Study on Mechanical Properties of Steel-Strengthened Bamboo Beams with Webbing Opening

Bamboo beams are often reinforced with built-in steel sections to enhance their strength and load-bearing capacity. In this paper, we studied the effect of different parameters, including the location of the hole, the hole size, and the thicknesses of the steel and bamboo, on the mechanical properties of reinforced beams. The damage patterns, deformation characteristics, and force-transfer mechanisms, as well as the mechanical properties of reinforced beams with different hole shapes, underwent non-linear finite element analysis. The damage sustained by the reinforced bamboo beam differed from that of the traditional bamboo beam; two diagonal points formed a plastic hinge, mainly during the process of shear damage to the hole. It was determined that the hole size and the thickness of the bamboo have the greatest influence on the mechanical properties of the reinforced beam. The damage characteristics of the composited beams with different holes are similar; the bearing capacity of reinforced beams with open square holes is reduced by 10%–25%compared with circular holes.