SENSITIVITY OF SEVERAL SELECTED MECHANICAL PROPERTIES OF MOSO BAMBOO TO MOISTURE CONTENT CHANGE UNDER THE FIBRE SATURATION POINT

The moisture dependence of different mechanical properties of bamboo has not been fully understood. In this work, the longitudinal tensile modulus, bending modulus, and compressive and shearing strength parallel to the grain were determined for bamboo of ages 0.5, 1.5, 2.5, and 4.5 years under different moisture contents (MC) to elucidate the sensitivity of different mechanical properties of bamboo to MC change. The results showed that the four mechanical properties of bamboo respond differently to MC changes. Compressive and shearing strength parallel to the grain were most sensitive to MC changes, followed by longitudinal tensile modulus, then bending modulus. This can be partially explained by the different responses of the three main components in the plant cell wall to MC change. For tensile modulus and bending modulus, the effect of bamboo age on the sensitivity to MC change was insignificant, while young bamboo (0.5 years old) was more sensitive to MC changes for shear strength and less sensitive for compression strength than older bamboo.