Numerical Simulation of the Shear Capacity of a GFRP-Strengthened Natural Bamboo-Bolt Composite Joint

Abstract

As an ecological green building material, natural bamboo has many advantages such as a light weight, high strength, and short growth cycle. Natural bamboo is widely used in landscape architecture and fabricated structures. However, in bamboo building structures, the most common bolted joints often appear cleaved along the grain. In this paper, glass fiber-reinforced polymer (GFRP) is designed to wrap and improve the shear capacity of natural bamboo-bolt composite joints. According to the corresponding material parameters, the finite element model of composite joints is established, and the key influencing variables of the bearing capacity, namely the bolt diameter, bamboo tube outer diameter, and screw end distance, are analyzed. In addition, according to the European analytical yield model of bolted connections, the analytical calculation method of the bearing capacity is proposed and compared with the experimental and simulated values. The results showed that the numerical model and the modified analytical model can suitably describe the bearing capacity of composite joints, and a higher bolt diameter, along with the bamboo outer diameter, will lead to a higher ultimate load of the composite joints. Moreover, the bearing capacity of composite joints has no obvious relationship with the end spacing.