MULTISCALE STUDY OF BAMBOO PHYLLOSTACHYS

EDULIS

K. Ghavami1, S.M. Allameh2, M.L Sánchez1, W.O. Soboyejo2

1
Department of Civil Engineering, Pontificia Universidade Católica do Rio de Janeiro
2
Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, Princeton University, NJ 08540

ABSTRACT

The mechanical properties of bamboo culms are affected by their anatomical characteristics.
Bamboo culm can be considered as a composite material, reinforced axially by aligned
cellulose fibers embedded in a lignin matrix. The distribution of the fibers in the cross section
of a bamboo shell varies across the thickness of the culm, increasing from the inner surface to
outer surface. According to the state of the stress distribution in its natural environment the
bamboo culm presents a functionally gradient material. The non-uniform distribution of fibers
avoids the direct application of equation used to model the behavior of composite materials,
as the rule of mix equations for strength and modulus of elasticity.

This paper presents a non-conventional method for mesostructural characterization using an

Astra Umax1 2200 scanner and the NIH2 Image J software. The variation of the volume
fraction of the cellulose fibers in the transversal section of bamboo is established. The
microstructure of bamboo was studied by Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM) to determine the
various features associated with the fiber vascular bundles. Veeco3 DI 3100 Nanoscope was
used in tapping mode to characterize surface topography of the fiber bundles. The developed
methodology is applied to study Phyllostachys Edulis (Moso) bamboo specie.

KEYWORDS

Bamboo, composite materials, functionally gradient material, mesostructure characterization,

fiber bundles, rule of mix.

INTRODUCTION

The energy crisis has provoked an increase on the use of the non-polluting materials, which
consume low energy for their production and utilization. The shortage of housing in the

1
UMAX Technologies, Inc.10460 Brockwood Rd., Dallas, TX 75238 USA
2
National Institutes of Health (NIH), Bethesda, Maryland 20892
3
Veeco Instruments Inc., Corporate Headquarters, 100 Sunnyside Boulevard, Woodbury, NY 11797
developing countries motivates the search for low cost and energy saving of materials that can
be applied in the civil construction. To increase the amount of information concerning non
conventional materials, many researchers have been studying the properties and the use of
natural materials as building materials such as mud blocks, natural fibers reinforcing soil or
cement matrixes and bamboo culms.

The knowledge of the mechanical properties of bamboo has caught the attention of engineers,
architects and researchers due to the bamboos potential to be used as construction material
presenting high strength, light weight, and low cost. Furthermore, bamboo requires simple
processing techniques and is obtained from renewable and ecological resources (Ghavami and
Hombeeck 1981; Ghavami and Zielinski 1988; Ghavami and Culzoni 1987; Ghavami 1988;
1995a; Ghavami and Rodriguez 2000; Ghavami and Solorzano 1995, Ghavami et. al. 2001).
The internodes of almost all bamboo species have a culm wall, of varying thicknesses,
surrounding a large cavity, called lacuna. A transverse section of a culm internode with the
lacuna shows the parenchymatous ground tissue in which collateral vascular bundles are
embedded (Liese, 1998). The region with more density in the vascular bundles is called
sclerenchyma and contains cellulose micro-fibers, which are responsible for the bamboo
strength. The veins are responsible to transport sap from the soil to all parts of the plant. The
lignin that surrounds the vascular bundles is called parenchyma and present the weak part of
the composite. Across the culm wall, the percentage of fiber generally decreases from the
outside to the inside, while the parenchyma increases. The conducting tissue increase from the
outer part with the maximum area in the middle third of the culm wall. In the vertical
direction, the narrowing of the culm wall results in a reduction of the inner portion that has
more parenchyma and less vascular bundle. Figure 1 shows the vascular bundles of the
Dendrocalamus giganteus species ( Ghavami et.al,2000).
Sclerenchymatous cells

Conducting tissue

Parenchyma

FIGURE 1. VASCULAR BUNDLES OF DENDROCALAMUS GIGANTEUS SPECIES. IMAGE OBTAINED ON

THE MEV AT THE PUC-RIO

This paper presents the result of a study on the structure of bamboo phyllostachys edulis
“Moso” at macro, meso, micro and nano levels.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

The bamboo used in this experiment is Moso bamboo (Phyllostachys edulis). These species
present monopodial rhizomes and their characteristic vascular bundles are of open type, which
consist of four sclerenchyma sheaths symmetrically located around the central vascular
bundles. The variation of the fiber volume fraction of bamboo can be studied along the overall
length of culms. Figure 2 (a) shows a Moso plantation with the corresponding specimens
analyzed for this purpose, where specimens are taken from the base, middle and the top part
of bamboo culm. The specimens were cut of the dry bamboo culm (see Figure 2 (b)).

Top region

Middle region

Bottom region

(a) Bamboo plantation of Moso culm (b) Dry bamboo culm

FIGURE 2. SPECIMENS TAKEN FROM BAMBOO PHYLLOSTACHYS EDULIS ”MOSO”

Cross sections of bamboo Moso were prepared by cutting the bamboo in directions that
provided sections parallel and normal to the longitudinal axis of the bamboo. The parallel
section was cut in the radial direction of the thickness of bamboo culm. Figure 3(a) shows the
orientation of the cuts. The cross section of the bamboo culm was elliptical with diameters of
113 mm and 100 mm. The cross section of the bamboo showed a thickness of 10.3 mm.
The cuts made normal to the longitudinal axis of the bamboo culm, designated C-R here
showed fiber bundles with a gradient that maximized at the outer wall of the culm (Figure 3
(b)).
 Culm

Diaphra
C L

25 mm

(a) Assumed axis in respect to (b) The R-C cut of the bamboo with
longitudinal (L), circumferential diaphragm labeled
(C), and radial (R) directions

FIGURE 3. CROSS SECTION OF PHYLLOSTACHYS EDULIS (MOSO)

The longitudinal cuts made in the wall of the bamboo culm, at a node location, are shown in
Figures 4 (a-b). The fibers are observed running along the length of the culm with
interruptions at the node. The fibers closer to the culm exterior wall are seen to bend at the
node (Figure 4 a). Along with the longitudinal fibers, azimuthal fibers are seen only in the
locations of the nodes and in the diaphragm. The thickness of the diaphragm varied from
about 2 mm in the middle to ~ 3 mm at the outer edges. Two sets of azimuthal fibers were
observed in the diaphragm. The top of the diaphragm contained fiber bundles that run in the C
direction, while the fibers at the bottom half of the diaphragm were oriented in the R direction
(Figure 4 b). The three-dimensional structure of the vascular system at the nodal region was
illustrated by Liese (1998) and show in the upper part of the node, the bundles become larger
in diameter and vascular anastomoses develop intensively. Secondary branches of vascular
bundles connect the periphery with the inner zone (see Figure 4 (c)).

Radial
Bundles

Circumferenti
al Bundles

(a) L-R Cross section of the culm wall (b) L-C Cross section
of the diaphragm (c) Schematic presentation of vascular anastomoses (Liese,
1998).

FIGURE 4. DISTRIBUTION OF FIBERS IN THE NODAL REGION OF PHYLLOSTACHYS EDULIS BAMBOO

(MOSO)

Non-conventional method for mesostructural characterization: With the advent of availability

of inexpensive scanners, it is possible to study the mesostrucuture of many constructional
materials, including bamboo, by simply scanning the cross section at a relatively high optical
resolution. The method used here includes the polishing of the cross sections of bamboo Moso
down to a 1-micron surface finish. This was followed by scanning the cross section with an
Astra Umax4 2200 scanner with a 1200 dpi optical resolution. For comparison, a scanned
image (Figure 5 (a) from the bamboo Moso meso-structure is compared with a similar
micrograph (Figure 5 (b) obtained by conventional optical microscopy. Figures 5 (a-b) show
the resemblance of the two mesostrucutures in terms of clarity of the image, level of contrast
and size of the observed constituents. The L-R cut of the bamboo culm wall displaying the
fiber distribution across the thickness is shown in Figure 5 (c). These images reveal a graded
bamboo structure, with a higher volume fraction of fibers occurring in the regions close to the
outer wall, which sustains higher bending moments/stresses during bending.

FIGURE 5. (A) SCANNED IMAGE OF THE R-C CROSS SECTION OF THE BAMBOO CULM (B) SAME
AREA IMAGED BY AN OPTICAL MICROSCOPE, (C) L-R CUT AT THE CULM

RESULTS

In order to characterize the mesoscale distribution of the fiber bundles across the bamboo
culm wall thickness, image analysis was conducted using the NIH5 Image J software. The
image of Figure 5(a) was divided into 13 strips with equal areas (0.8 mm x 5 mm) which
where analyzed for the area fraction of the bundles. The variation in the area fraction of the
bundles with the distance from the skin of the bamboo culm is presented in Figure 6. Three
distinct regions are observed in this graph. These three regions are associated with gradients
of fiber density, which decreases to a plateau at the boundary to the region, or at the interior
wall. The presence of such distinct regions may be the signature of the forces acting on the
bamboo culm during its growth period. Finite element analysis is clearly needed to determine
the effects of such graded fiber distributions on the deformation of bamboo structures.

4
UMAX Technologies, Inc.10460 Brockwood Rd., Dallas, TX 75238 USA
5
National Institutes of Health (NIH), Bethesda, Maryland 20892
 0,8

0,7

0,6

Fiber Fraction
0,5

0,4

0,3

0,2

0,1

0
0 0,2 0,4 0,6 0,8 1
Relative Distance from Skin (Fraction of
Thickness)

FIGURE 6. VARIATION OF THE FIBER FRACTION WITH DISTANCE FROM THE BAMBOO MOSO CULM.
THE TWO EXTERNAL AND INTERNAL WALLS OF THE BAMBOO CULM ARE LOCATED AT 0 AND 1
RESPECTIVELY. THREE REGIONS ARE OBSERVED (I-III) WITH SIMILAR BEHAVIOR ACROSS EACH
REGION

Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM): The microstructure of the bamboo Moso was also studied
using atomic force microscopy. This was used to study the microstructural/topographical
features associated with the fiber bundles. A Veeco6 DI 3100 Nanoscope AFM system was
used in the tapping mode to characterize surface topography of the fiber bundles. Figure 7
presents the 2-D and 3-D images of surface scans at various magnifications. The 2-D image of
Figure 7(a) was obtained from the surface of the sample after a 1-µm polish with a 4000 grit
sand paper. A 3-D image of Figure 7(a) is presented in Figure 7(b). This clearly delineates the
fiber boundaries, cell wall boundaries and the core of the cells. Higher magnification images
of the cell boundaries are shown in Figures 8(a). The cell wall is seen to be about 500 nm. .
Some nano-size features are also revealed by the AFM analyses (Figures 8a and 8b). These
include evidence of debonding between fibers (Figure 8a) and a surface topography with a
root-mean-square (RMS) roughness of 14.3 nm.

(a) Surface of vascular bundles in 2-D image (b) Surface of vascular bundles in 3-D image
FIGURE 7. AFM SCANS FROM THE FIBER BUNDLES USING VEECO7 DI 3100 NANOSCOPE

6
Veeco Instruments Inc., Corporate Headquarters, 100 Sunnyside Boulevard, Woodbury, NY 11797
7
Veeco Instruments Inc., Corporate Headquarters, 100 Sunnyside Boulevard, Woodbury, NY 11797
(a). The cell wall is seen to be about 0.5 µm. (b) Some nano-size features of the boundaries.

FIGURE 8. AFM ANALYZES REALIZED IN TO DEPARTMENT OF MATERIALS AND AERONAUTIC

ENGINEERING, PRINCETON UNIVERSITY

CONCLUSIONS

Bamboo is a functionally gradient material with a hierarchical structure. This principal

characteristic has attracted attention of many researchers because they can generate function.

The use of bamboo as structural elements requires a profound knowledge about their
mechanical, physical and micro structural properties. Through the application of the Astra
Umax8 2200 scanner and the NIH9 Image J software some properties of Moso bamboo species
were established. This paper includes the results of atomic force microscopy on the fiber
bundles, especially to characterize the nanoscale features associated with these fiber bundles.

REFERENCES

Amada, S. (1996). The Mechanical Structures of Bamboos in Viewpoint of Functionally

Gradient and Composites Materials. Journal of Composites Materials, vol. 30, n.7.

Ghavami, K.;Culzoni, R.A.M. Utilização do Bambu como Material em Habitação de Baixo

Custo. 10 Simpósio Internacional de Habitação. IPT. São Paulo, pp 181-188.

Ghavami, K.; Hombeck, R.V. (1981). Application of Bamboo as a Construction Material: Part
I- Mechanical Properties and Water Repellent Treatment of Bamboo. Proceedings of the Latin
American Symposium on Rational Organization of Building Applied Low cost housing. IPT
CIB. São Paulo, Brasil, p. 49- 66.

Ghavami, K.; Rodrigues, C.S. (2000). Engineering Materials and Components with Plants.
Proceedings of the Construction and Environment Symposium. IPT CIB. São Paulo, Brasil,.
p. 33-38.

8
UMAX Technologies, Inc.10460 Brockwood Rd., Dallas, TX 75238 USA
9
National Institutes of Health (NIH), Bethesda, Maryland 20892
Ghavami, K. et. al. (2001). Bamboo- a Functionally Graded Composite Material Using Digital
Image Processing. The Role of Bamboo in Disaster Avoidance International. Worshop
Organized by International Network for Bamboo and Rattan (INBAR). Guayaquil, Equador,
6-11, August.

Ghavami, K.; Solorzano, I.G. (1995). Comparison between Microstructure of Bamboo Culm
and Wood. Acta microscopia. 3rd Interamerican Conference on Electron Microscopy & XV
Meeting of the Brazilian Society for Electron Microscopy. Caxambu, M.G., Brazil.

Ghavami, K.; Zieliski, Z.A. (1988). Permanent Shutter Bamboo Reinforced Concrete Slab.
BRCSI. Civil Engineering Department. Concordia University. Montreal, Canada.

Ghavami, K. (2001). Structural Concrete Reinforced with Bamboo. Asian Journal of Civil
Engineering (Building and Housing). v. 2, n. 2 p. 97-110.

Liese, W.(1998). The Anatomy of Bamboo Culms. Technical Report. International Network
for Bamboo and Rattan, Beijing. Peoples Republic of China, 203p.

Ohrnberger, D. (1999). The Bamboo’s on the World. Annotated Nomenclature and Literature
of the Species and the Higher and Lower Taxes. Elsevier. First Edition, 586 p.