Guadua chacoensis in Bolivia -an investigation of mechanical properties of a bamboo species Maria Lindholm Sara Palm December 5, 2007 Examiner: Stig-Inge Gustafsson Supervisor: Kenneth Bringzén Department of Management and Engineering Centre for Wood Technology & Design LIU-IEI-TEK-A--07/00256--SE http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:liu:diva-10372 ii Sammanfattning Detta examensarbetete har gjorts vid CTD- Centrum för Träteknik och De- sign vid Linköpings universitet och har utförts i Santa Cruz de la Sierra i Bolivia. Syftet med detta examensarbete är att studera de mekaniska egenskaperna och användningsområden för Guadua chacoensis, en boliviansk bambuart. Genom historien har bambu använts i en mängd olika applikationer såsom hus, verktyg, möbler, mat, bränsle, papper och land-rehabilitering. I de esta asiatiska länder är bambu en viktig resurs för små- och medelstora företag vilket skapar arbetstillfällen och motverkar fattigdom. I Sydamerika nns många länder, däribland Bolivia, vilka har stora möjligheter att utnyttja bambu på samma sätt. En av huvudidéerna med detta examensarbete är att kunna gynna den bolivianska välfärden genom att belysa denna, hittills outvecklade naturresurs. Detta examensarbete är en Minor eld study, delvis nansierad av Sida, styrelsen för internationellt utvecklingssamarbete. Under fältarbetet genom- fördes teoretiska studier då internationell och inhemsk information om bambu, speciellt om Guadua chacoensis, samlades in. Olika områden där arten växer besöktes och hållfasthetstekniska tester genomfördes vid UPSA- Universidad Privada de Santa Cruz de la Sierra. Genom drag-, böj- och hårdhetsprovning har det påvisats att Guadua chacoensis är ett böjligt och medelhårt material med en draghållfasthet som är jämförbar med den för Europeisk ek. Detta gör att denna bambuart lämpar sig bland annat för konstruktioner, såsom hus och broar, samt mö- beltillverkning. iii iv Abstract This Master thesis has been performed at CTD- the Centre for Wood Tech- nology and Design at the University of Linköping and has been carried out in Santa Cruz de la Sierra in Bolivia. The objective of this thesis is to study the mechanical properties and uses of Guadua chacoensis, a bamboo native to Bolivia. Throughout history, bamboo has been used in many countries for a variety of purposes. In Asia bamboo is an important raw-material for buildings and furniture. It is also used for making paper and for land rehabilitation and fuel. In South America many countries, among them Bolivia, have great potential to use bamboo in the same way. One of the key ideas with this Master thesis is to make a contribution to support the Bolivian economy and welfare by elucidate this, hitherto undeveloped, natural resource. This thesis is a Minor eld study partly nanced by Sida- the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency. During the eld study the- oretical studies were made, collecting local and international information about bamboo and Guadua chacoensis in particular. Laboratory tests were prepared and conducted at UPSA- the Private University of Santa Cruz de la Sierra and several localities of the plant were visited. Through tensile-, bending- and hardness test it is found that Guadua chacoensis is a exible, medium soft material and is comparable with Euro- pean oak when it comes to the tensile strength. This leads to the conclusion that this bamboo species, among other elds of applications, can be used for constructions, like houses and bridges, and furniture manufacturing. v vi Acknowledgements The idea of doing this Master thesis was established in October 2006 which makes this a slightly more than one year long project. During this time sev- eral people have crossed our paths and contributed to our work in dierent ways. We would like to thank our examiner Stig-Inge Gustafsson and our super- visor Kenneth Bringzén at the University of Linköping. We deeply appreciate their support and great interest in our work throughout the whole project. Furthermore we would like to thank Per Larsson and Stig Algstrand, also at the University of Linköping, for helping us to nd the right contacts in Bolivia and Kerstin Johansen at CTD, who proofread the thesis. Special thanks is directed to Per Larsson that helped us arrange the nancing of our stay in Bolivia. Our gratefulness also goes to Gabriella A. Pinaya Johannessen at Cadefor, Santa Cruz that at all times was ready to answer questions and supported us during our stay in Bolivia. In addition, our thanks go to Gastón Mejia, Jorge Zeballos and Gustavo Quinteros at UPSA- the Private university of Santa Cruz de la Sierra that helped us with the laboratory tests. Our deepest gratitude goes to our fellow worker and dear friend Luis Fer- nando Ortiz, who's help in Santa Cruz was inestimable. His broad knowledge of bamboo and his useful contacts were very valuable. Thanks to him our work and stay in Bolivia could not have been better. We will never forget our investigation trips and the hanging-out together! We would also like to thank Sida, Ansgarius-stiftelsen and Sparbanksstif- telsen Alfa whose scholarships nanced our project. It would not have been possible to carry out the Master thesis in Bolivia without their economic support. vii Finally, we would like to thank everyone that made our time in Bolivia to an enriching and moving stay. Our time in Bolivia was an adventure and we will treasure the memories from this journey forever. viii Preface During autumn 2006 the idea of going to Bolivia to do our Master thesis was arised. The possibility to do a Minor eld study in a developing country - nanced by Sida, the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency, lead to the decision of realizing this idea. The Minor eld study scholarship nance the expenses during an eight week study in a developing country with the purpose to increase understanding of Swedish development work in countries all around the world. The fact that the University of Linköping during several years has been cooperating with UPSA- the Private Univer- sity of Santa Cruz de la Sierra lead to the choice to place our study in Santa Cruz. Santa Cruz is Bolivia's biggest city located in the east of the country, in the Tropical Amazon region. We hope that the readers will nd the results of our endeavours, to gain a little bit of knowledge about this remarkable plant, bamboo, interesting and that the qualities of this versatile material will be appreciated. ix x Contents 1 Introduction 1 1.1 Background . 1 1.2 Objective . 2 1.3 Thesis Structure . 2 1.4 Reading Instructions . 3 2 Bamboo -a Woody Grass 5 2.1 Brief Bamboo History . 5 2.2 The Plant . 6 2.2.1 Rhizomes . 6 2.2.2 Groves . 7 2.2.3 Roots . 7 2.2.4 Culms . 7 2.2.5 Nodes . 8 2.2.6 Branches . 9 2.2.7 Leaves . 10 2.2.8 Flowers . 11 2.2.9 Seedling . 11 2.2.10 Growth . 12 2.2.11 Environment . 13 2.3 World Distribution . 14 2.4 Species . 15 2.4.1 Sympodial Bamboos . 16 2.4.2 Monopodial Bamboos . 17 2.5 Cultivation, Curing and Harvesting . 17 2.5.1 Cultivation . 17 2.5.2 Curing . 18 2.5.3 Harvesting . 18 2.5.4 Insects . 19 2.6 Anatomy and Mechanical Properties . 20 2.6.1 Anatomical Structure . 20 xi 2.6.2 Mechanical Properties . 21 2.7 Renement Techniques . 23 2.7.1 Drying . 23 2.7.2 Cutting . 24 2.7.3 Splitting . 24 2.7.4 Bending . 25 2.7.5 Joints . 25 2.7.6 Laminating . 26 2.7.7 Surface Treatment . 27 2.8 World Market . 28 2.9 Bamboo Uses . 28 2.9.1 Constructions . 28 2.9.2 Buildings . 30 2.9.3 Plybamboo, Laminate and Furniture . 30 2.9.4 Paper . 32 2.9.5 Ecomaterial . 32 2.9.6 Other Uses . 32 2.9.7 Recently Developed Uses . 33 3 Method and Performance 35 3.1 Research Approach . 35 3.2 Pre-Study Phase . 35 3.2.1 Brainstorming . 36 3.2.2 Mind Map . 36 3.3 Evaluation of Possible Working Areas . 38 3.4 Delimitations . 38 3.5 The Field Study . 39 3.6 Analysis . 39 3.7 The Quality of the Study . 39 3.7.1 Validity . 40 3.7.2 Reliability . 40 4 Bamboo in Bolivia 41 4.1 Distribution . 41 4.2 Species . 42 4.3 Bamboo Industry . 43 4.3.1 Forestal Communities . 44 4.4 Bamboo Uses in Bolivia . 44 4.4.1 Historical Uses . 44 4.4.2 Modern Uses . 46 xii 5 Guadua Chacoensis 49 5.1 The Spicies . 49 5.2 Distribution . 49 5.3 Uses . 50 5.4 Mechanical Properties . 51 6 Laboratory Tests of Guadua Chacoensis 53 6.1 Laboratory Standards . 53 6.1.1 Tensile test . 54 6.1.2 Bending test . 55 6.1.3 Hardness test . 55 6.1.4 Specimens Preparation . 55 6.2 Results of the Mechanical Properties Tests . 56 6.2.1 Tensile Test Parallel to Fibre . 56 6.2.2 Bending Test . 57 6.2.3 Hardness Test Perpendicular to Fibre . 57 7 Analysis 63 7.1 Laboratory Tests . 63 7.1.1 Tensile Test Parallel to Fibre . 63 7.1.2 Bending Test . 65 7.1.3 Hardness Test Perpendicular to Fibres . 65 7.2 SWOT-Analysis . 66 7.2.1 Strengths . 67 7.2.2 Weaknesses . 68 7.2.3 Opportunities . 68 7.2.4 Threats . 68 7.3 Possibilities for Guadua Chacoensis . 69 8 Conclusions and Recommendations 71 9 Reections 73 9.1 Planning of the Work . 73 9.2 Final Results . 73 9.3 Further Work . 74 A Glossary 81 B German Abstract 85 C Spanish Abstract 87 xiii D Results Tensile test Parallel to Fiber 89 D.1 Lower Parts of Culms - A .