowel ai Drpss ply Douglas mI sR Depa ply Douglas pane esi se ts ss age Face Figure 1. — Diagram showing configuration ofthe specimens, OSB-1, Screw-sizes included 6AB, SAB, IOAB, 12AB, and 148, Four pi Jot hole diameters were used with each serew size, Each pilot hole differed from the preceding one by 1/64 inch. Also, fone set of face withdrawal specimens ‘was constructed without pilot holes. A previous study conducted with hard- ‘woods indicated that holding strength decreased rapidly once the pilot hole ex- ceded the root diameter of the screw. ‘An attempt was made, accordingly, 10 sot the largest pilot hole diameter equal tor slightly larger than the root diame- ter ofthe screw. The three remaining pi- Jot holes were then drilled 164, 264, ‘and 3/64 inches smaller than the largest pilot hoe, “The configurations of the specimens tased in the tests are shown in Figure 1 All of the specimens used in the tests ‘measured 6 inches square. In the case of the face withdrawal specimens, the serews protruded from the specimens, ‘whereas the screws were embedded | nc in the edge withdrawal specimens, ‘A 12-inch hole was drilled through the broad face of each edge withdrawal specimen ati center in oder to provide ‘8 point of attachment forthe testing ma- chine jig. Three replicas of each speci- ‘men combination were constructed. Four pilot holes were drilled for sin gle screw size in each specimen. This procedure was followed in order to re- duce variability and thereby provide & UNE 2002® ‘Screw Withdrawal - Tip Not Protuding © G Screw Withsrawal- Tip Protruding Figure 2. — Diagram showing speci- ‘men with screw embedded to fulldepth (9) and with tip protruding (b), better indication of withdrawal strength versus screw diameter. Inthe edge with drawal specimens, pilot holes were Arilled at the center ofthe edge. Also,n0 edge specimens were prepared without Pilot holes since the serews tended to ‘cause the specimens to delaminate, SCREW WITHORAWAL STRENGTH TESTS: The objective ofthe serew withdrawal strength tests was to determine the hold- ‘ng strength of various size serews pene= trated to various depths in the edges of plywood and to 1 inch ia OSB. These sis were conducted in essentially the same manner as the pilot hole tess with the following exceptions or additions, 1. The face tests were conducted with OSB-I through OSB-S, SPLY-I through SPLY-3, and HPLY. 2. Optimum pilot holes were used in keeping with the findings of the pilot hole tess 3. In the case of the face withdrawal specimens, one set of specimens was constructed in which the serew was em- bedded tothe full thickness ofthe speci- ‘men (Fig. 28); a socond set of specimens ‘was constructed in which the fll tip of the serew protruded from the specime (Fig. 2b). Four replicas were prepared for each combination, Locations ofthe serews in the speci ‘mens are shown in Figure 1 In practice, screw holder test specimer srew holder test specimen i= re) (a) &) Figure 3. — Screw withdrawal from edge (a) and from face (b). ‘only one screw was inserted at a time. Once it had boen withdrawn, the next screw was inserted in the second posi tion and the test was repeated, This pro- cedure was repeated until a complete set of five serews had been tested Two sets of edge withdrawal speci- ‘mens were constructed and tested. The first set was constructed with SPLY-I, SPLY-2, SPLY-3, HPLY, DFP-3/4, and (OSB-I through OSB-S. All screws were embedded 1 inch in the edges of the specimens. The primary purpose ofthis Set of fests was to determine the rela- tionship of withdrawal strength to screw diameter, ‘The second set of specimens was con- structed with DFP-3/8, DEP-1/2, DFP- 5/8, and DFP.34 (OSB was not in- cluded). Depths of screw penetration included 1/2, 3/4, 1, and 1-1/4 inches. ‘The primary purpose ofthis set of tests was to determine the relationship of with- drawal strength to depth of penetration in plywood. Only one diameter screw was used in each specimen. Serews \were inserted perpendicular tothe edge ‘of the specimen atthe midpoint of each edge. Thus, two serews were tested along the grain (parallel to the 96-inch length ofthe panel) and two were tested perpendicular to the grain (along the 48-inch width of the panel), GENERAL METHOD OF TEST All of the tests were carried out on 2 Riehle universal testing machine. Rate of loading was 0.1 inJ/min. Ultimate oad was taken as the holding strength FOREST PRODUCTS JOURNAL VoL, 52, No. 6 (withdrawal strength) ofthe serew. The fixture used to hold the screw head is shown in Figure 3. A different size of fixture was used with each size screw in order to provide maximum support to the underside of the screw heads, The sctew holder itself was coupled to a length ofrod that passed through the up- per crosshead and ball scat ofthe testing tuchine. Itwas anchored in place inthe crosshead with a shaped mut so that it ‘was centered in the ball seat, This fix- ‘ure was used in both the edge and face withdrawal tests, RESULTS PILOT HOLE TESTS Results of the pilot hole tests ar given in Table 2. Results are also shown in Ta ble3 expressed as percentages of root di- ameters. Due to the composite nature of the boars, highest strength yielding pilot hole sizes vatied as a percentage of root diameters among the serew size as well as between two types of boards. As can be seen, the average optimum pilot hole expressed asa percentage of the root di- ameter of the screw amounted to 64 per- cent in the face of plywood and 71 per cent inthe face of OSB, Similarly, the average optimum pilot hole expressed as a percentage of the root diameter of the screw amounted to 80 percent in the edge of plywood and 82 percent inthe edge of OSB. FACE AND EDGE SCREW HOLDING TESTS Numerical results for the face and edge holding strength of the screws in 87TABLE 2 — whoa force ert pte dametr* Pilot hole diameters (ie.) _ O64 ine S164 332 14 1 32 164 coats (05) my cnt) iss) cin) Sere gate — - ‘Wiel se (hy sate Sai aes withval=SPLY3¥ 7 on we aaa oy sw 0 7 8 ee 99 waa (ico a0 2 0 6 2 os ee) (mo n 41 2 xu 12a eSB a8 wn aw Dm as 2 4 tae ae oe 1 a ol a am 9 8 © % “ « Fue witha OSB aro oc oss “ SAB Ave 8 5m oe oe (is) D8 © “4 “ 2 ch ws os a cy oo ° a s i cs «we ™ ow Gin oes u u # @ MAD ag 85 So Sas ee > 2 a 1s 6B Ave Be ae - cay sD » 2 spe on Co (sys 9 soak WAR Ave cole aw 150) $0 a » 0 x» PAB Ave eer gas ayo a » is MAB ve om mmm aa 0 sos 2 “ rs » (3H > ” a wD Ae m (is) 8D 7 "AB ke oman cm) 8p % a ” 6 RAB ae 39 dem a 26 v0 %6 » e MAB Mom nso is 2 0 {inch 254 1 6458 & Mor meer fers to Bn ee) a sew edn pred xpress «Suan fet aerg SD ees stand devin, Discussion the face and edge of plywood and OSB are given in Table 4, Results for the holding strength of screws embeded 1/2, 3/4, 1, and 1-14 inches inthe edge of Douglasefir plywood are given in Table 5. 8 Given the variability ofthe results ob- tained, an attempt was made to deriveTABLE 5 — Optimum pio hae dome esd inches anda reentage of rt diaeter® ‘Screw ese AB aa 10a aaa Tas Root dinner (in) 102 120 133 18 182 —————————— Aveoge perent “Messin code Orion ot ole in inches (of retdare) street ShLY.3 Tree Heo HOS) | SHGST) | THIOH ——_—wOHH oe Edge 64002) 64191) Tsk Bo) 6468) 16805) » os Free 4164166478) i6A6B])——oNTR) 864405) ” Edge Seu7) 864%) ss) tv 2 * Root ameter ees wo the minor diameter afte screw simple expressions to represent the data ‘The form of these expressions was based on previous studies (4,5) caried ‘out with solid wood to estimate holding ‘strength of screws as a function of depth ‘of penetration, screw diameter, and shear sirength parallel to the grain. In ‘general therefore, en attempt was made to develop equations based on linear re- lationships provided they did not greatly degrade the quality of the predictions. Accordingly, an expression of the fol- lowing form was fitted by means of ‘non-linear regression techniques to the results for face withdrawal and for edge withdrawal from both plywood and OSB: aD(L~eD)'W* In this expression, y = screw holding strength (Ib), a, 6,6, d, and e = regres- sion coefficients; D = screw diameter (in), L depth of penetration (in. and W= density (pe. The term (L~ cD) is used to take into account both the depth of penetration ofthe serew, represented by the term Z, and the loss in strength that occurs because the tip ofthe serew ig not in contact with the composite when pilot holes are used (hereafter called “tip effeet") represented by the term eD. Itshould be note that the tip is also not fully effective when pilot holes are not used. This is a particularly im- portant consideration when estimating ‘the strength of short screws. It should be noted thatthe term D refers to the major for outside diameter of the screw, Major screw diameters may be calculated by ‘means ofthe following expression D= 0,06 +0.013N ‘where D = major diameter ofthe serew (in); N= gage of the serew (eg, a #10 screw has a major diameter of 0.190 inches). The expressions were fited to the = sults by means of statistical non-linear regression techniques and then simp! fied, if possible, in accordance with the outcomes ofthe analyses. Results of the statistical pression developed. the accompanying coeficiet of determination value, r, the maximum and minimum deviations between predicted and observed values, andthe standard deviations) are given in Table 6. Since all of the plywood except Douglas-fir measured & nominal 3/4 inch thick, only the face withdrawal data for serews in Douglas-fir plywood was used to determine the relationship of ‘depth of penetration o holding siength AAS previously discussed, the term (L ~ ‘eD)" was used to take tip effet into ae- count. The best fit tothe data was ob- tained withthe factor (L~ 20/3) with P=. 908, When this factor was smi fied, however, with d= 1.0, the factor ‘gave the hes results with = 856, This term is incorporated into the simplified expression given in Table 6, ie,» 9DML ~ DW". Wit OSB, on the other hand, best results were obtained with the factor ( =23) inthe simp fied expression y = 0.87D"*(L — 2D3)Wasisalso shown in Table Inthe case of edge withdrawal in ply- wood, the best fit was obtained with the factor (ED) where? = 0.670. With = 1.0, so shat the team (LZ ~ D) is ob- tained, the value is slghily relvced to (0630. This term s incorporated int the simplified expression given in Table 6, ie, y=68D"L- DW" Only one depth of penetration, 1 inch, ‘was used inthe edge holding tests of OSB. Asa result, no depth of penet tion term is given inthe predictive ex- pression foredge withdrawal ftom OSE In Table 6. Likewise, no comestion term is wiven for tip effect. Thus, the follow ing simpliid expression resus y = (0.86077 (also given in Table 6), In general, non-linear regression anal- yses othe test results indicated that rel FOREST PRODUCTS JOURNAL Vou. 52, No. 6 atively simple power expressions could bbe used to estimate the holding strengths of screws in the face and edge of ply- wood and OSB. Typically, these expres sions had coefficients of determination that ranged from 0.571 100.779. Expres- sions under-predicted holding strengths from alow of 38 roa high of 108 percent and over-predicted stengths from alow (of 36 to high of 69 percent. The stan dard deviation of the differences be- tween predicted and observed values expressed as a peroentage of predicted values ranged fiom a lov of 16 toa high (of 27 percent In general, therefore, the withdrawal strength of serews in composites must be regarded as somewhat variable, but the statistes presented in the paper al- low this variation to be taken into ac- count in the design of a screw-hased joint ConcLusions: Results of the tests indicate that the holding strength of serews in both the face and edge of plywood and OSB may vary considerably from board to board and also within boards. Ths variability is likely more closely related to process variables than basic wood properties since boards manufactured from the same species may still exhibit signifi- cantly different holding strengths. In general, therefore, these results indicate that predictive expressions should be based on results derived from a larger population of boards and should include pertinent process variables. The problem that exists for the practicing furmiture engineer, however, i that such process- ing information is not readily available, and if available, would not likely be spe cific to the boards he is using ata given LITERATURE CITED 1. American Society for Testing and Materials 1984, Fvalating the properies of Wood bse fberand parle panel matrils, Sta-[HBLE 4 — Face and ede withdrawal srongth (Uh of trust OSB an plywood — Material —__ ie = tip no proting _ Face np protuding Sint ead ea a mes el na an eae eB ase : fo) a oe 8 oe os oe ee Se oe eee ee eee > 8 » 3 8 wm @ 8 8 mM ° ra "6 ows Me oo ua os «© «© © » m@ 8 8 @ » es pee gin ie ise so @ eS %° on a oss ve im ie Ma me eels brrs4 om SO) Matty asa ow 1s os 2 8 © SOG Se Teter SD et snl dein pee a ein fete Pe Ee Sa en cen, Pe WoL Sania D H6L77 ASTM, Wet” TATATattctsandpanccsand ar, atmon 11988, Scwblg sity Tehasan a Sere Spa Tekh Sah So he 2 eleoun CA, 197 Hakg seagh of 4. 17%. Peingwihieonl BE tl Sire Cocuindios, Gounvecladvetietinatan amg ncrerteim Bf 60, JUNE 2002TABLE 5.— Edge withdnral strength (of screws embedded 03,781, and 1.2 inces im Douglas planed of four thicknesses* a = Bord thks (in) 7 2 58 a 38 2 sm oe ‘Withdrawl sng a a ia oe age sie grain eT ‘Der Stattie? ‘ep of penettion 05 in saw ae ry 18 233 13 2 82 9s 0 4 io 7 36 7 Py n sAB A. a 2106 201 262 aT 198 sD 7 a st 38 6s 6 wan, 206 2s ee 13 ns Ea sD 6 0 » 20 4 2 rs ae 16 26 1 189 20 sp 2 0 38 2% 3 + MAB Ave 0 19 a a7 6 216 > M u u * " 6 : Depth of penetration 0.75 in ons ae TT) 20 21 31 28 = 7 37 so 0 se 109 “0 ° “ e 8 saB a a8 300 oa a9 a na mm a2 sp o 6 0 “a 76 8 " 2 toaB Ae, 0 0 ws 470 7 a aS 396 sD 0 n « ° 2 16 %6 88 AB Ae, 256 ae ms 410 20 ms a 20 sp 2s ° 2s «0 ” 2 6 6 MAB wp, a6 ca 30 6 2 an 8 i 2 8 7 2 - Depth of pensation oa oe “7 36 a 388 300 35 oT ery sD a 23 6 160 7 os 18 »» saa avs ss 26 se sol sis 88 a ast sD 6 96 ur 18 183 7 2 7 Waa 458 463 m 462 235 sa. 49 sD 26 14 & 38 2 0 4 AB ap au a8 om ws siT sp 0 a ~ ” 90 MAB awe a si 1 aa 3 so 6 a 4s » 2 Depth of penctaton — 1.25 oat ae a ar 1 8 “a7 wi a 2 so @ so 3s wa ° % us “0 AB ae sm 66 an sm 48 26 50 S16 so 1 i % 7” 109 n 7 v8 tas Ase, a3 2 576 os a oo 8 586 so 7 a 201 19 » us 95 B awe a 530 si a5 68s sas so 2 26 0 %% 2 bs MAB ep ssa 598 69 sor $69 1 sD 1 o 4 152 2 3 Dich = 25.4 mg 1b. = 445 N * sist: ay. refers wo average; SD refers to standard devision. z valli O8 1967 Sorew-boling abiltyof Tabor and plywood, Rept. 22. For [Se Research Lab, Oregon Ste Uni, Cor 8. USDA Forest Serve. 1974, Wood Hand- book: Wood as an. Engineering Materia Agri Hand, 72. US. Gov Printing Office, Washington, DC. FOREST PRODUCTS JOURNAL Vo. $2, No.6TABLE 6 — Summary of peeve exrssons. Cosficien of — Mate Preditive expession istration __Frcentundee*_Perceat over? soe Fic witha . ‘iywood! SLi, SPLY2, SPLY.3, HPLY, DFP-AA, DFP-TB, DFP.s, DFP Ini y= 1030 - py! 3 on Final yeep" pws 0196 ss “” » Oriented srandboar: OSB-1, 088.2, OSB-3, OSB-4, OSB-S Teta y= 1990°5(L- 2D" 6st il ys 04r0"* (L208) ose 8 36 16 age witha Plywood: SPV, SFLY-2,SPLY-3, HPLY ei ye 0630° Lp) "72" non Final y=6ap" «py 000s 108 6 ” Oriented srandboar: OSB-1, 088.2, OSB-3, OSI, OSB-S Init y=00320%e29? ost Fal yon? ost 4s 2» 20 * Under: maxinum under rected by pret, 5 Over maximum overgredted by preety * Stndard deviation ofthe under- and over-priced vals, UNE 2002,