Mechanical behavior of laminated bamboo-timber composite columns under axial compression

Bamboo is a fast-growing biobased building material with a high strength-to-weight ratio, and the combination of bamboo and wood provides an environmentally friendly alternative for building construction. A new type of laminated bamboo-timber composite column was proposed to improve the compressive performance of timber columns, which was expected to obtain better mechanical performance. Bamboo scrimber and Douglas fir were combined to form laminated bamboo-timber composite columns for the experimental study. Axial compression tests were carried out on 5 groups of 15 composite columns. The failure modes of the composite columns were assessed. The laws of axial displacement, lateral displacement, axial strain, ultimate bearing capacity and stiffness were analyzed. Finally, the bearing capacity of the composite columns was calculated by referring to the design specification for timber structures. The results indicated that the composite columns exhibited three failure characteristics. The ultimate bearing capacity and stiffness of the bamboo-timber composite columns increased with increasing amount of bamboo scrimber. The ultimate load of the bamboo-timber composite columns was increased by 23.0-94.6%, while the stiffness was increased by 9.1-38.4%. In addition, the bearing capacity of composite columns was calculated according to two standards. The experimental values of the bamboo-timber composite columns are in good agreement with the theoretical values, and the errors are within 8%.