Bending and compression strengths of preservatives treated bamboo Gigantochloa scortechinii gamble

The strength properties, particularly the bending and the compression, of preservative treated 2- and 4-year-old Gigantochloa scortechinii Gamble were evaluated. The preservatives used in the study were the ammoniacal-copper-quarterary (ACQ), copper-chrome-arsenic (CCA) and borax-boric acid (BBA). These preservatives were applied to the bamboo at solution strengths of 2 and 4 % through vacuum impregnation process. The initial vacuum at 600 mm were applied for 30 minutes, followed pressure at 12 kg/cm2 for 2 hours and final vacuum at 600 mm Hg for another 30 minutes to remove excess preservatives from the treated bamboo. After conditioned to 12 % moisture content, the samples were tested for evaluation of their strength. The results indicated that there were an overall reduction in strengths of the bamboo. The strength reduction ranged from 5.0 to 10.7 % for ACQ, 4.4 to 10.3 % for BBA and 4.3 to 9.7 % for CCA treated bamboo. Reductions in the strengths were found to be dependent on the type of preservative applied, solution strengths used and their retention in the treated bamboo