Probabilistic Analysis of Mechanical Properties and Dimensional Stability of Bamboo Scrimber

Bamboo scrimber (BS) has been emerging as a promising construction material prepared from natural bamboo due to its high mechanical strength. However, the variability of the properties of bamboo scrimber is large, which limits the reliability assessment of bamboo scrimber in engineering applications. In this study, the variability of mechanical properties and dimensional stability of bamboo scrimber prepared by units pretreated at different temperatures (denoted as BS-150 and BS-200 for 150 °C and 200 °C, respectively) were compared and probabilistically analyzed using normal, lognormal, and Weibull distribution models. The results showed that BS-200 had a significantly lower thickness swelling rate (TSR), modulus of rupture (MOR) and shear strength (SS), with the modulus of elasticity (MOE) remaining essentially unchanged compared to BS-150. Probabilistic analysis revealed that the MOR, MOE, and TSR of BS-150 followed a lognormally distribution, and the shear strength was normally distributed. In contrast, the MOR, MOE, SS, and TSR of BS-200 all exhibited lognormal distributions. Meanwhile, the variability in TSR and SS for BS-200 was significantly reduced. The results provide a data base for the engineering application of bamboo scrimber and a new research idea for the evaluation of properties of forest biomass-based materials based on probabilistic analysis.