Glued laminated panels as kitchen countertops

The present study was conducted to investigate the possibility of using PVA-glued laminated panels in place of conventional kitchen countertops namely 32 mm thick MDF and 38 mm thick particleboard. Three types of glued laminated panels were manufactured by laminating two 16 mm thick MDFs, two 16 mm thick particleboards, and three 12 mm thick particleboards at a pressure of 3 MPa , a temperature of 25 0C and variable pressing times of 20, 30, and 40 minutes. Bending and shear strengths, water absorption, and thickness swelling of the laminates were measured and compared with a 32 mm thick MDF and 38 mm thick particleboard. The results indicated that the glued laminated panels remained more dimensionally stable compared to the conventional kitchen countertops. Particleboard laminates had improved bending and shear strengths compared to 38 mm thick particleboard. The results of this study demonstrated that PVA-glued laminated panels could be used as kitchen countertops.