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Bending characteristics of bamboo ( Phyllostachys pubescens ) with

respect to its fiber–foam composite structure

Article  in  Wood Science and Technology · June 2007

DOI: 10.1007/s00226-007-0127-8

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Wood Sci Technol (2007) 41:385–400
DOI 10.1007/s00226-007-0127-8

ORIGINAL

Bending characteristics of bamboo (Phyllostachys

pubescens) with respect to its fiber–foam composite
structure

Eiichi Obataya Æ Peter Kitin Æ Hidefumi Yamauchi

Received: 13 June 2006 / Published online: 21 February 2007

Springer-Verlag 2007

Abstract The bending properties of split bamboo culm were compared with
those of spruce and beech wood specimens. The bamboo allowed large flex-
ural deformation since its outer layer retains the tensile stress while the softer
inner layer undergoes large compressive deformation. The results suggested
that the combination of the fiber-rich outer part and the compressible inner
part was responsible for the flexural ductility of split bamboo. To clarify the
compressible nature of the inner part of bamboo, the longitudinal surfaces of
the bamboo and wood specimens were microscopically observed before and
after a large longitudinal compression. Although the wood specimens showed
serious and localized buckling, the inner part of the bamboo specimens
showed no such visible buckling. In the latter case, the foam-like parenchyma
cells absorbed the large compressive deformation by their microscopic
buckling and simultaneously, the alignment of sclerenchyma fibers was
maintained by the surrounding parenchyma matrix. The flexural elasticity of
the bamboo was compared to that of the wood in respect of remaining strain
during cyclic bending tests. No clear difference was recognized between their
remaining strains. This fact indicated that the bamboo was not so flexible
elastically, although its fiber–foam combination and intelligent fiber distri-
bution improve flexural ductility.

E. Obataya (&)
Graduate School of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Tsukuba,
Ibaraki 305-8572, Japan
e-mail: obataya@sakura.cc.tsukuba.ac.jp

P. Kitin Æ H. Yamauchi
Institute of Wood Technology, Akita Prefectural University,
Noshiro 016-0876 Akita, Japan

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386 Wood Sci Technol (2007) 41:385–400

Introduction

Bamboo is an important natural material in Japan. Although many kinds of

wooden products are not used anymore with the spread of cheaper artificial
materials, bamboo is still widely used for various daily necessaries such as
cooking items. Flexible bamboo strips are indispensable for the bent parts of
traditional handiwork even in the modern age of plastics. Furthermore, the
recent progress in bamboo research suggests its potential as a useful industrial
resource. Various plasticizing and tube-forming techniques enable the flat-
tening and nosing of bamboo culms (Mori 1984; Yonekura 1992; Kitazawa
et al. 2003). Long and strong bamboo fibers are expected to be an effective
reinforcement in high performance ‘‘green FRPs’’ (Shito et al. 2002; Okubo
et al. 2004; Tung et al. 2004; Takagi and Ichihara 2004) as well as the raw
material of various boards (Zhang 1997; Ma et al. 1999; Nugroho and Ando
2000; Matsumoto et al. 2001; Yaoa and Lib 2003). Owing to their excellent
dimensional stability and acoustic properties, bamboo can be used for the
soundboards of musical instruments instead of rare wood species (Kiyooka
2001).
The increasing demand for the utilization of bamboo in Japan has re-
sulted from the need for the management of bamboo forests (Inokuchi
2003). Previously, the bamboo groves surrounding villages were well
managed because they provided materials as well as food (its shoot).
However, a recent drop in the consumption of bamboo has resulted in an
increase in the number of unmanaged bamboo groves, which often causes a
problematic invasion of the surrounding woody forest. Thus, it is worth
exploring the further potential of bamboo not only for its utilization as a
sustainable resource other than wood but also for the appropriate man-
agement of natural forests.
Many studies have been performed on the anatomical structure (Para-
meswaran and Liese 1976, 1980; review in Liese 1998) and the mechanical
(Parameswaran and Liese 1976; Chuma et al. 1990; Abd Latif 1993; Zhang
1994; Zhang et al. 1995; review in Liese 1998) and viscoelastic (Inokuchi
et al. 1997, 1999, 2002) properties of bamboo. It should be noted that
bamboo is generally considered to be more flexible than wood, whereas
common bamboos are fairly stiff and rigid and are comparable to hard-
woods. Therefore, bamboo may be a ‘‘ductile’’ material in which the
stiffness is compatible with its flexibility. Such features of bamboo should
be studied in greater detail not only for its utilization but also for intelli-
gent material designing. However, so far, little attention has been paid to
the flexibility or ductility of bamboo, while its stiffness and strength have
been well investigated.
In this study, we observed that the flexural ductility of split bamboo culm is
related to its characteristic fiber–foam composite structure. In addition, the
results of cyclic bending tests suggest the similarity of bamboo and wood in
terms of their elasticity.

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Wood Sci Technol (2007) 41:385–400 387

Materials and methods

Bamboo and wood specimens

In general, bamboo culm is a thin-walled hollow cylinder separated with

nodes. We used three straight internodes, 250–300 mm in length and
150 mm in diameter, obtained from the mid-height of 3-year-old moso
bamboo (Phyllostachys pubescens). These ‘‘tubes’’ were divided into rods,
240 mm (L, longitudinal) · 8–9 mm (R, radial) · 8 mm (T, tangential), as
shown in Fig. 1a. These rods were then separated into several types of
strips. In the present study, the bamboo was arbitrarily separated along the
R direction into three parts, namely, the outer part (B1) that included the
cortex and the outer layers of the ground tissue, the middle part (B2) that
included the middle portion of the ground tissue, and the inner part (B3)
that included the inner layers of the ground tissue and the pith ring
(Fig. 1b). The B0 specimen included all these parts, and only the inner part
was removed in the B12 specimen. The density of the specimens varied
from 0.67 (B3) to 1.04 g/cm3 (B1) because of the different amounts of
bundle fibers included.
Meanwhile, 240 mm (L) · 8 mm (R) · 4 or 8 mm (T) wood specimens of
ezo spruce (Picea jezoensis) and Japanese beech (Fagus crenata) was used as
the representatives of wood. Their air-dry densities were 0.41 and 0.66 g/cm3,
respectively.
Prior to the following bending tests, all these specimens were made after
conditioning at 20C and 60% relative humidity over a period of 6 months.

Fig. 1 Geometry of the bamboo specimens

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388 Wood Sci Technol (2007) 41:385–400

Normal bending test

A four-point bending test was conducted for the bamboo and wood speci-
mens. Two strain gauges (Kyowa Dengyo, KFG-30-120-C1-11 L1M2R) were
attached to the midpoint of the upper and lower surfaces as shown in Fig. 2.
The crosshead speed was 10 mm/min, and the effective span was 170 mm. The
load was applied to the longitudinal–transverse (LT) surface of the bamboo
specimens, while the wood specimens were loaded at their longitudinal–radial
(LR) surface to minimize the influences of the heterogeneity due to latewood
and earlywood. In addition, the bamboo specimens were loaded by the fol-
lowing two methods: type I, wherein the denser outer part is strained and type
II, wherein the inner part is strained, as illustrated in Fig. 2. Five specimens
were used for each testing condition.

Longitudinal compression test

A longitudinal compression test was conducted for the bamboo and wood
specimens. The dimensions of the bamboo specimens were 15 mm (L) · 3–
8 mm (R) · 6–8 mm (T) and those of the wood specimens were 15 mm
(L) · 8 mm (R) · 8 mm (T). The specimens were compressed along their L
direction at a crosshead speed of 0.5 mm/min while measuring the compres-
sive stress and strain. To observe the deformation of the cells, some of the
specimens were studied before and after the large-scale compression as de-
scribed below.

Microscopy

The radial and tangential surfaces of the specimens were planed with a sliding
microtome prior to the compression. Then, the specimens were observed
before and after the longitudinal compression with a conventional light
microscope (Olympus CX41) and a confocal laser-scanning microscope (Bio-
rad MRC 1024 T using an upright Olympus BX60). The epi-illumination from
an optical fiber light source was used for the conventional light microscope,

Fig. 2 Specimen setting in

the four point bending test

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Wood Sci Technol (2007) 41:385–400 389

and images were captured with a digital CCD camera (Olympus DP70).
Autofluorescence or safranin staining was used for the confocal laser-scanning
microscope as described by Kitin et al. (2004). In the case of safranin staining,
a diluted solution (0.01% safranin in 30% ethanol) was gently applied with a
brush on the longitudinal surface of the specimens, and they were let to dry in
a conditioning room before the compression experiments.

Cyclic bending tests

The bamboo specimens (B0, B1, B2, and B3) and wood specimens were sub-
jected to the four-point test and a three-point cyclic bending test. The cross-
head speed was 10 mm/min, and the effective span was 170 mm. The
displacement of the crosshead was increased stepwise by 3 mm for the bam-
boo specimens and 1.5 mm for the wood specimens between the cycles. The
strain gauges were attached to the midpoint of the specimens to measure the
surface strain during bending.

Results and discussion

Structure of bamboo

As investigated elsewhere (Liese 1998), the bamboo culm wall mainly consists
of the cortex and the ground tissue of parenchyma cells in which vascular
bundles with dense sheaths or the caps of fibers are non-uniformly dispersed.
Figure 3 shows the cross section of a bamboo tested.

Fig. 3 Macroscopic structure of a cross section of moso bamboo. a General view of a 8 · 11

(R · T) mm section, b an enlarged view of the cortex and the outer zone of the ground tissue, and
c an enlarged view of the middle zone of the ground tissue. Arrows indicate metaxylem vessels and
arrowheads indicate fibers of a vascular bundle

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390 Wood Sci Technol (2007) 41:385–400

The vascular bundles normally contain two large metaxylem vessels (arrows
in Fig. 3c) and the sheaths of sclerenchyma fibers (arrowheads in Fig. 3c). The
vascular bundles are embedded in the ground parenchyma that appears bright
in contrast to the dark fibers. The sclerenchymatic tissue composed of long-
and thick-walled bamboo fibers is much denser, stiffer, and stronger than the
tissue of parenchyma cells, as shown in Table 1. In addition, the percentage of
the fibers is distinctly higher in the outer part of the culm than the inner one.
Consequently, the density, stiffness, and strength of bamboo strongly depend
on the volume fraction of the fibers, and these are obviously higher in the
outer part due to the sclerenchymatic hypodermis and the higher density of
the vascular bundles.

Flexural behaviors of split bamboo culm

From the results of the four-point bending test, the radius of curvature (r) was
calculated from the tensile (et > 0) and compressive (ec < 0) surface strain and
the height of the beams (h) according to the following equation:

r ¼ h=ðet
ec Þ: ð1Þ

For a small strain level, the bending moment (M) can be expressed as

M ¼ EI=r; ð2Þ

where E is the apparent bending Young’s modulus and I is the moment of

inertia of the area of the beam. Hereafter, I/r is described as the ‘‘relative
curvature.’’ The E value can be calculated from the linear part of the M-I/r
curves.
Figure 4 shows the M-I/r curves for the bamboo and wood specimens. The
E values of the bamboo varied from 15 to 16 GPa, irrespective of the bending
type, while the maximum relative curvature in the type I bending was twice
that in the type II bending. Thus, the bending type affects the flexural ductility
of bamboo rather than its stiffness.
Figure 5 shows the M-I/r curves for the local parts of the bamboo (B12 and
B3). Again, the maximum relative curvature in the type I bending was greater
than that in the type II bending, but this difference was smaller than that
observed in the whole bamboo specimen (B0, Fig. 4).
In Fig. 6, the maximum relative curvature is plotted against the bending
Young’s modulus (E). The maximum relative curvature in the type I bending
was always greater than that in the type II bending. Interestingly, the local

Table 1 Features of fiber (f) and parenchyma (p) for moso bamboo (Chuma et al. 1990)

Density (g/cm3) Young’s modulus (GPa) Tensile strength (MPa)

f 1.57 48 498
p 0.45 0.26 73

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Wood Sci Technol (2007) 41:385–400 391

Fig. 4 Relationships between

the bending moment (M) and
relative curvature (I/r) of the
bamboo (B0) and wood
specimens in the four point
bending test. The values in
parentheses indicate the
apparent bending Young’s
modulus (E), and I and II
indicate the bending type
shown in Fig. 2

Fig. 5 The M-I/r curves for

the outer-middle (B12) and
the inner part (B3) of the
bamboo

components of the bamboo were not so ductile in terms of their (I/r)max

values: the (I/r)max values of the B12 specimens were comparable to those of
beech wood, and those of the B3 specimens were smaller than those of spruce

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392 Wood Sci Technol (2007) 41:385–400

Fig. 6 Maximum relative

curvature (I/r)max plotted
against the bending Young’s
modulus (E) of the bamboo
and wood specimens. For the
abbreviations, see Figs. 1
and 2

wood irrespective of the bending type. On the other hand, the (I/r)max value
of the whole bamboo specimen (B0) was notably large in the type I bending
(B0-I), whereas that in the type II bending (B0-II) was comparable to that of
beech wood. These results suggest that the flexural ductility of bamboo is
excellent when the hardest outer part is strained while the softest inner part is
compressed.
Figure 7 shows the typical failure of the whole bamboo specimen (B0). In
the type I bending, the bundles of fibers were gradually pulled out from the
specimen while each fiber seemed to remain straight. Such a failure was
similar to that of uniaxially fiber reinforced composites. In such a case, the
strength of bamboo depends on the cohesive strength between the scleren-
chyma fibers in the outer layer rather than the tensile strength of the fibers
themselves.
On the other hand, the breaking in the type II bending always started from
the crack at the lower surface just below the loading point, where both the
bending moment and the shear stress were maximized. This implies that both

Fig. 7 Typical failure in the

bending of the bamboo
specimen (B0)

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Wood Sci Technol (2007) 41:385–400 393

the tensile and shear stresses caused the failure of the fragile inner part in the
type II bending.
Figure 8 shows the changes in the tensile and compressive surface strains of
the bamboo and wood specimens during bending. The maximum tensile strain
of bamboo (1.5–1.9%) was clearly greater than that of spruce (1.0%) but not
so different from that of beech (1.7%). The inner part of bamboo in particular
seemed fragile against the tensile force, probably because of its parenchyma-
rich structure in contrast with the fiber-rich outer and middle parts.
In the type II bending, the tensile strain was almost the same or slightly
greater than the compressive strain. On the contrary, in the type I bending, the
compressive strain was much greater than the tensile strain because the softer
inner part was easily compressed while the tensile deformation of the stiffer
outer part was limited. In this case, the outer layer can be regarded as a
natural ‘‘Thonet’s binder’’ preventing the tensile breaking of the fragile inner
part to improve the flexural ductility of the beam.
From these results, the excellent flexural ductility of bamboo (in the type I
bending) is explained by the combination of the hard outer part retaining the
tensile stress and the compressible inner part responsible for the large flexural
deformation.

Longitudinal compression of bamboo

As suggested above, the compressible inner part plays an important role in the
flexural ductility of bamboo. The compressible nature of the inner part is
attributable to that of the parenchyma cells because the inner part of bamboo
consists of a large proportion of parenchyma cells. However, so far, as regards
the industrial use of bamboo, little attention has been paid to the mechanical
roles of parenchyma cells because the stiffer and longer sclerenchyma fibers
are more noticeable than the fragile parenchyma part. In this section, we
discuss the compressible nature of the inner part of bamboo with respect to
the characteristic form of parenchyma cells.

Fig. 8 Changes in the tensile

(et) and compressive (ec)
surface strains of the bamboo
and wood specimens. For the
abbreviations, see Figs. 1
and 2

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394 Wood Sci Technol (2007) 41:385–400

Figure 9 shows the stress-strain curves of the bamboo specimens. The fiber-
rich outer part of the culm (B1) recorded a large maximum stress (154 MPa) at
2% strain, above which, the stress dropped with the buckling of the fibers. The
outer-middle part (B12) also exhibited a clear yielding point, and the buckling
of the fibers resulted in a marked stress reduction above 8% strain. On the
other hand, the inner part (B3) of the bamboo culm wall showed no clear
yielding point, and the stress remained almost unchanged above 3 up to 10%
strain. Such a trend was similar to that in the whole bamboo specimen (B0). It
should be noted that the B3 specimen showed a little change in its appearance
at 5% strain, whereas such a large compression induced visible buckling in the
wood specimens. This fact suggests that the buckling of bamboo and wood
occurs in different manners.
Figure 10 shows the changes in the cellular structure of the inner part of the
bamboo culm wall with large longitudinal compression. The structure of the
inner part can be regarded as a fiber–foam composite: the sclerenchyma
sheaths (fibers) of vascular bundles are embedded in porous and short
parenchyma cells (foam). Even after a large (9%) longitudinal compression,
the fibers were buckled only slightly while a local and microscopic buckling
was observed in the parenchyma cell walls. Such structural changes were
clearly different from the visible and localized buckling of wood under large
longitudinal compression.
Parenchyma cells do not play an important role in the stiffness of bamboo
because their density and stiffness are much lower than those of the fibers
even though they are highly lignified. However, the parenchyma can absorb
large compressive deformation owing to its highly compressible foam-like
structure. In addition, a large transverse swelling of the foam-like matrix
under longitudinal compression may be effective to maintain the alignment of
the fibers and to prevent their large-scale buckling. These are possible inter-
pretations for the characteristic compressible nature of the inner part of
bamboo culm.

Fig. 9 Stress-strain curves of

the bamboo specimens in
longitudinal compression. For
the abbreviations, see Figs. 1
and 2

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Wood Sci Technol (2007) 41:385–400 395

Fig. 10 Changes in the cellular structure of the inner part of a bamboo culm by longitudinal
compression. The inclined and vertical arrows indicate the identical parenchyma cells. Note the
slight buckling of the sclerenchyma sheath fibers (f) in (c). The identical areas of the specimen
were observed by confocal laser scanning microscopy

Previous research indicates that the parenchyma cells of bamboo culm have
a unique structure and function that are very distinct from those of the sec-
ondary xylem parenchyma of softwoods and hardwoods (Liese 1998). The
parenchyma cells in the ground tissue of bamboo culm are of two types:
vertically elongated cells and short cells interspersed among the former. While
the structural pattern of the parenchymatous tissue in bamboo is variable and
still needs clarification (Imai et al. 1995), it is clear that the elongated and the
short cells of the ground parenchyma have a very different structure and
possibly function as well (Liese 1998). The elongated cells (length of 20–80 lm
and width of 25–40 lm) are characterized by thick polylamelate walls that
become lignified in the early stages of internodal development. During the
maturation of a culm, the number of wall lamellae as well as the degree of
variation in the fibrillar orientation across the width of the parenchyma cell
wall increases (Liese and Weiner 1996; Murphy and Alvin 1997; Murphy et al.
1997). The elongated cells of the ground parenchyma often contain starch
grains. The short cells, together with the ultrastructural characteristics of their
walls, suggest that the elongated cells are involved in both the storing and
supportive functions. In contrast, the short cells are characterized by a denser
cytoplasm and thin-walls without lignification even in older culms. Further,
the short cells do not contain starch and their function has not been clarified to
date (Liese 1998).
As shown in Fig. 10, no significant difference was detected in the com-
pression behaviors of the different types of cells. Thus, the parenchyma cells
should be regarded as foam as a whole for interpreting the compressible and
ductile nature of the inner part of bamboo culm.

Is bamboo really flexible?

In general, the term ‘‘flexibility’’ is understood as the capacity for large flex-
ural deformation without breaking. In this sense, bamboo is certainly more
flexible than wood because it allows a larger maximum curvature in the type I

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396 Wood Sci Technol (2007) 41:385–400

bending (Fig. 4). However, the strict meaning of flexibility also includes
elasticity. If bamboo is an ‘‘elastically flexible’’ medium, its flexural defor-
mation should be well recovered after the removal of the load.
Figure 11 shows the load-strain relationship in the cyclic bending test. Once
a specimen experiences large bending, a part of the strain remains even after
the removal of the load. This remaining strain (er) mainly reflects the irre-
versible plastic deformation of the material, and it obviously depends on the
initial strain (ei). Needless to say, er should be zero in an elastic media.
Figure 12 shows the relationships between the load and the compressive
surface strain of the bamboo. Although the breaking strain was slightly en-
larged by cyclic bending, the overall behavior was not influenced by the
loading method. Figure 13 shows the plots of the remaining strain (er) versus
initial strain (ei) in the four-point bending test. No clear difference was rec-
ognized between the remaining tensile strains of bamboo and the wood. With

Fig. 11 Remaining strain

(er) induced by the initial
strain (ei)

Fig. 12 Load-strain curves of

the bamboo specimens (B0)
by normal bending (thick
curve) and cyclic bending
(thin lines)

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Wood Sci Technol (2007) 41:385–400 397

Fig. 13 Remaining strain (er)

as a function of the initial
strain (ei) in the four point
cyclic bending test

regard to compressive strain, er of bamboo was slightly smaller than that of

wood, but the difference was not significant. A similar result was obtained by
the three-point cyclic bending test as shown in Fig. 14. These results suggest
that the elasticity of bamboo is not significantly different from that of wood
with regard to er.
Since the fiber walls in bamboo have a multilayered structure (Para-
meswaran and Liese 1976), we had expected that the fiber-rich outer part
would be more elastically flexible than the other parts and wood. However, no
clear difference was recognized between the er values of the tested specimens
(Figs. 13, 14). This fact indicated that bamboo is not so elastic, while its fiber–
foam combination and intelligent fiber distribution give excellent ductility.

Flexural ductility of split bamboo culm owing to its characteristic structure

Based on the results mentioned above, the mechanisms of the ductility of split
bamboo culm are schematically illustrated in Fig. 15. A bamboo beam allows
greater curvature without breaking since the stiffer fiber-rich outer part

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398 Wood Sci Technol (2007) 41:385–400

Fig. 14 Plots of er versus ei in

the three point cyclic bending
test

Fig. 15 Flexural ductility of

split bamboo culm owing to its
non-uniform fiber distribution
(a) and the compressible
fiber–foam structure of the
inner part

retains the tensile stress while the softer inner part undergoes a large com-
pressive deformation (Fig. 15a). The compressible nature of the inner part is
explained by its fiber–foam composite structure, in which the compressible
parenchyma cells (foam) absorb the deformation and prevent the large-scale
buckling of fibers.

Conclusion

A bamboo beam was flexible when its stiff outer layer was strained while the
softer inner layer was compressed. However, the flexibility of the local parts of
the bamboo was not very different from that of wood with respect to their
maximum curvature. Thus, the excellent flexural ductility of split bamboo
culm should be attributed to the combination of the fiber-rich outer part and
the compressible inner part.

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Wood Sci Technol (2007) 41:385–400 399

Above 5% longitudinal compression, the inner part of the bamboo showed

no visible buckling whereas the wood specimens exhibited visible and local-
ized buckling. A microscopic observation revealed that the microscopic
buckling of foam-like parenchyma cells allowed a large compressive defor-
mation without the large-scale buckling of sclerenchyma fibers.
The flexural elasticity of the bamboo specimens was compared to that of
the wood specimens with regard to the remaining strain after the removal of
load. No clear difference was recognized between the remaining strains of the
bamboo and wood. This indicated that the bamboo was not so flexible elas-
tically but had excellent ductility.

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