The Study of Wooden Clamps for Strengthening of Connection on Bamboo Truss Structure

Abstract

High strength bamboo material cannot be fully utilized in construction projects due to the constraints of the connection system. The connection system element on the truss structure greatly affects the strength of the structure. Several studies have been completed to provide higher strength of the truss connections. However, the connection system is constrained by the costs of construction, availability of materials, equipment, skilled labored standardization. In this study, a connection system that possesses lightweight properties but with higher strength and lower cost while keeping the form of the bamboo being connected to remain natural has been developed. The proposed connection system consists of bolts, wooden gusset plates and special wooden clamps that have been adjusted with the shape and dimension of the bamboos being connected. A connection system without filler material on bamboo culms and wooden clamps used to increase the contribution to the shear at the connection has been proposed. The results showed an increase in the strength of the proposed connection of about 40% of the wood gusset plate system using wooden clamps than connection system without using wooden clamps, so it can be concluded that the proposed connection system possesses higher strength, yet much lower weight and has the potential for practical applications.