Investigation of the Physical and Mechanical Properties and Chemical Composition of Bambusa rigida Before and After Accelerated Aging Xing-Yan Huang,# Jiu-Long Xie,# Jin-Qiu Qi,* Jian-Feng Hao,* Xiao-Qin Jiang , and Wan-He Hu The differences in the physical and mechanical properties and chemical composition of Bambusa rigida bamboo before and after accelerated aging tests were comparatively investigated. The results revealed that the aged specimens had lower physical and mechanical properties than the controls. The differences in chemical composition provided evidence that the reduction in physical and mechanical properties was related to the loss of low-molecular weight substances, such as extractives and inorganic matter, and the depolymerization of the carbohydrates cellulose and hemicellulose. Lignin caused the main resistance to the accelerated aging test because the aged specimens had relatively high Klason lignin content. Significant differences (p
