Effect of culm height and presence of nodes on the mechanical properties of the bamboo Otatea fimbriata sondesrt, species native to southern Mexico

Abstract

The bamboo species Otatea fimbriata Sonderst is endemic to the town of Suchiapa Chiapas, Mexico and is proposed as a constructive resource for rural housing. To determine its use, averages of compression parallel to the fiber, resistance to bending and tension are reported considering standardized norms. The effect of height and presence of knots was studied in the lower, middle, and upper sections. The results revealed a non-significant effect on its compression and tension properties due to the presence of knots in the different sections of the culm, except in flexural strength. The results show that the bamboo species Otatea F. S., complies with similar or superior mechanical properties when obtaining 49.6 MPa in compression and 110 MPa in tension, compared to what was reported in Guadua angustifolia: 108 MPa in tension, 43.6 in compression. The bending results are 58.47 MPa, which resulted from that reported in G. angustifolia, however, the wall thickness of the Otatea F. S. is 8.6 mm while the G. angustifolia reaches up to 40 mm of wall thickness. It is concluded that the Otatea F. S. has potential for its use in the formation of construction elements