Development of Laminated Bamboo Lumber: Review of Processing, Performance, and Economical Considerations

Abstract

As focus is drawn toward more sustainable construction practices, use of bamboo as a structural building material is growing as a topic of interest. It is highly renewable, has low-embodied energy, and has the highest strength-to-weight ratio of steel, concrete, and timber. Composite lumber made from bamboo, termed laminated bamboo lumber (LBL), has gained the particular interest of researchers and practitioners of late, since it has bamboo's mechanical properties but can be manufactured in well-defined dimensions, similar to commercially available wood products. Its primary drawbacks are that it is difficult to connect and is more costly than competing, locally available materials. This paper presents the advantages and challenges of embracing LBL as an alternative building material. Experimental and analytical data on production, performance, economics, and environmental impact of bamboo and LBL are reviewed, synthesized, and further analyzed to present an overview of the viability of using bamboo as a structural material in North America.

Eccentric Compression Performance of Parallel Bamboo Strand Lumber Columns

“…To support the potential use of bamboo in construction, various attempts have been made to explore the mechanical behavior of bamboo (Amada et al 1997;Yu et al 2003;Varela et al 2010;Malanit et al 2011;Mahdavi et al 2011;Verma and Chariar 2012;Li et al 2013Gottron et al 2014;Liu et al 2014;Xu et al 2014;Sinha et al 2014;Su et al 2015a;Richard and Harries 2015).…”

Flame Retardant Properties of Laminated Bamboo Lumber Treated with Monoammonium Phosphate (MAP) and Boric acid/Borax (SBX) Compounds

“…Bamboo has environmentally beneficial characteristics that are similar to wood: highly renewable, fast growth, biodegradable, sequesters carbon from atmosphere, low in embodied energy, and it creates less pollution during production than steel or concrete (Rittironk and Elnieiri 2008;Nath et al 2009). Compared with other common building materials, bamboo is stronger than timber, and its strength-to-weight ratio is greater than that of common wood, cast iron, aluminium alloy, and structural steel (Mahdavi et al 2011).…”

“…Although bamboo is a promising wood substitute, its hollow structure and small diameter limit its application where flat surfaces are required (Mahdavi et al 2011;Li et al 2013). To improve the utilization rate of bamboo and to enhance dimensional consistency, strength, and uniformity, bamboo can be split into small elements, disassembled into thin flat laminae, and then laminated together with adhesive to form various sizes and cross-sections of structural members (Sumardi et al 2007;Corradi et al 2009;Huang et al2013; Chen et al 2013;Dixon et al 2017).…”

Multiscale Modelling of Moso Bamboo Oriented Strand Board

“…The design and use of structural bamboo products (SBP) allows more efficient use of this renewable resource. Bamboo-bundle laminated veneer lumber, laminated bamboo lumber, and bamboo Oriented Strand Board (OSB) are examples of such possibilities (Mahdavi et al 2011;Chen et al 2014;Semple et al 2015c). In particular, bamboo OSB can be used in paneling and sheathing applications, with reduced material waste compared to laminated boards.…”