Analysis of the hollow structure with functionally gradient materials of moso bamboo

Abstract

Bamboo is a fiber-reinforced bio-composite with superior structural behavior. The hollow structure as well as the gradient distribution of bamboo fiber is the embodiment of the superior bamboo construction. To validate this, tensile tests were performed on bamboo test specimens. The volume fractions of bamboo fiber and parenchymatous ground tissue along the radius of the culm wall were scanned and calculated. The elastic moduli of bamboo fiber and parenchymatous ground tissue were estimated, according to the linear equations obtained by regression analysis. With the equivalent volume, a numerical hollow model and solid model were built to make comparative analysis on their mechanical behavior. For the purpose of verifying the advantage of fiber gradient distribution, models, which were composed of fiber and parenchymatous ground tissue with different fiber distributions, were built for comparative analysis. Results show that under the condition of using the same material, the hollow structure as well as fiber gradient distribution of bamboo possess excellent mechanical performance of bamboo structure.