Plywood is highly esteemed as a construction material. Yet, the influence of moisture on both strength and durability are important factors. Especially the dynamics of moisture desorption and absorption should be taken into account when assessing the quality of a panel, which is a fact for all panel materials. This paper therefore focuses on the monitoring of the moisture dynamics of plywood subjected to outdoor weathering and the evaluation of its internal structure using X-ray tomography. Visual inspection of the internal structure of panels sheds a light on some of the moisture dynamics phenomena, such as the fact that high absorbing panels seem to have failure of glue lines. The qualitative X-ray approach in this paper pinpoints at the value of such a ‘non-destructive’ inspection and in combination with quantification of glue line thickness, glue penetration and the monitoring of crack development linked to moisture dynamics, this can become a fundamental method for product optimization.

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