Authors:Jagadish Vengala; Shruthi, R; Raghunath, S
Abstract: This paper presents an investigation on the strength and elastic properties of Bambusa bambos, which is commonly used in the construction of bamboo houses in southern part of India, in particular Karnataka. Studies were carried out to examine the compressive strength, flexure strength and shear strength of the small specimens. The load carrying capacity of full-scale bamboo elements is also evaluated through experiments on single and double bamboo columns. Modulus of elasticity was obtained by carrying out flexural, vibration tests of bamboo beams. The compressive strength of bamboo specimen is in the range of 31 MPa to 47 MPa. These are the values obtained from very short bamboo specimen (about 300 mm) long. These values agree with the codai provision. The modulus of elasticity of bamboo ranges from 20,000 MPa to 40,000 MPa. Modulus of elasticity in compression is lower than tension modulus, as expected. This was found from the flexural vibration test. These values were also in agreement with the codal provision. The shear strength ranges from 4 MPa to 11 MPa. The flexural strength is about 60 MPa with a strain capacity of 0.6 per cent. The average compressive strength of bamboo columns (single and double bamboo column) is as low as about 10 MPa. Full-scale bamboo columns fail due to crushing/splitting and local phenomenon rather than buckling.
Keywords:Bambusa bambos; Compressive; shear and flexure strength of bamboo; modulus of elasticity; bamboo columns