Development of Long Span Bamboo Trusses

Lucas Hogan, Graham Charles Archer

Architectural Engineering, California Polytechnic San Luis Obispo, USA

Abstract

In response to the increasing depletion rate of our natural resources, the design
community is utilizing new and creative construction techniques and materials
for building systems. One such solution is the use of bamboo in long span
trusses. This paper details ongoing research to facilitate practical, low tech,
inexpensive long span bamboo trusses.
This research has developed a new connection that involves filling a portion
of the hollow bamboo with mortar, embedding rebar in that mortar and welding
these bamboo members to steel gusset plates to create a truss. This connection
also allows these trusses to be built cost effectively. Other than the required
welding the construction of these trusses is relatively simple and requires no
skilled labour. This research is currently being considered in the design of a
poly-technical college in the district of Sam in Tanzania which requires roof
trusses of 12m spans.

Keywords: bamboo, truss, connection, sustainable, construction

1 Introduction

As the world population continues to grow we are utilizing our building

resources at an ever increasing rate. Thus the need for alternative building
materials grows as well. This need is growing even faster in developing
countries. Where infrastructure such as clinics and schools are needed the 3-
12m roof span becomes difficult to construct due to the high cost of steel and
concrete. One alternative is the use of bamboo roof trusses to span these
distances. Bamboo grows natively on five continents and grows in some of the
poorest parts of the world. It can also be cultivated in dense crops and harvested
only after six years as opposed to over twenty years for conventional timber.
Also, all the fibers in a culm grow parallel providing straight members that are
very efficient at carrying axial load [Liese 1992]. Thus by being both a local and
plentiful material bamboo becomes a very cost effective building material
[Rodriguez-Camilloni 2009] for many of the parts of the world that have
difficulty in obtaining steel and concrete.

While bamboo is a viable building material [van der Lugt 1992], it has
limited use because it is difficult to connect the members together. This paper
discusses the development of a new truss connection that can be constructed
using local materials and unskilled labor in remote areas of the world at a low
cost.

2 Current Bamboo Connections

While bamboo has been used for centuries, the traditional methods of lashing
bamboo together (See Figure 1) [Bambus 2002] are not appropriate for the
design of long span trusses. First there is little predictability in the connection
for the quality is highly dependent on the laborer. Secondly, quality control is
difficult to obtain. These lashed connections also dont fully utilize the full
strength of bamboo member. Because they rely solely on friction, the load
transfer between members is limited and thus structures require more members
to do the same job that one could if it were well connected. Finally complex
geometries with many members framing into one node or three dimensional
space frames are difficult if not impossible to construct.
 Figure 1: Traditional Bamboo Connection
[Bambus 2002]

Modern connections have been proposed [Huybers 1990] [Bambus 2002] to

solve these problems such as the bolted connection created by Shoei Yoh (Figure
2) and the steel wire connection by Renzo Piano (Figure 3). These connections
solve the issues of complex geometries by joining the members at a central hub.
However these connections have some challenges. While they provide a
standardized connection throughout a project, the hubs are proprietary, and they
are not readily available. The need to purchase, order, and transport these hubs
limits their flexibility. In addition, these connections require puncture of the
bamboo walls. Since all fibers in a bamboo culm run parallel once a bolt is
placed through it and the connection loaded in tension, the bolt acts like a wedge
and splits the bamboo. Also the puncture allows moisture to enter the culm and
accelerate decay. Based on the proprietary nature of the hubs, their installation
requirements, and the desire to develop cost effective, simple connections, the
research focused on an alternate connection type to eliminate these challenges.
 Figure 2: Bolted Connection by Shoei Yoh
[ Bambus 2002]

Figure 3: Steel Wire Connection by Renzo Piano

[ Bambus RWTH 2002]

Finally a connection has been used by Simn Velez [Rorbach 2001]

[Rodriguez-Camilloni 2009] for many projects. This connection requires filling
several hollow cells of the bamboo with concrete and embedding a threaded rod
(Figure 4). With this connection Velez has obtained spans up to 30 meters in
some of his structures [Kries 2000]. While this is a proven the connection it
requires shaping the end of the member framing into the connection and pressure
grouting. This requires a high degree of skilled labor throughout the building of
the trusses, thus making it difficult to utilize local labor on projects in remote
villages. This research thus focused on a connection type that could utilize
mostly unskilled labor in the fabrication of the bamboo trusses.

Figure 4: Velez Connection, Threaded Rod Embedded in Mortar

[Rorbach 2001]

3 The New Connection

This research aims to develop a new bamboo connection that overcomes some of
the shortcomings with current connection types that limit implementation in
construction of trusses in developing areas. The following criteria were used in
the development of the new connection. Since bamboo is very strong when
loaded axially [Chung 2002] [Yu 2003] the new connection was developed to
resist only the axial tension and compression forces and not increase resistance
to bending. This is consistent with the loading of the truss in which the truss
members experience axial loads and any bending is small and accidental.
Second, the new connection was to be ecologically friendly and avoid the use of
synthetic materials. The ideology of using a sustainable material such as
bamboo would be undermined if there was extensive use of highly processed
materials in the connection. Highly processed materials were also avoided in an
effort to keep the connection cost effective. The cost effective criterion was
developed due to the limited supply and high cost of building materials such as
steel and concrete in the remote areas were the use of these trusses is being
proposed. Finally the connection must be able to be constructed with a minimal
amount skilled labour. The philosophy behind this is that members of a village
could build these trusses with minimal training and provide safe buildings using
local labour and resources.
 The new connection involves embedding a common steel reinforcing bar
(rebar) into a mortar filled bamboo culm and fillet welding several of these
members to a steel gusset plate. The inner surface of the bamboo is roughened
to provide a bond between the mortar and the bamboo while avoiding puncturing
the member. A common steel hose clamp is also placed at the end of the member
to provide confinement of the bamboo and prevent splitting of the bamboo
(Figure 7). Because the rebar is embedded in mortar, the load is transferred
evenly across the members cross section and can transfer high axial loads to the
bamboo. Finally, the incorporation of the steel gusset plate makes the bamboo
easy to connect in any configuration desired (Figure 6).

Figure 5: Proposed Bamboo Truss

Figure 6: Steel Gusset Plate (Top Center of Figure 1)

Figure 7: Section of Connection

 To construct this connection a worker would cut the bamboo culm allowing
8-15cm to the first node. Then the worker would punch out the first internal
node to provide approximately a 30cm hollow section in the bamboo. This
removal of the node can be done easily with a hammer and a piece of rebar.
Next to provide a positive connection between the mortar and the bamboo, the
inner surface of the bamboo would be roughened by constructing gouges of
approximately 1-3mm deep, spaced at 6mm are made for the first 3-5 diameters
of the bamboo member. This can be achieved by running a drill bit along the
inside of the bamboo (Figure 7 and Figure 8)

Figure 8: Roughening the inner Figure 9: Completed Scouring

surface with drill press

Next a mortar comprised of sand, water, and cement is mixed and placed in
the hollow ends of the bamboo. It is important that this mix be fluid enough to
flow easily into the small spaces and avoid voids yet be stiff enough to provide
the desired strength. The rebar is then embedded into the mortar and the side of
the bamboo is tapped repeatedly to vibrate the mortar and eliminate any voids.
A hose clamp is then place at the end of the member and the member is allowed
to cure for 28 days. Once cured, the member can be welded to the gusset plate
and the truss erected.

Figure 10: Completed Specimen

 The connection functions as follows. First the load is developed in the gusset
plate where the roof framing is attached. Then the load is transferred to the rebar
via welds and then from the rebar to the mortar inside the bamboo. The mortar
transfers load to the bamboo by friction and bearing on the deformations (Figure
7). As the deformations resist the pullout of the mortar, hoop stresses are
induced in the bamboo. A hose clamp is placed at the end of the member where
these hoop stresses are largest. This provides confinement and reduces the loss
in capacity as the bamboo splits.

4 Connection Benefits

The main benefits of this connection is its simplicity which results in it being
very cost effective and allows it to be used in remote areas of the world.
Bamboo can be grown in extremely dense groves. A hectare of bamboo can
produce 22 to 44 metric tons of usable members per year, a yield 25 percent
higher than a timber grove. This translates to a 20m x 20m piece of land
producing enough bamboo in a five year period to build two houses measuring
8m x 8m. Because bamboo propagates via its root system it does not require
replanting after harvesting which will provide sustainable plantations [Kries,
2000]. Also, because bamboo species suitable for construction are grown all
around the world it is a locally available material for many locations. This
reduces transportation costs and provides stimulus to local economies. Both its
rapid growth and local availability make bamboo an inexpensive construction
material for many locations worldwide. In addition the developed connection
requires very little of the truss to be made of expensive materials such as steel
and concrete with less than 25 kg of steel including gusset plates and 75 kg of
concrete for a 12m span.

These bamboo trusses can be easily constructed using local unskilled labor.
The cultivation of bamboo requires no new skills, and the mixing of mortar,
preparation of members and the setting of the reinforcement can all be done
assembly line fashion and require only minimal training. Welding is the only
skilled task that the creation of the trusses requires. This is not likely to pose a
problem because welders who can construct the simple fillet welds required in
the connection are available even in remote parts of the world. One example of
this is the East African working in a village outside of Nairobi pictured in Figure
11. The use of welded connections not only provides redundancy and a joining
method that has a measurable quality, but it also provides potential for regular
high paying jobs for welders in the area and the stimulus for technical education.
 Figure 11: East African Welder
[Bates 2007]

Finally this connection provides for a strong lightweight truss that can be
prefabricated on the ground and lifted into place much easier than a steel
alternative. This makes construction practices safer and quicker by allowing
most of the work to be done on the ground level and reduce the number of
labourers required to lift the trusses.

5 Proof of Concept Test Results

The proposed connection was tested in tension (See Figure 15) to determine the
failure method and capacity of the connection. In the first experiment a standard
concrete mix of cement, water, fine aggregate, and coarse aggregate was used.
Specimens were prepared in a variety of ways to improve the bond between the
bamboo and concrete. The stiff mix and large aggregate was very difficult to
consolidate and large voids occurred. The specimens were allowed to cure for
28 days and once tested yielded bond stresses of 87.8 kPa to 527 kPa. These
bond stresses translate to pullout capacities ranging from .40 kN to 2.4 kN.

Several observations were made. First the aggregate size was too large for
the concrete to fill the deformations created. Second, there was a large degree of
splitting that occurred in the bamboo during curing. This occurred because the
hydration of concrete pulled moisture out of the bamboo and caused the inner
diameter to shrink faster than the outer diameter which pulled the bamboo fibers
apart. In addition, when tested the failure mode for the connection was the
splitting of the bamboo and pull out of the concrete from the bamboo. This
suggests that if confinement were to be improved, the connection capacity would
increase.
 A second experiment was run to refine some of the issues encountered in the
first experiment. The concrete mix became a mortar of three parts sand, one part
cement, and one part water. While this mix flowed well into the deformations in
the bamboo it was far too wet and pooling occurred. This caused the mortar in
the bamboo to shrink drastically, up to one inch out of six longitudinally. It also
provided a weak mortar. The interior surface of the test specimens were then
prepared in varying ways. Specimens left smooth were denoted with an S in
the specimen name (Figure 12). Those where the inner surface was roughened
with a drill bit are denoted with a DR (Figure 13). Finally those denoted with
an ES had the inner surface coated with epoxy and sand bonded to the epoxy
(Figure 14). The mortar was then poured into the bamboo specimen and rebar
embedded. The specimens were again tested in tension and the pullout
capacities and maximum bond stress between the bamboo and the mortar are
shown below in Table 1.

Figure 12: Surface Type Figure 13: Surface Type

Figure 14: Surface Type
S DR
E

Table 1. Experiment 2 Wet Mix w/ Fine Aggregate

Concrete Specimen Max Load (KN) Max Bond Stress (KPa) Notes
f'c = 8625 Kpa DR_1 0.48 39.64
DR_2 1.36 112.31
DR_3 1.28 105.70
DR_4 3.53 291.41 (1) Hose Clamp / End
DR_5 1.63 134.33 (1) Hose Clamp / End
DR_6 2.08 172.13 (1) Hose Clamp / End
ES_1 3.16 260.59
ES_2 2.64 218.38
ES_3 3.60 297.29
S_1 0.24 20.19
S_2 0.53 43.68 (1) Hose Clamp / End
 It can be seen that the smooth surface of the bamboo provides no usable
capacities. Thus there is little bond between the mortar and the smooth bamboo
wall. The mortar engages the bamboo through the gouged deformations. It can
also be seen that the hose clamp provides a significant increase in strength by
providing confinement to the mortar. The hose clamp forces failure in the
mortar by the shearing of concrete that filled the deformations. While many
shear failures are considered brittle, this is extremely ductile because there is a
large amount of friction that still exists between the mortar and bamboo. This
can be seen in Figure 15-16 where the specimen still maintains approximately
half of its ultimate load with over 50mm of pullout.

Figure 15: DR_6

Mortar Pullout
Figure 16: DR_6 Load vs. Pullout

A final experiment was run to further define the phenomena encountered in the
first two experiments and to determine the peak capacity for this connection.
Again the mortar used was three parts sand to one part cement and just enough
water to make it workable. This provided a mix that was easily consolidated yet
had a relatively high strength. There new specimen types were also included in
this experiment to determine the minimum amount of surface preparation that
would yield acceptable capacities. These included creating four pockets around
the end of the specimen and making two scours (PR Type, Figure 18) or by
only making one scour around the end of the specimen (One Ring Type,
Figure 19). Both of these specimens used hose clamps to provide confinement.
The aim of the last new specimen type was the creation of the largest pullout
capacities. These specimens were created by making deep gouges in the bamboo
and coating the inside with epoxy and sand (DRE Type, Figure 20). The
specimens were allowed to cure and then were tested with the same procedures
as the first two experiments. The results are shown below in Table 2.
Figure 18: Pocket Figure 19: Single Figure 20: Gouged and
Roughened Specimen, Deformation, R_One Epoxyed Specimen,
PR Ring DRE Type

Table 2. Experiment 3 Stiff Mix w/ Fine Aggregate

Concrete Specimen Max Load (KN) Max Bond Stress (KPa) Notes
f'c = 16500 Kpa DR_1 3.10 255.81
DR_2 0.69 57.26 (1) Hose Clamp / End, 6mm Crack Entire Length
DR_3 1.33 110.11 (2) Hose Clamp / End, 6mm Crack Entire Length
DR_4 4.33 357.85 (2) Hose Clamp / End
DR_5 4.95 408.49 (2) Hose Clamp / End
DR_6 2.37 195.99 (2) Hose Clamp / End
DR_7 5.12 422.81 (2) Hose Clamp / End
DR_8 2.24 184.98 (2) Hose Clamp / End, Bot. Conc. Prev. Damaged
DR_9 4.16 343.16 (2) Hose Clamp / End
PR_1 4.21 347.94 (2) Hose Clamp / End
PR_2 3.16 261.32 (2) Hose Clamp / End
R_One Ring 3.29 271.60 (1) Hose Clamp / End
DRE_1 18.18 1501.12 (3) Hose Clamp / End
DRE_2 20.22 1669.95 (3) Hose Clamp / End
DRE_3 22.71 1875.48 (4) Hose Clamp / End
DRE_4 21.56 1780.05 (5) Hose Clamp / End

It can be seen that the combination of a stronger mix and the implementation
of hose clamps to provide confinement yielded much higher capacities,
consistently in excess of 4 kN. This translates to a consistent bond stress of over
260 kPa. The benefit of confinement is best shown in specimens DR_2 and
DR_3 in which the specimen had cracked so badly that the concrete no longer
had bond to the bamboo and it could be removed by hand. Even with no positive
connection the friction provided by the hose clamps still yielded maximum bond
stresses of 57.26 kPa and 110.1 kPa. Again the failure mode for almost all of the
specimens was pullout of the mortar. Also the specimens with minimal
deformations yielded similar capacities to the average capacity of the typical
DR type. Finally the DRE type yielded extremely high capacities, in excess
of 20 kN. The addition of four and five hose clamps on each end provided a
high confining pressure. Also the use of sand epoxyed to the inner surface
provided increased surface area for the mortar to bear on while it was resisting
pullout.
These high capacities provide a proof of concept and provide usable design
capacities. The drill roughened specimens without hose clamps provided an
average bond stress of 128 kPa. The drill roughened specimens with hose
clamps developed and average bond stress of 254 kPa. The sand epoxyed
specimens had an average bond stress of 258 kPa. And Finally the DRE type
specimens developed an average bond stress of 1710 kPa. Since the DRE type
specimens failed by rebar pullout, this suggests that the capacity of the
connection was not fully reached. The rebar could simply be embedded further
to allow for a greater capacity. If these bond stresses of the DRE type
connection were to be extrapolated for use in 75-100mm diameter bamboo the
pullout capacity would be approximately 60 kN. This capacity is far greater than
that of the bamboo which will cause ultimate failure in the truss members and
not the connection. This provides a very predictable failure mode which allows
for safe design.

6 Implementation

Ultimately these connection bond stresses translate to the development of span to

depth ratios that can be used in truss design. These are shown in Figure 21. The
following assumptions were used in the formation of the design chart (Figure
21). The roof system considered was composed of parallel trusses spaced
between 0.6 2.5m apart centre-to-centre (CtoC). The span of these trusses
ranges from 2.5 15m. The longest member in the truss does not exceed 1.5m.
The highest ultimate capacity of the DRE type connection was used in the
development of the design chart with an applied factor of safety of 2. These
values were extrapolated linearly for varying diameters of bamboo and used to
design a truss similar to that shown in Figure 5. A design load of approximately
1 kPa was applied to the truss, and the required depth was calculated for varying
spans and spacing. Buckling of the compression member was the governed the
design of the truss. Also, for the development of Figure 21, lateral torsional
buckling was not considered. Finally, it should be noted that these are
preliminary values and should under no circumstances be used for design.
Figure 21: Span to Depth Ratios (NOTE: Preliminary Estimates Not for Design
Purposes)

From Figure 21 we can see that this connection provides for trusses that can
effectively span between 4-15m while keeping the depth below 1.5m. As the
bamboo diameter increases the surface area engaged by the mortar also increased
drastically and the failure mode is buckling of the bamboo. Since the longest
member is 1.5m the bamboo becomes very stiff, especially once the diameter is
increased. This translates in the ability to span significant distances with very
shallow trusses, saving greatly on material.
Currently this design is being considered for the use in roof trusses in the
district of Same in Tanzania to build a polytechnic college. The project calls for
local labour to build classrooms, dormitories, dining halls and other essential
buildings that require clear spans. These spans range anywhere from 6-12m both
of which could be reached with the construction techniques used in this research.
Once proven in Tanzania it would be easier to promote the use of this connection
in other parts of Africa, Eastern Asia, and Central and South America thus
providing same and cost effecting building for local peoples in those areas.
7 Conclusions and Recommendations

This research has provided a proof of concept for a bamboo connection

developed by roughening the inner surface of a bamboo member, filling a
portion with mortar, embedding rebar and welding several of these members to a
gusset plate. This connection can then be used to construct bamboo trusses that
span moderate distances while providing a safe and predictable behaviour. The
connection developed bond stress between 258 kPa 1710 kPa which translate
to pullout capacities of up to 20 kN. These trusses also utilize a local and
renewable resource for many areas around the world and their construction is
easily accomplished using local labour thus stimulating local economies in
developing regions.
The experiments detailed in this paper are part of ongoing research to refine
the design of this connection. The ongoing work includes mitigating shrinkage
problems, varying the depth of deformations, examining the length deformations
inside the bamboo, environmental effects, and effects of heat during welding,
and compression capacity. This additional research and the research outlined in
this paper will help facilitate the future use of bamboo trusses in moderate span
buildings and provide a cost effective building solution to many parts of the
world.
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