Mechanical properties of laminated bamboo designed for curvature

Laminated bamboo is growing in potential as a novel construction material due to the need to lower the carbon impact of the built environment. The material utilises raw bamboo in an engineered composite to create a standardised prismatic section. The present study investigated the mechanical properties, as well as the performance under sustained load, of laminated bamboo sections which had undergone a secondary glue laminating process to facilitate the forming of curved profiles. Small and structural scale testing methods were used to evaluate the properties under varying service conditions representative of both internal and external environments. The results indicated that the material properties of the test pieces were generally consistent with previous studies. The long-term behaviour in bending was generally found to be consistent with or better than expectation based on the Eurocode 5 duration of load and creep factors applicable to solid or glued laminated timber, however, appear to be conservative when applied to laminated bamboo. In contrast, the Eurocode 5 torsional shear deformation factors appear to be unconservative for laminated bamboo. Further study is required to determine long-term performance in both bending and shear, in particular with respect to varying service class.