Behaviour of parallel bamboo strand lumber under compression loading – an experimental study

This paper investigates the compression behaviour of 18 Parallel Bamboo Strand Lumber specimens. 25 mm × 25 mm square specimens with varying heights and fibre orientations were tested. Test results indicated typical 5-stage failure path, and a 45º failure plane in all specimens when the compression load was applied parallel to the fibres. Specimen height did not affect the ultimate load carrying capacities but showed considerable influence on the initial stiffness as well as the post-ultimate loading regime. Experimental results showed that the deformation ratio and the energy absorption ratio for longer specimens were not affected by fibre orientations.