Mechanical properties and failure mechanisms of glued-laminated bamboo made from Dendrocalamus sinicus

Dendrocalamus sinicus is a large-diameter bamboo species endemic to Yunnan Province, China, but its potential for load-bearing engineered products remains insufficiently investigated. This study characterised the anisotropic static and dynamic mechanical behaviour, deformation characteristics, and potential failure-initiation regions of glued-laminated bamboo (GLB) manufactured from D. sinicus and assessed its suitability for structural applications. Compression, tension, shear, bending, and impact tests were conducted along the principal material directions. Orthotropic finite element analyses were used to examine internal stress distributions and potential first-failure-initiation locations, while compressive stress–strain equations were established from the mean characteristic responses of the corresponding specimen groups. The coefficients of variation of the failure loads were 9.76%, 8.26%, 11.12%, 8.09%, 7.56%, 8.98%, and 9.38% for the investigated tests, indicating moderate variability across loading conditions. The finite element results agreed reasonably with the experimental data for the evaluated mechanical responses and potential failure-initiation locations, with a mean relative deviation of 8.74%. The proposed equations represented the average compressive response within the investigated material and test conditions. Compared with bamboo-based structural materials of a similar category, the GLB combined relatively low density with high mechanical performance. These results extend the mechanical-property database for large-diameter bamboo composites, and provide experimental and numerical support for material assessment, structural design, failure evaluation, and engineering application of GLB manufactured from Dendrocalamus sinicus .