Buckling behavior of Dendrocalamus sericeus Munro bamboo bars: Experiments and application

Abstract

Bamboo is an alternative natural material that is widely used in engineering applications, especially in terms of sustainable construction. However, there are a few studies on the local bamboo's behavior, especially in northern Thailand. For an in-depth study on this local natural resource, this paper conducts experimental tests on the Dendrocalamus sericeus Munro bamboo (DSMB) bars to investigate the buckling behavior. The tests include the free-free resonance test (FFR), compression test, buckling load test, and microstructure experiments. A total of 108 long buckling specimens were provided, including variations in specimen length, moisture content, and cross-sectional size. There are two types of specimens, namely the dry and soak specimens, that were obtained from the Phayao province in Thailand and are 3–5 years old. From the experimental data, the statistical method is employed to investigate the distribution of these data and establish the modified Euler buckling stress for the prediction of the critical buckling stress of the DSMB bars. Finally, two numerical simulations were provided to validate the proposed model and present the DSMB bar application on the RC column. The analytical results show that the proposed equation yields acceptable results with the experiment at an R2 of 0.9402, while the numerical model shows that if the amount of DSMB bars is adequate, the DSMB bars can provide the equivalent load capacity as the steel bars.