Tensile strength of various bamboo species tested with different shape of test specimens

Abstract

Bamboo has a different tensile strength at the bottom, middle and top, both at the node and internode part of the bamboo. Tensile strength obtained by tension test with several standard testing methods that use different specimen shapes in the testing process. This study compared standard test methods that use dog bone-shaped specimens and strip-shaped specimens to see the correction of the tensile strength of bamboo from the same culm but tested differently. The test specimens are carried out from the area of Asahan Regency (including Tanjung Balai City), Batubara Regency, and Simalungun Regency, which are located in the eastern region of Sumatera Utara. The tension tests are carried out from the bottom, middle, and top section of the bamboo culm, and tested using a Universal Testing Machine. The average water content from bamboo species tested in this study is 14%. The strength ratio of the bottom, middle, and top section (B:M:T ratio) of dog bone-shaped specimens is 1.57: 1.24: 1, while B:M:T ratio of the strip-shaped specimen is 1.15: 1.05: 1. The tensile strength difference of dog bone-specimens from node and internode section is 31.89%, while the difference from the strip-shaped specimen is 13.81%. These results indicate that the bottom part of the bamboo culm has greater tensile strength, regardless of the shape of the specimens, followed by the middle part, and the top part respectively.