Experimental study on the impact resistance of bamboo scrimber beams under impact loading

Abstract

Drop-weight impact tests were conducted on bamboo scrimber beams to assess their resistance to dynamic stress. The study focused on investigating the influence of impact orientation, velocity, and cross-section size on failure modes and mechanical behavior. A comparison of data between dynamic impact and static load conditions consistently showed failure via cracking at the bottom of the beam. The severity of damage increased with impact velocity. Beams with greater stiffness exhibited less deformation, increased peak force, and reduced deflection. The energy absorption increased nonlinearly with impact speed, eventually stabilizing at higher velocities. Additionally, it was observed that increased stiffness led to a slight reduction in energy dissipation. The study also demonstrated the presence of inertia effects in bamboo beams during impact and proposed a design approach for enhancing impact resilience. Furthermore, a predictive model was developed to estimate the maximum deflection under dynamic conditions.