Assessment of Energy-to-Break Properties of Veneered Engineered Wood (Plywood) for Sustainable Development Applications in Nigeria

Energy-to-break of the three most commonly used veneered engineered wood (plywood) products in the Nigerian commercial sector with the objective of providing technical guidance for material selection for sustainable economic development was investigated. In accordance with ASTM D1037 standard and requirement with the testometric testing machine, four energies to break tests were conducted per sample, and digital aggregate average values reported. Plots on the dynamics of the energy to break of the samples were ensued by computer program from the data generated. Using descriptive statistics, one-way ANOVA, Tukey’s HSD post-hoc test, Kruskal-Wallis test, Dunn’s post-hoc test, and effect size measures including Cohen’s d and coefficient of variation (CV) data were analyzed. Results showed significant differences among the groups (ANOVA: F = 7938.6, p < 0.001; Kruskal-Wallis: H = 10.26, p = 0.0059). Mean energy to break was highest for Caledonian (2.836 ± 0.042 N.m, CV = 1.49%), followed by View Point (2.234 ± 0.003 N.m, CV = 0.12%), and lowest for Plywood EQ (0.484 ± 0.006 N.m, CV = 1.29%). Post-hoc analysis indicated that Plywood EQ differed significantly from both Caledonian and View Point. Caledonian exhibited significantly higher energy to break than View Point in parametric tests, with a very large effect size (Cohen’s d = 19.7), though non-parametric post-hoc tests suggested the same trend but lacked power to confirm the Caledonian vs View Point difference at α=0.05 due to n=4 per sample. Because the samples were prepared so as to conform with comparable conditions, these variations could be attributed to adhesives’ chemical properties. Biomedical, Chemical, Metallurgical, Mechanical, Civil, Mechatronics engineers and construction companies as baseline should value this in their designs, developments and constructions. Regarding their energy to break, other engineered wood products types yet to be researched should receive research attention in due course.