Experimental and Analytical Study on Creep Characteristics of Box Section Bamboo-Steel Composite Columns under Long-Term Loading

To expand the application of bamboo as a building material, a new type of box section composite column that combined bamboo and steel was considered in this paper. The creep characteristics of eight bamboo-steel composite columns with different parameters were tested to evaluate the effects of load level, section size and interface type under long-term loading. Then, the deformation development of the composite column under long-term loading was observed and analyzed. In addition, the creep-time relationship curve and the creep coefficient were created. Furthermore, the creep model of the composite column was proposed based on the relationship between the creep of the composite column and the creep of bamboo, and the calculated value of creep was compared with the experimental value. The experimental results showed that the creep development of the composite column was fast at first, and then became stable after about 90 days. The creep characteristics were mainly affected by long-term load level and section size. The creep coefficient was between 0.160 and 0.190. Moreover, the creep model proposed in this paper was applicable to predict the creep development of bamboo-steel composite columns. The calculation results were in good agreement with the experimental results.