Panels and Panel Materials

Panels and panel materials are composite structures which consist of multiple layers or skins often bonded to or sandwiching a core material such as multilayer sheets, cored laminates or industrial structural panels. They are made from a variety of metal, plastic, wood and composite materials. Panels and panel materials carry product specifications such as height, density, compressive strength, tensile strength, shear strength, shear modulus, flexural strength, flexural modulus, water absorption, and R-value. Panels and panel materials are available from a variety of sources and meet standards from organizations such as the American Society for Testing Materials (ASTM).

Some panels and panel materials are made of plywood, a manufactured wood product that resists bending, cracking, shrinkage and warping. An engineered wood, plywood is made of sheets of veneer that are pressed and glued together with the grains arranged in opposite directions. Typically, plywood panels are made of softwoods such as birch, fir, mahogany, pine or spruce. Southern pine panels are used in exterior siding applications. Birch and mahogany are used to produce an extremely lightweight but durable product called aircraft plywood. Plywood structural panels that are designed for interior building and construction applications are made with quick-drying but relatively inexpensive urea- formaldehyde glue. By contrast, wooden panels and panel materials that are designed for outdoor use more expensive but more durable water-resistant glues.

Oriented strand board (OSB) panels and panel materials are multi-layer products made of compressed wood strands. They are used in building and construction applications for both sub-flooring and exterior sheathing. Like plywood panels, OSB panels are a popular engineered wood product. They consist of cross-oriented layers of wooden strips which are bonded with a mixture of wax and resin adhesives, and then processed in a thermal press. Some OSB manufacturers treat these wood chips or flakes with borate compounds which are toxic to insects such as termites. OSB panels and panel materials may emit low levels of formaldehyde, but are often more popular than plywood structural panels.

Panels and panel materials that are made from specialized or proprietary materials are commonly available. STYROFOAM, a trademark of The Dow Chemical Company, is a core material made of extruded polystyrene foam. STYROFOAM panel cores are used in composite panels and solar panels, as well as in modular buildings and refrigerated trucks. Because they have a closed cellular structure, STYROFOAM panels resist the ingress of water and maintain their integrity under harsh environmental conditions. STYROFOAM building panels are usually laminated with materials such as aluminum, steel, wood or plastic. They have a high strength-to-weight ratio and provide both chemical stability and moisture resistance. Other specialized and proprietary types of panels and panel materials are also commonly available.

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Part Numbers for Panels and Panel Materials