Tension Bamboo Joints for Spatial Structure

Bamboo is one of the most sustainable materials on earth due to at least its self-regenerating natural resource and high biomass production. It is very useful ecologically before as well as functionally after harvesting. Regarding that bamboo has very good mechanical properties engineers and architects try to use preserved bamboo for bigger, wider span as well as spatial structures.

The biggest challenge in those innovative applications is the joints. To convince an effective wide span spatial structure, the poles should be under compression or tension, without torsion or moment. The eccentricity of force transfer in joints has to be avoided, which is different from those in common bamboo joints. The difficulties of jointing bamboo are generated from the characters of bamboo itself. Bamboo is a natural material that varies in diameter, wall thickness, internodium length and mechanical properties. The hollow cone form with only longitudinal fibre and different properties between upper and lower part make the joint even more complicated.

Base on the traditional lashing, tension bamboo joint is developed to provide a simple joint with good performance. The success of this joint will generate new utilizations of bamboo pole in tensile structures, which did not exist before, and also bolster its utilization in space structures.