Behavior of Bamboo Scrimber Beam-Column Joints with Bolted Steel Angles and T-Stubs

Abstract

Bamboo scrimber is a new composite material with good mechanical properties. It can be used in structural members such as beams and columns. Different joints have been developed to connect bamboo scrimber beams and columns. This study presents experimental tests of bamboo scrimber beam-column joints between I-beams and box columns by using bolted steel angles and T-stubs. Four joints were tested under monotonic loading to determine the moment resistance and rotational capacity. Test results showed that the joints exhibited semi-rigid characteristics when subjected to bending moment. For the joint with T-stubs, the load-bearing capacity was 38% greater than that of the joint with steel angles, and the initial stiffness of the former was 94% higher than that of the latter. However, the ultimate rotation of the joint with T-stubs was slightly lower than that with steel angels. Finally, Deierlein’s model was used to simulate the bending moment-rotation curves of the joints, and the simulation results were compared with the experimental results which showed good accuracy.