Seismic Performance of Bamboo Structures

This dissertation describes a wide-ranging research program aimed at identifying a methodthrough which vernacular bamboo construction methods may be formalized into a performancebased design framework. This requires an understanding of both material and structural behavior and an appreciation of the social and engineering context in which the structure is built. A relatively brief background and literature review addressing a number of topics relevant to the research methodology adopted in the present work including: sustainability, bamboo availability, properties and construction techniques, the hazard environment considered in this study and approaches to hazard mitigation and performance based design are presented.The prototype structure that is the focus of the dissertation is investigated in an experimental study to determine the prototype frame behavior. The behavior forms the basis for the analytical model developed in work. In the course of the research program it was determined that certain mechanical properties of bamboo are not well established and, furthermore, that thereis no standard method for comparing these critical properties. The work, therefore, reports on an experimental program aimed at filling these gaps in available knowledge and data. Initially afracture mechanics approach to quantifying bamboo behavior was attempted in an effort to normalize for the significant variation expected in a natural material. While this method was successful, it was not felt to be practical for application outside a well-equipped laboratoryenvironment. Thus a simpler, mechanics-based, materials test was pursued and an attempt tocorrelate results from this with the more reliable fracture mechanics approach was made. Afinite element model (FEM) of the prototype structure was developed. Static pushover andnonlinear dynamic analyses were conducted on several models of the prototype structure. Inaddition to the seismic model, the effect of the variability of bamboo material propertiesidentified in a statistical analysis of data collected by the Group for Non-Conventional Materials (GNOCMAT) at PUC-Rio and the author's group at the University of Pittsburgh was explored