Assessment of the Compression Properties of Different Giant Bamboo Species for Sustainable Construction

Ben Drury, Cameron Padfield, Mirko Russo, Lowri Swygart, Oliver Spalton, Sam Froggatt and Amir Mofidi ()
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Ben Drury: School of Engineering, Newcastle University, Newcastle upon Tyne NE1 7RU, UK
Cameron Padfield: School of Engineering, Newcastle University, Newcastle upon Tyne NE1 7RU, UK
Mirko Russo: School of Engineering, Newcastle University, Newcastle upon Tyne NE1 7RU, UK
Lowri Swygart: School of Engineering, Newcastle University, Newcastle upon Tyne NE1 7RU, UK
Oliver Spalton: School of Engineering, Newcastle University, Newcastle upon Tyne NE1 7RU, UK
Sam Froggatt: School of Engineering, Newcastle University, Newcastle upon Tyne NE1 7RU, UK
Amir Mofidi: Yousef Haj-Ahmad Department of Engineering, Brock University, St. Catharines, ON L2S 3A1, Canada

Sustainability, 2023, vol. 15, issue 8, 1-17

Abstract: In this study, compression mechanical properties of five giant bamboo species from different continents were investigated based on the ISO 22157:2019 standard. The selected species have been used for rural construction for centuries. The chosen bamboo species for this study, which are considered strong candidates to be used in modern construction as well, are as follows: Phyllostachys edulis (Moso), Guadua angustifolia (Guadua), Gigantochloa apus (Tali), Gigantochloa atroviolacea (Black Java), and Phyllostachys bambusoides (Madake). The excellent properties of bamboo species in tension are well established. Hence, this article principally focuses on the behaviour of selected giant species in compression to be used as structural members. In this study, the mentioned bamboo species were gathered from different continents of origin to be critically assessed, analysed, and compared with one another to better understand their compression behaviour as structural columns. The compression properties of these bamboo species have not been evaluated and compared with one another in an academic study so far. The results show that all tested species were able to provide mean compressive strengths greater than 50 MPa, which makes them highly promising construction material candidates for modern construction. The Guadua test series was able to provide outstanding consistency in the presented compression behaviour and strengths among all the tested species. The specimens with the maximum sustained load belonged to the Tali species. The greatest average failure load belonged to the Moso species. The greatest mean compressive strength measured was 88.9 MPa, reported for Madake species with smaller diameters compared to the other test series. Among the specimens with larger diameters, the greatest mean ultimate strengths were for Moso, Guadua, and Tali species with 69.9 MPa, 60.7 MPa, and 59.1 MPa compressive strengths, respectively.

Keywords: sustainable construction; bamboo construction; giant bamboo; Moso; Guadua; Tali; Black Java; Madake; Standard compression testing (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023
References: View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (3)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:15:y:2023:i:8:p:6472-:d:1120674

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