BRITISH STANDARD

Wood-based panels
Determination of
modulus of elasticity in
bending and of bending
strength

The European Standard EN 310:1993 has the status of a

British Standard

UDC 674.03:620.172.225:620.174

BS EN
310:1993

BS EN 310:1993

Cooperating organizations
The European Committee for Standardization (CEN), under whose supervision
this European Standard was prepared, comprises the national standards
organizations of the following countries.
Austria
Belgium
Denmark
Finland
France
Germany
Greece
Iceland
Ireland
Italy
Luxembourg
Netherlands
Norway
Portugal
Spain
Sweden
Switzerland
United Kingdom

This British Standard, having

been prepared under the
direction of the Technical Sector
Board for Building and Civil
Engineering (B/-), was
published under the
authority of the Standards
Board and comes
into effect on
15 April 1993
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The following BSI references
relate to the work on this
standard:
Committee reference B/541
Draft for comment 90/15587 DC
ISBN 0 580 21056 1

Oesterreichisches Normungsinstitut
Institut belge de normalisation
Dansk Standardiseringsraad
Suomen Standardisoimisliito, r.y.
Association franaise de normalisation
Deutsches Institut fr Normung e.V.
Hellenic Organization for Standardization
Technological Institute of Iceland
National Standards Authority of Ireland
Ente Nazionale Italiano di Unificazione
Inspection du Travail et des Mines
Nederlands Normalisatie-instituut
Norges Standardiseringsforbund
Instituto Portugus da Qualidade
Asociacin Espaola de Normalizacin y Certificacin
Standardiseringskommissionen i Sverige
Association suisse de normalisation
British Standards Institution

Amendments issued since publication

Amd. No.

Date

Comments

BS EN 310:1993

Contents
Cooperating organizations
National foreword
Foreword
Text of EN 310
National annex NA (informative) Committees responsible
National annex NB (informative) Cross-reference

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Page
Inside front cover
ii
2
3
Inside back cover
Inside back cover

BS EN 310:1993

National foreword
This British Standard has been prepared under the direction of the Technical
Sector Board for Building and Civil Engineering and is the English language
version of EN 310:1993 Wood-based panels Determination of modulus of
elasticity in bending and of bending strength, published by the European
Committee for Standardization (CEN).
EN 310 was produced as a result of international discussion in which the UK took
an active part.
The principle of this method is technically equivalent to A.10 and A.12 of
BS 1142:1989 Specification for fibre building boards and to clauses 10 and 11.1
of BS 5669 Particleboard Part 1:1989 Methods of sampling, conditioning and
test, both of which will be withdrawn in due course.
A British Standard does not purport to include all the necessary provisions of a
contract. Users of British Standards are responsible for their correct application.
Compliance with a British Standard does not of itself confer immunity
from legal obligations.

Summary of pages
This document comprises a front cover, an inside front cover, pages i and ii,
the EN title page, pages 2 to 8, an inside back cover and a back cover.
This standard has been updated (see copyright date) and may have had
amendments incorporated. This will be indicated in the amendment table on
the inside front cover.
ii

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EUROPEAN STANDARD

EN 310

NORME EUROPENNE
February 1993

EUROPISCHE NORM
UDC 674.03:620.172.225:620.174

Descriptors: Wood-based panel, particleboard, plywood, fibreboard, OSB, cement-bonded particleboard, test method, modulus of
elasticity, bending strength

English version

Wood-based panels Determination of modulus of

elasticity in bending and of bending strength

Panneaux base de bois

Dtermination du module dlasticit en
flexion et de la rsistance la flexion

Holzwerkstoffe
Bestimmung des Elastizittsmoduls und der
Biegefestigkeit

This European Standard was approved by CEN on 1992-12-15. CEN members

are bound to comply with the CEN/CENELEC Internal Regulations which
stipulate the conditions for giving this European Standard the status of a
national standard without any alteration.
Up-to-date lists and bibliographical references concerning such national
standards may be obtained on application to the Central Secretariat or to any
CEN member.
This European Standard exists in three official versions (English, French,
German). A version in any other language made by translation under the
responsibility of a CEN member into its own language and notified to the
Central Secretariat has the same status as the official versions.
CEN members are the national standards bodies of Austria, Belgium,
Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Iceland, Ireland, Italy,
Luxembourg, Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and
United Kingdom.

CEN
European Committee for Standardization
Comit Europen de Normalisation
Europisches Komitee fr Normung
Central Secretariat: rue de Stassart 36, B-1050 Brussels
1993 Copyright reserved to CEN members

Ref. No. EN 310:1993 E

EN 310:1993

Foreword
This European Standard was prepared by Working
Group 4 Common test methods (Secretariat:
United Kingdom) of Technical Committee
CEN/TC 112 Wood-based panels (Secretariat:
Germany).
The text is based on ISO 9429 (at present ISO/DIS)
which has been elaborated with European
participation.
This standard is one of a series of standards
specifying methods of test for determining
dimensions and properties of wood-based panels.
No existing European Standard is superseded.
This European Standard shall be given the status of
a national standard, either by publication of an
identical text or by endorsement, at the latest by
August 1993, and conflicting national standards
shall be withdrawn at the latest by December 1994.
In accordance with the CEN/CENELEC Internal
Regulations the following countries are bound to
implement this European Standard: Austria,
Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany,
Greece, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg,
Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Spain, Sweden,
Switzerland, United Kingdom.

Contents
1
Scope
2
Normative references
3
Principle
4
Apparatus
5
Test pieces
6
Procedure
7
Expression of results
8
Test report
Annex A (informative) Bibliography
Figure 1 Arrangement of the binding
apparatus
Figure 2 Cross section of tubular boards
Figure 3 Load-deflection curve within
the range of elastic deformation

Page
3
3
3
3
3
5
5
5
7
4
4
6

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EN 310:1993

1 Scope
This European Standard specifies a method of
determining the apparent modulus of elasticity in
flatwise bending and bending strength of
wood-based panels of nominal thickness equal to or
greater than 3 mm.

4.2.2 A suitable instrument capable of measuring

the deflection of the test piece in the middle of the
span with an accuracy of 0,1 mm.
4.2.3 A suitable load measurement system capable
of measuring the load applied to the test piece with
an accuracy of 1 % of the measured value.

NOTE Structural design values shall be determined according

to methods according to EN 789.

5 Test pieces

2 Normative references
This European Standard incorporates by dated or
undated reference, provisions from other
publications. These normative references are cited
at the appropriate places in the text and the
publications are listed hereafter. For dated
references, subsequent amendments to or revisions
of any of these publications apply to this European
Standard, only when incorporated in it by
amendment or revision. For undated references the
latest edition of the publication referred to applies.
EN 325, Wood-based panels Determination of
dimensions of test pieces.
EN 326-1, Wood-based panels Sampling, cutting
and inspection Part 1: Sampling and cutting of
test pieces and expression of test results1).

3 Principle
The modulus of elasticity in bending and bending
strength are determined by applying a load to the
centre of a test piece supported at two points. The
modulus of elasticity is calculated by using the slope
of the linear region of the load-deflection curve; the
value calculated is the apparent modulus, not the
true modulus, because the test method includes
shear as well as bending. The bending strength of
each test piece is calculated by determining the ratio
of the bending moment M, at the maximum load
Fmax, to the moment of its full cross section.

4 Apparatus
4.1 Measuring instruments, as specified in EN 325.
4.2 Testing apparatus (Figure 1), having the
following essential components.
4.2.1 Two parallel, cylindrical, roller-bearing
supports of length exceeding the width of the test
piece and of (15 0,5) mm diameter.
The distance between the supports shall be
adjustable.
A cylindrical loading head, of the same length
and (30 0,5) mm in diameter, placed parallel to
the supports and equidistant from them.

1)

5.1 Sampling and cutting

Sampling and cutting of the test pieces shall be
carried out according to EN 326-1. Series of both
transverse and longitudinal test pieces are required.
5.2 Dimensions of test pieces
The test pieces shall be rectangular, and of the
following dimensions:
The width b shall be (50 1) mm.
In the case of extruded panels, cellular panels, or
panels of similar structure with cavities parallel to
the length of the test piece, the width of the test
piece shall be at least twice the width of an
individual core element (e.g. two tube diameters
plus two web thicknesses) and the test pieces shall
have a symmetrical cross-sectional area as shown in
Figure 2.
In test pieces with cavities perpendicular to the
length, the loading head shall be located directly
above a web.
The length l2 shall be 20 times the nominal
thickness plus 50 mm, with a maximum length
of 1 050 mm and a minimum length of 150 mm.
If the deflection of the test piece is large but rupture
(failure) does not occur, the distance between
supports shall be reduced for testing the bending
strength. The test report shall include the distance
between supports at which failing tests were
conducted. If this procedure needs to be adopted, a
new set of test pieces shall be used.
Plywood test pieces shall be free of visible
strength-reducing characteristics.
5.3 Conditioning
The test pieces shall be conditioned to constant
mass in an atmosphere with a relative humidity
of (65 5) % and a temperature of (20 2) C.
Constant mass is considered to be reached when the
results of two successive weighing operations,
carried out at an interval of 24 h, do not differ by
more than 0,1 % of the mass of the test piece.

At present at the draft stage.

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EN 310:1993

Figure 1 Arrangement of the bending apparatus

Figure 2 Cross section of tubular boards

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EN 310:1993

6 Procedure
6.1 Measure the width and thickness of each test
piece according to EN 325 at the following points:
the thickness at the intersection of the
diagonals;
the width at the mid-length.
6.2 Adjust the distance between the centres of the
supports, to within 1 mm of 20 times the nominal
thickness of the panel, but not less than 100 mm
and not more than 1 000 mm. Measure the distance
between the centres of the supports to the
nearest 0,5 mm.
6.3 Place the test piece flat on the supports, with its
longitudinal axis at right angles to those of the
supports with the centre point under the load
(Figure 1).
6.4 The load shall be applied at a constant rate of
cross-head movement throughout the test. The rate
of loading shall be adjusted so that the maximum
load is reached within (60 30) s.
Measure the deflection in the middle of the test
piece (below the loading head) to an accuracy
of 0,1 mm and plot these values against the
corresponding loads measured to an accuracy of 1 %
of the measured value. If deflection is determined by
incremental readings, at least 6 pairs of readings
shall be used.
6.5 Record the maximum load to an accuracy of 1 %
of the measured value.
6.6 Carry out tests on two groups of test pieces
according to the two directions of the board, i.e. in
the longitudinal and transverse directions. Within
each group, test half of the test pieces with the top
face upwards and half with the bottom face
upwards.

7 Expression of results
7.1 Modulus of elasticity
7.1.1 The modulus of elasticity Em (in N/mm2), of
each test piece, is calculated from the formula:
3

l1 ( F2 F1 )
E m = -----------------------------------------3
4 bt ( a 2 a 1 )

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where
l1 is the distance between the centres of the
supports, in millimetres
b is the width of the test piece, in millimetres
t is the thickness of the test piece, in
millimetres
F2 F1 is the increment of load on the straight
line portion of the load-deflection curve,
(Figure 3) in N. F1 shall be
approximately 10 % and F2 shall be
approximately 40 % of the maximum
load
a2 a1 is the increment of deflection at the
mid-length of the test piece
(corresponding to F2 F1)
The modulus of elasticity for each test piece shall be
expressed to three significant figures.
7.1.2 The modulus of elasticity for each group of test
pieces taken from the same board (6.6) is the
arithmetic mean of the moduli of elasticity of the
appropriate test pieces, expressed to three
significant figures.
7.2 Bending strength
7.2.1 The bending strength fm (in N/mm2), of each
test piece, is calculated from the formula:
3 F max l 1
f m = ------------------------2
2 bt
where
Fmax is the maximum load, in newtons
l1, b, and t are in millimetres as defined in 7.1.1
The bending strength of each test piece shall be
expressed to three significant figures.
7.2.2 The bending strength for each group of test
pieces taken from the same board (6.6) is the
arithmetic mean of the bending strengths of the
appropriate test pieces, expressed to three
significant figures.

8 Test report
As described in EN 326-1.

EN 310:1993

Figure 3 Load-deflection curve within the range of elastic deformation

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EN 310:1993

Annex A (informative)
Bibliography
EN 789, Timber structures Testing of wood-based panels for the determination of mechanical properties
for structural purposes2).
ISO 9429:1987, Wood-based panels Determination of apparent modulus of elasticity in bending and of
bending strength.

2)

At present at the draft stage.

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blank

BS EN 310:1993
National annex NA (informative)
Committees responsible
The United Kingdom participation in the preparation of this European Standard was entrusted by the
Technical Sector Board for Building and Civil Engineering (B/-) to Technical Committee B/541, upon which
the following bodies were represented:
American Plywood Association
Association of British Plywood and Veneer Manufacturers
British Woodworking Federation
Chartered Institute of Building
Coordinator for Timber and Timber Products
Council of the Forest Industries of British Columbia
Department of the Environment (Timber Division, Building Research Establishment)
Fibre Building Board Organisation (FIDOR)
Finnish Plywood International
Flat Roofing Contractors Advisory Board
Forestry Commission
Furniture Industry Research Association
Institution of Structural Engineers
National Federation of Roofing Contractors
National House-building Council
National Panel Products Association
Royal Institute of British Architects
Timber Research and Development Association
Timber Trade Federation
United Kingdom and Ireland Particleboard Association
Coopted member

National annex NB (informative)

Cross-reference
Publication referred to

Corresponding British Standard

EN 325:1993

BS EN 325:1993 Wood-based panels Determination of dimensions of test pieces

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BS EN
310:1993

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