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Fatigue in bamboo
Lauren Keogh, Patrick O’Hanlon, Peter O’Reilly, David Taylor ⇑
Trinity Centre for Bioengineering, Department of Mechanical & Manufacturing Engineering, Trinity College, University of Dublin, Dublin 2, Ireland
a r t i c l e i n f o a b s t r a c t
Article history: This paper describes the results of an experimental programme to determine the fatigue behaviour of
Received 9 September 2014 bamboo. Bamboo is subjected to cyclic loading, both in the plant itself and subsequently when the mate-
Received in revised form 28 January 2015 rial is used in load-bearing applications in the construction industry. However, there is currently no data
Accepted 2 February 2015
in the literature describing fatigue in this material. We found that sections of bamboo culm loaded par-
Available online 11 February 2015
allel to the culm axis did not undergo fatigue failure: samples either failed on the first loading cycle, or
not at all. By contrast, fatigue was readily apparent in samples loaded in compression across the diameter
Keywords:
of the culm. The number of cycles to failure increased as the cyclic load range decreased in a manner simi-
Bamboo
Fatigue
lar to that found in many engineering materials: fatigue occurred at applied loads as small as 40% of the
Fracture ultimate strength. Two different species of bamboo were tested and found to have different ultimate
Anisotropy strengths but similar high-cycle fatigue strengths. Finite element analysis was used to help understand
Stress concentration the progression of fatigue damage and the effect of stress concentration features. Some tentative design
rules are proposed to define stress levels for the safe use of bamboo, taking fatigue into account.
Ó 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
1. Introduction Our primary aim for this work was to determine whether fati-
gue failure occurs in bamboo and, if it does, to determine the num-
Bamboo is an important structural material, grown in many ber of cycles to failure for a range of applied cyclic loading
parts of the world. Being very fast growing it provides a renewable conditions. The material is highly anisotropic, being much stronger
resource which is extensively employed in construction work and and stiffer when loaded along the culm axis and much weaker
other load-bearing applications. The literature on this material when loaded perpendicular to the axis, so we aimed to investigate
contains a number of excellent studies reporting static mechanical fatigue behaviour in different orientations. Finally, since fatigue
properties such as Young’s modulus, ultimate strength under var- behaviour is strongly affected by the presence of notches and other
ious different types of loading, and fracture toughness. The bamboo stress concentration features, we planned to carry out a limited
plant grows as a series of hollow, tubular stems known as culms. number of tests to investigate the response of bamboo to such
Static mechanical property data have been published for tests car- features.
ried out on intact lengths of culm [1,2] and also on specimens
machined from the culm wall [3–8].
2. Methods and materials
In the growing plant, cyclic forces will be experienced, princi-
pally in the form of wind loading. When bamboo is used in con-
Most of the testing was carried out using the species of bamboo
struction, for example in scaffolding and space frame structures,
known as Moso (Phyllostachys Pubescens) which is one of the most
cyclic loading can also be expected. So it is surprising that there
commonly used species for structural purposes. The material was
is no data in the published literature recording the fatigue beha-
obtained from a local supplier (Bamboo Suppliers of Ireland,
viour of bamboo. The fibres of the bamboo plant, being relatively
Dublin). A limited number of tests was carried out on a different
stiff and strong, have been used to make fibre composites in com-
species, obtained from the National Botanic Gardens, Dublin, under
bination with various matrix materials, and several of these have
the name Dendrocalamus gigantea. All samples were tested in the
been characterised as regards their fatigue properties (e.g. [9]),
air-dried condition in which they would normally be used for
but these data give no insight into the fatigue behaviour of bamboo
structural applications.
when used in the form of culms.
Mechanical testing was carried out using an Instron 8874 servo-
hydraulic machine. Fig. 1 summarises the experimental pro-
⇑ Corresponding author. Tel.: +353 1 8961703; fax: +353 1 6795554. gramme. Samples were obtained in the form of culms several
E-mail address: dtaylor@tcd.ie (D. Taylor). metres in length. Bamboo culms are hollow tubes in which the
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.ijfatigue.2015.02.003
0142-1123/Ó 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
52 L. Keogh et al. / International Journal of Fatigue 75 (2015) 51–56
diameter and wall thickness stay fairly constant along the length: tubes obtained by cutting lengths from the culm. These tubes were
we used culms from plants which were 2–3 years old, with dia- loaded in two different ways, as follows.
meters in the range 32–47 mm and wall thicknesses of 2.9– Axial compression tests were carried out on samples cut to a
4.4 mm. Culms also have periodic nodes at branch points: we length equal to twice their diameter; diametral compression tests
avoided taking samples from close to the nodes, using only the were carried out on samples of length 50 mm. In both cases com-
internodal material. pressive load was applied through parallel platens. Because fatigue
Our choice of test specimen was made based on the experience did not occur in axial compression (see below) most of the tests
of ourselves and others in conducting monotonic tests on this were carried out in diametral compression. To reduce the effects
material, and also knowledge of how the material is loaded in of variability in specimen shape and size we used the following
use. Because bamboo is extremely anisotropic (having much approach: one sample was loaded monotonically until failure
greater strength and stiffness in the longitudinal direction) it occurred at a certain force, Fu. Fatigue tests were then carried out
invariably fails during monotonic tests by the initiation and on adjacent samples from the same culm, which had very similar
propagation of longitudinal cracks, irrespective of the specimen dimensions. Each of these samples was loaded with a maximum
shape and applied load [1,4]. Machining of standard test samples force Fmax which was a fixed percentage of Fu. Cyclic loading was
such as waisted tensile specimens or compact tension specimens, carried out at a frequency of 1 Hz and load ratio R (equal to Fmin/
which has been done previously [6,10] is complicated by the need Fmax) of 0.1.
to obtain these from the tubular culms. As a result these samples Testing was continued until complete failure of the sample:
must either be very small, or they must have a curved shape. damage developed in a three-stage process described below. To
Furthermore, the composition and properties of the material vary investigate the effect of stress concentrations, some samples of
through thickness, the outer layers having more fibres and more Moso bamboo had 3 mm diameter holes drilled mid-way along
hardening by lignification, making them stiffer and stronger [10] their lengths at one of the locations where initial failure occurred
but probably less tough [6] than material closer to the centre. For in the plain samples. Some samples had longitudinal grooves
these reasons we decided to test samples in the form of simple machined into them at these same locations (see Fig. 1). Monotonic
Fig. 1. (a) Samples were cut from internodal regions of the bamboo culm and tested in the form of cylinders. Compression was applied in the axial and diametral directions:
some diametral specimens contained stress concentration features (holes or grooves). (b) Diametral compression gives rise to high tensile stresses at four locations around
the circumference: the stress on the inside surface at points N and S is approximately twice as high as the stress on the outside at points W and E.
L. Keogh et al. / International Journal of Fatigue 75 (2015) 51–56 53
3. Results
4. Discussion
Fig. 7. Results from FEA: (a) maximum principal stress contours for a plain sample; (b) likewise for a sample containing a groove; (c) stress plotted as a function of distance
around the outer circumference starting and finishing at point E, for an intact specimen and also for a groove (3 mm deep notch) at point E.
lies in the variation in material structure through-thickness, which applied load was somewhat flatter. The static strength was smaller
was mentioned above. The material on the outside of the culm is for this material, at 7.7 MPa, however the high-cycle fatigue
relatively hard and strong but it appears to have a lower toughness strengths of the two materials were similar.
than material on the inside [6]. So fatigue cracks may propagate The overall picture is complicated by the existence of a multi-
more easily from small defects at points W and E than at points stage failure process in which the culm can endure considerable
N and S. amounts of damage before final failure occurs. High cycle fatigue
We conducted a relatively small number of tests to investigate failure may be quantified as follows: total failure will occur after
stress concentration features, so these results should be treated 100,000 cycles at R = 0.1 when the stress range (i.e. the difference
with caution until further data are available. When we introduced between the maximum and minimum stress in the cycle) at points
a longitudinal groove at the E location, this had the effect of W and E is approximately 4.5 MPa. For this same loading, the stress
eliminating Stage A. As a result the force needed for a given num- at points N and S rises to approximately 11 MPa in the final stage
ber of cycles decreased (on average) by 21%. FEA predicts this before complete collapse. Further work is needed to characterise
change quite well: the groove essentially creates Stage A at the this material more comprehensively, but these initial results may
start of the test, and increases the stress to cause Stage B by prove useful in indicating a safe working stress for bamboo culms
17.6%. subjected to cyclic loading.
When we introduced a circular hole at E, the effect was very
variable. In some samples a crack propagated very quickly from
the hole, and on average the number of cycles needed for Stage A 5. Conclusions
did reduce (by a factor of 5.5). But on average the total number
of cycles to failure did not decrease, though this was largely due 1. Bamboo culm samples display fatigue failure when loaded in
to the fact that 3 of the 17 samples endured very large numbers compression across their diameters, simulating a type of defor-
of cycles. mation which commonly occurs as a result of culm bending.
In a plain specimen, the initial, Stage A failure, may occur at 2. By contrast, no fatigue behaviour occurs when samples are
point E or point W and (as mentioned above) it will ‘‘choose’’ the loaded in axial compression.
weaker side. The hole is introduced into one side only, which 3. Under diametral loading, failure develops in a series of stages
may be the stronger side or the weaker side. If it’s the stronger side, during which cracks initiate and grow in different locations
then this will have a major effect on the overall life, but if it’s the around the circumference. Failure in the first cycle (i.e. static
weaker side it will have a negligible effect, since both sides must failure) is associated with a tensile stress of 10.4 MPa on the
eventually fail. This will tend to increase the scatter in the number outer surface and 19.1 MPa on the inner surface. High cycle fail-
of cycles to failure. To use a simple analogy, if one throws a die ure at 100,000 cycles requires a stress range of 4.5 MPa on the
then the probably of getting any number from 1 to 6 is equal. outer surface and 11 MPa on the inner surface.
But if one throws two dice and chooses the higher of the two val- 4. The effect of stress concentration features such as grooves and
ues, then the result is weighted towards the higher numbers, and holes is complicated owing to the multi-stage failure process.
scatter is reduced. A similar argument can be made for the groove Initial results suggest that the main effect of such features at
feature: in this case our data did not show increased scatter but points W and E is to increase scatter in the number of cycles
this may be because the number of samples tested was small. to failure. More work is needed to systematically study the
Tests carried out on the other bamboo species showed that fati- effect of feature size, shape and location.
gue failure also occurred, though the dependence of fatigue life on
56 L. Keogh et al. / International Journal of Fatigue 75 (2015) 51–56
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Ireland and to Brendan Sayers of the National Botanic Gardens, Fiber Sci Technol 1981;14(4):319–22.
[8] Jain S, Kumar R, Jindal UC. Mechanical behaviour of bamboo and bamboo
Glasnevin, Dublin, for supplies of bamboo culms and helpful
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