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The challenges highlighted at the 29th Conference of the Parties (COP29) emphasize the importance of using renewable resources in the architecture, engineering, and construction (AEC) industry. The building and construction sector is a major contributor to environmental pollution, with most emissions stemming from the extraction, transportation, production, and disposal of construction materials. As a result, developing renewable building materials is essential. In the past decade, bamboo has gained significant attention from researchers due to its strength, sustainability, high yield, and rapid growth. Bamboo in its original form has been used in construction for centuries, and recent innovations have led to the creation of engineered bamboo materials designed for more versatile applications. Researchers have been focused on understanding the physical and mechanical properties of engineered bamboo to assess its potential as a sustainable alternative to traditional building materials. However, modern practitioners are still unfamiliar with engineered bamboo materials, their types, and where they can be used. This article highlights the most widely researched engineered bamboo materials that have been used in the construction of small architectural forms and bigger structures. It provides an overview of common engineered bamboo building materials, namely laminated bamboo lumber, laminated bamboo sheets, parallel strand bamboo, bamboo mat boards, and bamboo particleboards, and their manufacturing processes and applications, offering valuable information for current practitioners and future research.

Controlling the variability in mat structure and properties in bamboo scrimber (BS) is key to producing the product for structural applications, and wide strip scrimber (WBS) is an effective approach. In this study, the effects of scrimmed bamboo bundle morphology and product density on the properties of WBS were investigated. WBS panels were manufactured and tested using wide (200 to 250 mm) bamboo strips with different fiberization intensity. Maximum strength properties (flexural, compressive, and shear strength), and lowest thickness swelling and water absorption were achieved with three or four passes due to the higher resin absorption by strips. For balanced product cost and performance, we recommend 1–2 fiberization passes and a panel density of 0.9–1.0 g/cm3. Panel mechanical properties were compared with other common bamboo composites. Bamboo scrimber products were highly variable in properties due to differing manufacturing processes, element treatments, and suboptimal mat structure. Products including laminated bamboo lumber and flattened bamboo made from nonfiberized elements show markedly different relationships between strength and elastic properties mostly due to inadequate bonding between the laminae, which causes premature bond-line failure. This study helped improve the understanding of the structure–property relationship of engineered bamboo products while providing insights into process optimization.

Engineered laminated bamboo plays a crucial role in structural applications, addressing challenges such as bamboo’s natural variability, species differences, adhesives, and loading direction. This study examines the bending performance of three-layered laminated bamboo configurations using two species, Gigantochloa scortechinii and G. levis, bonded with phenol-resorcinol-formaldehyde (PRF) and polyurethane (PUR) adhesives. Laminated bamboo was assembled with lay-up patterns (parallel and perpendicular) and arrangements (vertical, horizontal, and mixed). Four-point bending tests under flatwise and edgewise loading were used to determine flexural performance and failure modes. Results showed that PUR-bonded bamboo had lower thickness swelling (TS) and water absorption (WA). While bamboo species did not significantly affect bending performance, the adhesive type, lay-up pattern, and arrangement were influential. Flatwise loading improved the modulus of elasticity (MOE) by 5% but reduced the modulus of rupture (MOR) by 10% compared to edgewise loading. PRF-bonded bamboo outperformed PUR in strength, making it preferable for structural use. Vertical arrangements with PRF and PUR adhesives yielded optimal bending performance, emphasizing the importance of adhesive selection and configuration in enhancing laminated bamboo’s structural properties.

The dowel-bearing properties of a newly laminated flattened-bamboo (LFB) composite for engineering use was studied in this research by using the 5% bolt diameter offset method. The effects of specimen dimensions, bolt diameter, density, and bolt placed direction were included. Computed tomography (CT) and scanning electron microscope (SEM) were used to identify the failure type. The test results indicate that the parallel-to-grain dowel-bearing strength of LFB generally increased with an increasing density. When the bolt was placed along the LFB’s radial direction, the parallel-to-grain dowel-bearing strength approximately remained a constant (52 MPa) with the change of specimen dimensions and bolt diameter, while when the bolt was along the tangential direction, the dowel-bearing strength increased with the raising ratio of specimen thickness and bolt diameter. The first failure type was a crushing failure of bamboo fiber underneath the bolt, it happened when bolt diameter was small (12 mm and 14 mm) and placed along LFB’s radial direction. The second type was a splitting failure due to the lateral force generated by the bolt embedded into specimen, bamboo fiber splitting failure dominated for specimens with bolt along radial direction, while when bolt along tangential direction, glue layer splitting happened. The measured dowel-bearing strength was compared to the predictions obtained from equations in current wood specifications and articles. The results indicated that, except for the predicted values from the NDS equation (max error = 36%), which showed relatively reasonable agreement with the test values, the remaining predicted values exhibited discrepancies with the test values. To obtain proper predicted values, equations include density and ratio of specimen thickness and bolt diameter were proposed for calculation of LFB’s parallel-to-grain dowel-bearing strength.

Engineered bamboo has been considered a viable replacement for traditional wood and steel for structural and architectural purposes due to its renewable nature, high strength, and compatibility with different processing techniques. This systematic review analyzed the literature on the mechanical properties and processing techniques of engineered bamboo products, which include bamboo scrimber and laminated bamboo. The literature included in this systematic review was extracted from the Engineering Village platform. The studies retrieved from this platform were filtered to only have been published in top journals (Q1/Q2) related to engineering materials, materials science, and the construction industry. Using this methodology, from the initial 191 identified records, 51 studies that were the most relevant were chosen. The review revealed that bamboo scrimber has better performance for specific mechanical properties, which include its compressive, tensile, and bending strength. Laminated products had higher variability, which was often caused by the type of adhesive, orientation, and quality of adhesion. This study also identified the details of manufacturing processes, such as the adhesive systems, pre-treatment methods, and pressing conditions used. Moreover, the literature exhibited considerable inconsistencies in testing standards, reporting practices, and long-term durability evaluations. This review highlights these challenges and provides recommendations for future research to resolve these issues.

Bamboo is a green, renewable material with high strength and low cost, but raw bamboo has limited application in residential buildings due to its irregular shape and dry cracking. In this regard, this work proposed a novel ecological sandwich panel to explore the potential combination of engineered bamboo and raw bamboo culms. Face sheets made of glued laminated bamboo panels were bonded to the bamboo culm core via epoxy resin and mortise–tenon joints. Two groups of specimens with height-to-thickness ratios of 4.63 and 5.37 were tested through edgewise compression to investigate the failure modes, strength and rigidity. The results revealed that the specimens had no overall stability problem under axial loading, but exhibited delamination and local bulging to the face sheets. When the height-to-thickness ratio increased from 4.63 to 5.37, but still belonged to the short member range, the area of the adhesive interface increased by 16.13%, and the edgewise compressive strength and rigidity increased by 17.57% and 35.04%, respectively. This indicated that the capacity and rigidity were mainly determined by the connection strength, which was obviously affected by the manufacturing and assembly errors. Accordingly, increasing the connection strength could be helpful for improving the load-carrying capacity and ductility of such panels.

Cross-laminated bamboo (CLB) has gained increasing attention as an emerging structural material combining high mechanical performance with remarkable sustainability potential. This comprehensive review summarizes and critically discusses the main advances and trends in CLB research, drawing on experimental, analytical, and numerical approaches reported in the literature. The review highlights that the mechanical performance of CLB depends on panel architecture, bamboo product type, and adhesive systems. Reported experimental results indicate that CLB panels can achieve competitive or higher mechanical performance than selected cross-laminated timber (CLT) configurations made from specific wood species, particularly in bending, compression, tension, and rolling shear. At the same time, the literature reveals variability associated with manufacturing parameters, adhesive types, and lamella orientation, which affects the comparability of results and highlights current challenges for standardization. Structural applications investigated include floor and wall panels, beams, and rocking walls, especially for seismic-resilient building systems. Despite growing experimental evidence, most investigations remain limited to laboratory-scale elements, with modelling simplifications that constrain predictive accuracy. This review identifies the main challenges and research opportunities towards industrial scalability, standardized testing procedures, and design models adapted to the specific behavior of CLB, paving the way for its consolidation as a reliable and sustainable construction material.

With the global population surge, the consumption of nonrenewable resources and pollution emissions have reached an alarming level. Engineered bamboo is widely used in construction, mechanical and electrical product packaging, and other industries. Its main damage is the material fracture caused by the expansion of initial cracks. In order to accurately detect the length of crack propagation, digital image correlation technology can be used for calculation. At present, the traditional interpolation method is still used in the reconstruction of engineered bamboo speckle images for digital correlation technology, and the performance is relatively lagging. Therefore, this paper proposes a super-resolution reconstruction method of engineering-bamboo speckle images based on an attention-dense residual network. In this study, the residual network is improved by removing the BN layer, using the L1 loss function, introducing the attention model, and designing an attention-intensive residual block. An image super-resolution model based on the attention-dense residual network is proposed. Finally, the objective evaluation indexes PSNR and SSIM and subjective evaluation index MOS were used to evaluate the performance of the model. The ADRN method was 29.19 dB, 0.938, and 3.19 points in PSNR, SSIM, and MOS values. Compared to the traditional BICUBIC B-spline interpolation method, the speckle images reconstructed by this model increased by 8.55 dB, 0.323, and 1.43 points, respectively. Compared to the SRResNet method, the speckle images reconstructed by this model were increased by 4.53 dB, 0.111, and 0.14 points, respectively. The reconstructed speckle images of engineered bamboo were clearer, and the image features were more obvious, which could better identify the tip crack position of the engineered bamboo. The results show that the super-resolution reconstruction effect of engineered-bamboo speckle images can be effectively improved by adding the attention mechanism to the residual network. This method has great application value.

Engineered bamboo, produced through the technique of gluing and reconstituting, has better mechanical properties than round bamboo and some wood products. This paper studies the flexural performance of laminated beams produced with timber and engineered bamboo. The six-layer beams were made from Douglas fir, spruce, bamboo scrimber and laminated bamboo, or a combination of these. It is confirmed that glued-laminated wood beams produced with wood of weak strength, like spruce, can be strengthened by gluing engineered bamboo lumbers on the outer faces, thus achieving better utilization of the fast growing economic wood species. Flexural failure of the laminated beams was primarily triggered by tensile fracture of the bottom fiber in mid-span, followed by horizontal tearing beside the broken surface. No relative slip between layers was observed before failure, therefore the flexural capacity of the laminated beams can be predicted using equilibrium and compatibility conditions according to the plane section assumption.

As an innovative advancement beyond cross-laminated timber (CLT), cross-laminated bamboo and timber (CLBT) combines sustainability with enhanced structural performance. This review critically assesses the current state of CLBT research, focusing on its failure mechanisms, mechanical properties, and predictive theoretical models. Key findings indicate that CLBT exhibits superior rolling shear strength, bending stiffness, and stability compared to conventional CLT, achieved through optimized hybrid layering and manufacturing techniques. The integration of bamboo not only improves mechanical performance but also promotes diversification of raw materials and more efficient use of regional biomass. This paper highlights the potential of CLBT as a high-performance, eco-friendly construction material and identifies key research gaps and future directions to facilitate its standardized application.