Mechanical Properties of Bamboo Ply Panels when Exposed to Artificial and Outdoor Aging

In this study, bamboo ply panel (BPP) was exposed to 5 kinds of accelerate aging cycles in order to assess its durability under extreme conditions. Meanwhile, outdoor weathering, as a comparison, was carried out for 36 months with the objective of evaluating humidity resistance by means of testing modules of rupture (MOR) and modules of elasticity (MOE) value. Results show that for each kind of laboratory aging process, a comparison to wild field weathering was possible. Though very susceptible to hydrothermal alternation, BPP still kept good performance, the life span was about 15 months.