Effect of bamboo pith ring on the stability of the gluing interface

Abstract

As a natural bamboo structure, bamboo pith ring (BPR) is commonly discarded from bamboo composites because it influences the gluing process and might cause complex handling. This study founds that the cells in BPR and bamboo middle (BM) are vertically staggered, forming vertical interlacing layers at the bonding interface in Arc-shaped Bamboo Natural Laminated Lumber (ABNLL). The role of BPR in the bonding interface was analyzed from macroscopic to cell wall scale. The retention of BPR can reduce the longitudinal, radial, and tangential deformation of bamboo blocks and composites during shrinkage and swelling. This phenomenon may be since the deformation direction of the cells in BPR and BM is vertical in the process of water absorption and dehydration, and the existence of BPR inhibits the deformation of BM. The deformation of cells in different directions in BPR and BM results from microfibrils' arrangement and chemical properties. The arrangement direction of microfibrils in BPR and BM is perpendicular to each other, leading to the vertical deformation of cell deformation in water absorption and water loss. BPR has low crystallinity (24.01%), a large microfibril angle (16.22°), high hemicellulose content, and is more sensitive to water, so BPR has a faster deformation rate and larger deformation range than BM. BPR has little effect on the mechanical properties of bamboo composites. In addition, retaining BPR increased the mass and thickness of bamboo by 7.43% and 9.40%, respectively.