Experimental study of bamboo scrimber-filled steel tube columns under axial compression

Abstract

A new bamboo scrimber-filled steel tube (BSFST) structure consisting of a steel tube with bamboo scrimber is presented. The proposed structure can be used as an alternative to nonrenewable construction materials. To investigate the axial behavior of the structure, thirty bamboo scrimber and thirty BSFST columns were tested under axial compression. Specimen size and steel tube thickness were used as the test parameters. The results showed that for the unconfined bamboo scrimber, the failure mode changed from shear failure to split failure, and the ultimate stress decreased gradually with increasing specimen size. Based on the test results, the ultimate stress relationship between different sizes of bamboo scrimber was clarified, and a formula for the size effect was proposed. For the BSFSTs, the main damage mode was shear damage. With increasing steel tube thickness, the mechanical properties of the specimens increased greatly. Formulas for the calculation of the ultimate stress and ultimate strain of BSFST were proposed. According to the stress–strain curves of the BSFSTs, the characteristic points were defined, a formula for the calculation of characteristic points was suggested, and models of complete stress–strain curves BSFSTs were proposed. The proposed models accurately predicted complete stress–strain curves of the specimens used.