Engineered bamboo: The promising material for building and construction application in Indonesia

There is a rising gap between supply and demand of wood as building and construction materials. The search of alternative materials to fill in the gap is an urgent concern. Bamboo is one of locally abundant resources; 88 out of 135 species growth in Indonesia is an endemic. It is a renewably material and has comparable characteristics to wood. Notable efforts to reduce the variability of raw bamboo have led to the improved physical and mechanical properties of the engineered bamboo. Laminated bamboo and hybrid laminated bamboo-wood had superior wood strength in comparison to the raw materials. Laminated bamboo produced from andong (Gigantochloa pseudoarundinacea (Steud.) Widjaja), mayan (Gigantochloa robusta Kurz), vertically laminated andong bamboo comparable to wood strength class I, I-II and II, respectively. Furthermore, hybrid laminated bamboo-wood andong-manii (Maesopsis eminii Engl.), andong-mayan-jabon (Anthocephalus cadamba (Roxb.) Miq.) comparable to wood strength class II and III, respectively. The properties improvement of engineered bamboo demonstrates the potential application of laminated bamboo as a substitution for building and construction material.

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