This paper presents and discusses the experimental and theoretical analyses of layer composite beams of wood strengthened with bamboo. For this, the mechanical behavior of five composite beams and two wood beams was studied. The beam's stuffing was composed of Pinus elliottii and the reinforcement of bamboo Dendrocalamus giganteus. The bamboo reinforcement was placed on the top and at the bottom of the beams. Different thicknesses of reinforcement were investigated. Curves of load vs. displacement and load vs. strain are presented. An increase of 50% was observed in the stiffness, when the composite beams are compared with the wood one. Finally, a numerical study was carried out applying the finite element method and a good agreement was observed between the theoretical and experimental values.
structure; bamboo; reinforcement
