Key Engineering Materials Vol.

668 (2016) pp 126-133 Submitted: 2015-04-23

© (2016) Trans Tech Publications, Switzerland Accepted: 2015-06-09
doi:10.4028/www.scientific.net/KEM.668.126

The Elastic Modulus and Poisson’s Ratio of Laminated Bamboo Guadua

angustifolia

Caori P. Takeuchi1,a∗ , Martin Estrada2,b and Dorian L. Linero1,c

1
Universidad Nacional de Colombia, Department of civil Engineering, Colombia
2
Universidad Nacional de Colombia, Department of Mechanical Engineering, Colombia

a∗
cptakeuchit@unal.edu.co, b mestradam@unal.edu.co, c dllineros@unal.edu.co

Keywords: Guadua angustifolia, laminated bamboo, elastic properties.

Abstract. Laminated bamboo is a natural composite material with cellulose fibers, parenchyma cells,
and vascular bundles. The mechanical characterization of this material includes not only the determi-
nation of its strength, but also of its elastic constants. Given the anisotropic nature of the laminated
material, compression tests were performed on three groups of specimens. The elastic modulus in
the load direction and the Poisson’s ratio were determined, and the results showed that the material’s
physical anisotropy causes an anisotropic mechanical behavior. The average values obtained for the
elastic modulus ranged from 30044 MPa for group 1 to 265 MPa for group 2. The results of the test to
determine the Poisson’s ratio in compression perpendicular to the fibers, ranged from 0.013 to 0.278
whereas those obtained in compression parallel to the fibers, ranged from 0.621 to 1.506.

Introduction

Bamboo Guadua angustifolia is a natural composite formed mainly by cellulose fibers, parenchyma
cells, and vascular bundles. The shape of the vascular bundles, and the size, direction, and quantity of
the fibers are different in each part of the culm; therefore, the mechanical responses of both the culm
wall and the diaphragm are also different. The fibers in the culm wall are cellulose cells oriented paral-
lel to the longitudinal axis of the stem. Those fibers are located separately around the inner surface, and
more densely around the outer cortex of the culm wall. Raw bamboo Guadua angustifolia is therefore
characterized as radially functionally graded [1] and tangentially uniform [2]. Consequently, the slats
made of bamboo G. angustifolia have long unidirectional fibers with a relatively uniform distribution
width and variable distribution through the thickness.
The composite material Laminated Bamboo G. angustifolia (LBG) is manufactured by joining
several slats, and has equally long fibers oriented in one direction. The strength, elastic modulus in the
three principal directions, and the Poisson’s ratios of the composite material LBG depend on the fibers’
orientation and distribution. The determination of these values is crucial for correctly understanding
LBG’s mechanical behavior.
The compressive strength of laminated bamboo has been determined in several studies with speci-
mens made with Phyllostachys pubescens [3, 4] and Dendrocalamus latiflorus [3], and G. angustifolia
[5, 6], among others. Some of these studies have also reported elastic modulus in the direction of the
fibers. However, there is little information on elastic moduli perpendicular to the fiber and Poisson’s
ratios.
Aiming to contribute to the better understanding of the mechanical behavior of the LBG, this
paper presents experimental results of elasticity modulus and Poisson’s ratio in compression parallel
and perpendicular to the fibers.
 Key Engineering Materials Vol. 668 127

Manufacture of bamboo slats and LBG composite material

The samples were taken from LBG blocks. The manufacture process of the blocks had two press steps.
First, slats were pressed to obtain boards, which were then pressed to obtain blocks (Fig. 1).

Lateral press Vertical press

Application process process
of adhesive Adhesive

Slat Stage 1
Manufacture Stage 1I
of boards Board Manufacture BGLPP
of blocks Block

Fig. 1: Manufacture of LBG composite material.

Three different types of test specimens from LBG blocks were tested in compression. Specimen’s
types C11 and C22 measured 5 cm x 5 cm x 10 cm; type C33 measured 3 cm x 3 cm x 6 cm (Fig. 2).

Fig. 2: Specimens dimensions: (a) C11, (b) C22, and (c) C33.

Test description

Thirty compression specimens were made, ten for each sample type. Nine of the thirty tests were
instrumented. The specimens were placed directly onto the load plates, with no further accessory. The
tests used controlled displacement at a speed of 0.01 mm/s (0.6 mm/min). The instrumentation of
the tests was made with equipment designed to measure strains and deformations. A three-directional
strain gauge was located on the front face of the specimen to measure vertical and horizontal strains
during the test. In addition, one unidirectional strain gauge was placed on one of the side faces of the
specimen for measuring the horizontal deformation in the missing plane. Fig. 2 shows the geometry
and the localization of the strain gauges of specimens C11, C22, and C33.
128 Non-Conventional Materials and Technologies for Sustainable Development

Failure

The failure mode of the C11 tests was carried out through crushing (see Fig. 3-a). As the test reached
the maximum load, fiber bundles started to separate and buckle. Nonetheless, the specimens supported
the continuous load as the crushing process progresses.
When the maximum load was reached, the C22 tests failed due to the presence of diagonal shear
cracks, as seen in Fig. 3-b. The tests C33 presented lateral buckling before reaching the maximum
load. The failure was evidenced by vertical cracks near the junction between the panels (Fig.3-c).

Fig. 3: Failure of specimens: (a) C11, (b) C22 and (b) C33.

Calculations and results

To determine the stress-strain curves, the compressive stress σc at each step of load was calculated as

P
σc = , (1)
A
where P is the applied load and A is the cross section area of the specimen. The compression strength
Fc , for specimens C11 and C22, was calculated with Eq. 2, where Pmax is the maximum load applied
to the specimen.

Pmax
Fc = . (2)
A
The maximum stress σmax reached by C33 specimens that presented lateral buckling, was calcu-
lated as

Pmax
σmax = . (3)
A
Tab. 1 presents the experimental results for compression strength of tests C11, and C22; and the
maximum stress of tests C33. The mean values and standard deviation are included for accuracy.
The elastic modulus parallel to the fiber in the instrumented C11 tests was determined using the
slope of the linear regression of stress-strain points between 20% and 75% of the maximum stress. Fig.
4 shows the stress-strain curves of mentioned specimens, where the y axis corresponds to the normal
stress and the x axis represents the longitudinal strain. The elastic modulus perpendicular to the fibers
of tests 2C22, 4C22, and 9C22 was calculated with the slope of the linear regression of stress-strain
points between 5% and 30% of the maximum stress (Fig. 5). We used the points between 5% and
 Key Engineering Materials Vol. 668 129

Table 1: Strength and maximum stress

C11 C22 C33
Tests Fc Tests Fc Tests σmax
(MPa) (MPa) (MPa)
0C11 68.9 1C22 10.73 1C33 7.6
1C11 69.8 2C22 9.09 2C33 7.4
2C11 71.3 3C22 8.51 3C33 7.6
3C11 72.6 4C22 8.93 4C33 7.3
4C11 69.0 5C22 8.85 5C33 6.8
5C11 64.8 6C22 8.97 6C33 6.9
7C11 71.9 7C22 9.60 7C33 7.3
8C11 57.3 8C22 10.31 8C33 7.7
9C11 59.0 9C22 8.56 9C33 6.5
10C11 71.5 10C22 9.27 10C33 7.0
Mean 67.61 Mean 9.28 Mean 7.2
s.d. 5.46 s.d. 0.73 s.d. 0.4

Fig. 4: Stress strain curves of specimens 1C11, 5C11, and 0C11.

Fig. 5: Stress strain curves of samples 2C22, 4C22, and 9C22.

130 Non-Conventional Materials and Technologies for Sustainable Development

Fig. 6: Stress strain curves of samples 1C33, 5C33, and 9C33.

55% of the maximum stress to determine the elastic modulus perpendicular to the fiber for specimens
1C33, 5C33, and 9C33 (Fig. 6).
Figs. 7 to 10 show horizontal strain vs. vertical strain curves for instrumented C11, C22, and C33
tests, respectively. In these figures the y axis represents the strain of the direction perpendicular to the
load shown in Fig. 2 and the x axis represents the deformation in the direction of applied compression
load for each case. The Poisson’s ratios were defined as the negative value of the slope of the linear
regression of the points of the mentioned curves, between the same ranges taken for the determination
of the elastic modulus.

Fig. 7: C11 tests curves: ε2 vs. ε1 .

Tab. 2 presents the results for elastic modulus and Poisson’s ratios. Average values and standard
deviation are also included.

Discussion

For LBG, the average compressive strength parallel to the fibers was 67.6 MPa in compression. This
value is similar to other strength values found in laminated bamboo samples made with other types
 Key Engineering Materials Vol. 668 131

Fig. 8: C11 tests curves: ε3 vs. ε1 .

Fig. 9: C22 tests curves: (a) ε3 vs. ε2 , and (b) ε1 vs. ε2 .

Fig. 10: C33 tests curves: (a) ε2 vs. ε3 , and (b) ε1 vs. ε3 .
132 Non-Conventional Materials and Technologies for Sustainable Development

Table 2: Elasticity modulus and Poisson ratios.

C11 C22 C33
Test E1 ν21 ν31 Test E2 ν32 ν12 Test E3 ν23 ν13
0C11 23296 0.981 0.814 2C22 245 0.069 0.004 1C33 593 0.256 0.013
1C11 30441 0.832 1.221 4C22 305 0.077 0.014 5C33 535 0.178 0.034
5C11 36395 0.621 1.506 9C22 246 0.077 0.036 9C33 774 0.278 0.017
mean 30344 0.811 1.180 mean 265 0.074 0.018 mean 634 0.237 0.021
s.d. 6559 0.181 0.348 s.d. 34 0.005 0.016 s.dv. 125 0.053 0.011

of bamboo. For example, Li et al [4] found, for laminated Mosso Bamboo (Phyllostachys pubescens),
average values of 57.9 MPa, 61.2 MPa and 62.7 MPa in samples made with bottom, medium, and upper
parts of the culm, respectively. Yeh & Lin [3] founded for specimens made with bottom, middle, and
upper parts of the culm of bamboo Phyllostachys values of 54.2 MPa, 66.1MPa, and 69.6 MPa; and
for samples made with bottom, middle, and upper parts of the culm of bamboo Dendrocalamus values
of 42.5 MPa, 56.4 MPa and 58.4 MPa.
The average compressive strength perpendicular to the fiber was low (13.8%) compared to the
longitudinal compressive strength. The average elasticity modulus parallel to the fiber (30044 MPa)
was higher when compared to what López [5] founded (19137 MPa). The average elasticity modulus
perpendicular to the fiber perpendicular to the plane of the boards (samples C22) was closer than 1/100
of the average elasticity modulus parallel to the fiber. The results of elasticity modulus perpendicular
to the fiber parallel to the plane of the boards (samples C33) showed the same behavior.
The Poisson’s ratio results showed significantly large differences among the average values in
different directions. It should also be noted that the results of Poisson’s ratio are greater than 0.5. This,
together with the large differences in the average results of the elastic modulus, demonstrate the high
level of orthotropy of LBG.

Conclusions

The elastic modulus in the load direction and the Poisson’s ratio were determined, and the results show
that the material’s physical anisotropy causes an anisotropic mechanical behavior. The average values
obtained in the elastic modulus ranged from 30044 MPa for group 1 to 265 MPa for group 2. The
Poisson’s ratio determined in compression perpendicular to the fiber tests ranged from 0.013 to 0.278
whereas those obtained by compression parallel to the fiber tests ranged from 0.621 to 1.506. This fact
demonstrates a high orthotropic behavior of the LBG.

Acknowledgements

The authors gratefully acknowledge financial support from Departamento Administrativo de Cien-
cia, Tecnologia e Innovación – Colciencias (Administrative Department of Science, Technology and
Innovation – Colciencias).
 Key Engineering Materials Vol. 668 133

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