Laminated Veneer Lumber (LVL) from Fast Growing Plantation Timber Species Meliadubia

Laminated veneer lumber (LVL) is a layered composite of wood veneers and a synthetic adhesive. It is produced by laminating the wood veneers with the grain direction in successive layers of veneers being parallel to each other and also parallel to the length of the laminate. Short rotation planation timbers when seasoned tend to develop defects like twist and warp there by resulting in poor yield for a given volume of raw material. Converting the short rotation plantation timber species in to veneers and subsequently laminating these veneers in to an LVL increases the possibility of using low value plantation timbers to be converted in to high strength laminates which can be used for structural applications. In this project study to develop LVL from fast growing plantation grown timber namely Melia dubia was carried out and evaluated the physical, mechanical and chemical properties as per IS 14616 Specifications for Laminated Veneer Lumber. LVL produced from Melia dubia is found to conform to the requirements as specified in IS 14616 and with a chemical retention of 8.46 kg/m3 achieved, the LVL finds its application for door and window frame.