Flammability Assessment of GluBam with Cone-Calorimeter Tests

Abstract

Bamboo is increasingly recognized for its potential as an environmentally friendly and sustainable building material, but the knowledge of its combustion properties and the safety of bamboo building construction are very limited. In this study, experiments were conducted to obtain the combustion behaviors of glue-laminated bamboo (GluBam or glubam) boards by using a cone calorimeter. The tests were carried out at five levels of heat flux: 15, 25, 35, 50, and 70 kW/m2. The measured results are compared with those of fir plywood. Glubam generally behaves better than plywood under the same heat flux. A further comparison of the investigation in this study with some measured results in published papers indicates that glubam is less flammable than the laminated bamboo materials and several wood species. The fire safety assessment of glubam is also studied based on fire hazard indices, the charring rate, and fire endurance time. From flammability considerations, glubam has the potential as a substitute for untreated plywood in structural and lining applications and should further be evaluated according to building codes to define its end-use.