Bending strength of magnesium oxide board

Abstract

Magnesium Oxide (MgO) board has been widely used in prefabricated lightweight steel frame wall systems and as the floor board covering component. It is a non-insulating sheathing board product which consists of sustainable materials with the characteristics of fire resistance, weatherability, strength, resistance to mold and mildew. Although MgO board has recently worldwide used in façade construction but the research data related to the laboratory work such as the bending strength is still limited. The previous studies on the bending strength of MgO board are based on various standards such as American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM), Building Materials 688 (JC688) Standard and British Standard is subjected to the products characteristics and patterns. Therefore, the bending strength values obtained were inconsistent and not convincing. Thus, this paper aims to examine the bending strength of MgO board with three difference thicknesses (6 mm, 9 mm and 12 mm) based on BS EN 310:1993 subjected to three points bending test. The failure modes during three points bending test was observed and the experimental results obtained were compared with the theoretical values and others relevant standards. A total of thirty six specimens with twelve specimens for each thickness in two group directions namely longitudinal (length) and transverse (width) direction were tested. The specimens were prepared based on BS EN 326-1:1994 and BS EN 325:2012. The maximum flexure load of the specimens was recorded and arithmetic mean bending strength for each thickness was presented. The experimental results showed the tested MgO board was not achieved minimum bending strength for load bearing used. It is recommended to be used in non-load bearing facade cladding construction.