Study on the Mechanical Properties and Basic Elastic Constants of Yunnan Dendrocalamus sinicus Chia et J. L. Sun

Abstract

Yunnan Dendrocalamus sinicus Chia et J. L. Sun (YDS) is a giant bamboo species with a diameter at breast height of up to nearly 40 cm. It is endemic to Yunnan, China, and only a very small portion of it is directly used as load-bearing beams and columns in the dwellings of ethnic minorities, such as in Dai architecture. Due to the structural characteristics of its hollow and thin walls, systematic physical and mechanical property testing of this species faces significant challenges in terms of methods and means. This issue has become one of the main barriers to the realization of its large-scale industrial use. Therefore, this paper systematically tests and studies YDS’s three kinds of strength (tension, compression, and shear), modulus of elasticity, and six Poisson’s ratios with the help of digital image correlation (DIC) technology and self-created material testing methods. The (1) tensile, compressive, and shear strengths and moduli in longitudinal, radial, and chordal directions; (2) tensile strengths and moduli of bamboo green, flesh, and yellow layers in the thickness direction of the bamboo wall; and (3) six Poisson’s ratios under tensile and compressive stresses were obtained for YDS. It was also found that the tensile strength (378.8 MPa) of the green layer of YDS exceeded the yield strength (355 MPa) of 45# steel, making it a potential high-strength engineering material or fiber-reinforced material.