Axial compression of three types of bamboo scrimber columns with different cross-sections

Abstract

Bamboo scrimber is a versatile material made by rolling and defibering bamboo into loose reticulate bundles (unbroken horizontally, loose longitudinally, and interlaced) that are subjected to drying, gluing, assembling, and hot pressing. In this study, to better understand the application value of bamboo scrimber in construction engineering, the axial compression properties of bamboo scrimber columns with solid, hollow, and I-shaped cross-sections were investigated. For each column type, three lengths of 1 m, 1.5 m, and 2 m (three specimens of each length) were selected and subjected to axial compression testing. The results demonstrated that the primary failure mode of solid bamboo scrimber columns was instability failure, whereas that of hollow and I-shaped columns was mainly debonding failure. Experimental data were further analyzed to better understand and model the failure mechanisms of bamboo scrimber columns. This study led to the establishment of a design formula for bamboo scrimber solid columns, the calculations of which matched well with the experimental results.