The ultimate load-carrying capacity and deformation of laminated bamboo hollow decks: Experimental investigation and inelastic analysis

• A hollow deck made form laminated bamboo (LB) composite was proposed.
• The deck is very site to be used as floors for fabricated buildings.
• Bending performances of the deck were experimentally studied.
• An ultimate-based model for inelastic analysis of LB hollow decks was developed.

A new type of hollow deck made of laminated bamboo (LB) composite is reported in this study. Mechanical properties of LB composite in longitudinal direction and the bending performances of LB hollow desks were studied by experiments. It was found that for LB composite, the tensile strength is much higher than compressive strength; the tensile constitutive law exhibits perfectly elastic behavior whereas the compressive constitutive law exhibits liner behavior initially while turning to nonlinear manner once the stress exceeds the linear limit. The nonlinearity of compressive constitutive law may be modeled by parabolic curve. The accumulation of plastically compressive damage of LB composite in compressive zone leads to pronounced nonlinearity in bending LB decks. Failure of LB decks was dominated by tensile breakage in the outmost of convex side at critical section. Based on the nonlinearity and failure mechanisms, an inelastic model for LB deck analysis was developed in this study. The model can be used to evaluate the load-carrying capacities and deformations in service ability as well as in ultimate state. Good agreements were achieved between the results of model prediction and experiments.