Review of FEM Simulations to Elucidate Fracture Mechanisms in Bamboo

Being a natural material of complex and orthotropic nature, the fracture displayed by bamboo remains widely unsolved to date. The fracture of natural bamboo is contingent on several external factors ranging from environmental to physical ones such as maturity and humidity. To elucidate the intricate fracture mechanisms in bamboo, there is a need to suppress numerous variables observed in natural materials, namely natural defects, geometry, and other physical and mechanical characteristics. One proven technique, which has shown numerous benefits to probing further into the fracture mechanisms of natural composite materials like bamboo, is the finite element method (FEM). This chapter focuses on the state-of-the-art research involving FEM simulation which has been considered to elucidate the fracture mechanisms in whole culm bamboo. The contents of this chapter will also comprise research findings from recent studies conducted by the author in this field. The research findings, in the first instance, will cover the effects of contributing factors such as material inhomogeneity, thermal modification, and direction of loading on the fracture mechanisms of bamboo. Under-researched areas involving the associated effects of physical and geometrical factors on the fracture of bamboo requiring further application of FEM techniques are also covered. Despite its wide usage over the last decades, the advent of high-end FEM simulation capabilities could exert a key role in elucidating the complex fracture mechanisms in bamboo products and bamboo-inspired structures. Besides, FEM can as well be considered to optimize the material structure of similar bio-inspired and advanced composites in further research.