Column buckling in structural bamboo for bamboo scaffolding

Bamboo scaffolding is widely used in construction in the South East Asia, in particular, the Southern China and Hong Kong over many decades. However, bamboo scaffolding is generally erected by scaffolding practitioners without any scientifically based design, and column buckling is considered to be one of the critical modes of failure in bamboo scaffolding, leading to overall structural collapse. This paper presents a limit state design method against column buckling of structural bamboo, and a total of 72 column buckling tests for both Kao Jue and Mao Jue over a practical range of height-to-diameter ratios, diameter variations over member length, and also moisture content are executed to provide test data for calibration of the design method. Engineers are encouraged to take the advantage offered by bamboo to build light and strong structures to achieve enhanced economy and buildability. The effective use of structural bamboo as a substitute to structural timber will mitigate the pressures on the ever-shrinking natural forests in developing countries, and thus, facilitate the conservation of the global environment.