Bending strength tests of a wooden wall panel used in the wireless hut built in 1957 at Syowa Station, Antarctica

Abstract

Durability tests of the old wireless hut were performed in 1997. The prefabricated wooden hut had been built at Syowa Station in 40 years ago. It was dismantled and brought back to Japan for many kinds of durability test. The results of the durability test on the mechanical behavior of wooden wall panels used in the old wireless hut are as follows: (1) Required performance in the mechanical property of the wall panel at the original design is retained sufficiently at present. (2) Among the structural properties of the wooden panel, bending stiffness and bending strength were weakened gradually by decay of plywood exposed to the outside. The inner component parts of the wall panel preserved by the surface plywood boards have retained their initial high performance until now. The wooden panel surface coating technique will be very important to prevent weakening of structural performance.