Influence of section and moisture content on the tensile strength parallel to fibers of bamboo culms woody material

ABSTRACT Bamboo is an abundant plant in tropical regions, which can be used as a nonconventional structural material; however, there is a high variability in its mechanical properties. This study aimed to evaluate the influence of the moisture content and of the sections (with and without node) on the tensile strength parallel to the culm fibers of three bamboo species (Dendrocalamus asper, Phyllostachys pubescens and Phyllostachys aurea), aiming at their use for structural purposes. For each moisture condition (ambient, saturated in water, oven dried and control), a completely randomized design, following a 3 x 2 factorial scheme, was used. Phyllostachys pubescens exhibited a higher tensile strength parallel to the fibers than the other species. In general, the node affected negatively the tensile strength parallel to the fibers for all analyzed conditions, while the moisture content did not show a significant influence, although the descriptive analysis exhibited its influence on the dimensional variations and water absorption.