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In many Latin American countries, people have traditionally built and still build their houses with 'bamboo bahareque' walls (these walls have a timber frame with split bamboo in the middle, covered with cement plaster on both sides). However, this constructive technique has not been technically studied, which is necessary to validate or, if necessary, improve it as a previous step to a much needed dissemination effort. The objective of the research reported in this paper is (a) to experimentally evaluate the strength and deformation capacities of prefabricated 'bamboo bahareque' shear walls developed in Costa Rica by the Bamboo Foundation (FUNBAMBU), under horizontal cyclic loads simulating earthquake effects, and (b) to propose testing procedures and provide reliable design recommendations for 'bamboo bahareque' house design and construction. For this purpose, 7 full-scale 'bamboo bahareque' walls were built and tested at the Materials and Structural Models National Laboratory (LANAMME), School of Civil Engineering, University of Costa Rica. The dimensions of the walls are 2.4 m in height and 2.7 m in length with a thickness varying from 40 to 60 mm. The results showed that the tested 'bamboo bahareque' walls have enough capacity to withstand earthquake induced loads of considerable magnitude. They also presented some ductile behaviour under cyclic loading.

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The physical and mechanical properties (density, modulus of elasticity, and modulus of rupture) of standard and humidity-resistant types of particleboard and fiberboard were determined by standardized test and wave propagation velocity, obtained from the natural frequency in a nondestructive longitudinal vibration test. Four batches of 66 specimens for each type of panel (particleboard and fiberboard) and for each kind of panel (standard and humidity resistant) were tested under initial conditions and after each one of the three aging cycles defined in European Standard EN 321:2001. Each aging cycle consisted of immersion in water, freezing, and high-temperature drying. The decreasing ratio of wave velocity was used to predict the decreasing ratio of properties. There was a strong relationship between both variables, and an exponential regression model is proposed to predict physical and mechanical properties, with a determination coefficient (R2) from 0.93 to 0.98.