ABSTRACT
Coir fibre reinforced cement board, a new material which could be used as an alternative to wood and wood based products, was subjected to accelerated durability tests along with resin bonded particleboards and plywood (commercial products) to study the durability of the newly developed material as well as to generate comparative durability data. The physico-mechanical properties like thickness swelling, water absorption, bending strength and internal bond strength of the exposed samples were determined before exposure and at varying intervals upto the completion of weathering cycles. The results obtained show that the thickness and internal bond strength of coir fibre cement boards remain unchanged and there is slight change in water absorption and bending strength while the resin bonded particleboards showed appreciable increase in thickness and water absorption and decrease in bending strength and internal bond strength under similar exposure conditions. In boiling water test, plywood samples showed delamination and disintegration and there is no such effect on coir fibre cement boards. Therefore, it can be inferred on the basis of above studies that the developed boards will be more durable in service.
