Laminated bamboo (LB) is considered a promising environmentally friendly material due to its notable strength and advantageous lightweight properties, making it suitable for use in construction applications. LB I-beams are a prevalent component in bamboo structures due to their ability to fully utilize their material properties and enhance efficiency when compared to beams with rectangular solid sections, while the characteristics of connections should be further studied. This paper presents an experimental investigation of the flexural behavior of I-shaped LB beams that are connected using self-tapping screws and LB dowels. Compared with glued beams of the same size, the findings of the study reveal that the primary failure modes observed in those two types of components were characterized by the separation of the component and web tensile fracture. The screw beam and dowel beam exhibited a reduced ultimate capacity of 43.54% and 30.03%, respectively, compared to the glued beam. Additionally, the ultimate deflections of the screw beam and dowel beam were 34.38% and 50.36% larger than those of the glued beam, respectively. These variations in performance can be attributed to the early breakdown of connectors. Based on design codes, it can be observed that the serviceability limits were in close proximity, whereas the ultimate strains of the top and bottom flanges were significantly lower than the ultimate stresses experienced under uniaxial loading conditions. As a result of the slip and early failure of connectors, the effective bending stiffness estimated by the Gamma method achieved better agreements before elastic proportional limit. Therefore, in future investigations, it would be beneficial to enhance the connector and fortify the flange as a means of enhancing the bending characteristics of an I-shaped beam.

Laminated bamboo (LB), as a novel eco-friendly composite material with a high strength-to-weight ratio, has garnered increasing interest. However, there is a gap in comprehending the impact of size on the tensile properties of LB, particularly tensile strength and modulus. In contrast with conventional materials such as concrete and wood, which have specified specimen sizes and size effect factors to address performance variances linked to size, LB lacks such standards and references. To address this, seven groups of LB specimens of varying sizes were developed and tested to examine the impact of length, thickness, and sectional area on failure mechanisms and fundamental features, including density considerations. The findings demonstrate that size does not significantly influence the failure mode. Length exerts a smaller influence than thickness. When specimens are scaled up by a factor of two, tensile strength and modulus diminish to 82.86% and 88.38% of their initial values, respectively. Density significantly influences the relationships of tensile strength, modulus, and size effects. Consequently, size effect models incorporating both specific properties and the density–property relationship were developed.

Laminated bamboo (LB) represents a promising sustainable construction material, inheriting bamboo’s high strength, lightweight properties, and good ductility. However, the dimensional stability of mechanical performance—specifically size effects—remains a critical design challenge requiring systematic investigation. This study investigates the compression behavior of LB with tests of four specimen groups spanning volumes from 62,500 to 4,000,000 mm³ (25 × 25 × 100 mm to 100 × 100 × 400 mm). The research objectives encompass (i) characterizing compression behavior and failure mechanisms across different specimen scales, (ii) quantifying geometric and volumetric size effects on mechanical properties, (iii) evaluating theoretical frameworks for size effect prediction, (iv) developing progressive modeling approaches incorporating material heterogeneity, and (v) establishing design parameters for practical applications. Results demonstrate modest proportional size effects (1.60% strength reduction, 8.62% modulus reduction for 4× proportional scaling) but significant geometric optimization benefits, with cubic specimens achieving 15.78% higher strength and 25.11% greater modulus than equivalent-volume prismatic specimens. All specimens exhibited interfacial delamination failure with size-dependent crack propagation patterns. Theoretical analysis incorporates Weibull statistics, Bažant’s fracture mechanics, and Carpinteri’s fractal theory, with fracture energy modeling performing optimally. Three progressive modeling approaches achieve prediction accuracies ranging from 1.17% to 0.37% errors, with density-coupled modeling providing superior performance despite minimal density variations (COV = 9.27%). The research establishes size effect factors (0.86 for strength, 0.78 for modulus) and critical dimensions (125.64–126.14 mm), addressing critical gaps in LB size-dependent behavior. These parameters enable the development of reliable design methodologies for large-scale sustainable construction.

Laminated bamboo (LB) has shown enough exceptional performance to be used in constructions, but the performance of the bolted connections remains to be explored. To meet the criteria of low-carbon construction and fill the research gap in LB dowel embedment performance, this study examined the longitudinal dowel embedment behavior of LB. Failure modes, load–displacement curves, embedment strength, and elastic foundation parameters were examined after four sets of half-hole specimens with dowel diameters (6, 8, 10, and 12 mm) were tested in accordance with ISO 10984-2. The majority of the data was confirmed to follow a normal distribution by the Kolmogorov–Smirnov test. Interlaminar shear failure (dominant in 10 and 12 mm groups) and local crushing (dominant in 6 and 8 mm groups) were the primary failure modes. There were clear linear and nonlinear phases in the load–displacement curves (excellent ductility). The average elastic foundation modulus was 3565.55 MPa (0.39 times the compressive modulus); meanwhile, the average proportional limit, yield, and ultimate strengths were 35.48, 63.08, and 74.44 MPa (0.59, 1.06, and 1.25 times the parallel-to-grain compressive strength). The ultimate strength varied from 72.64 MPa to 76.71 MPa as the diameter rose; however, the elastic foundation beam coefficient dropped significantly. A novel calculation based on LB’s parallel-to-grain compressive strength accorded well with test results, while the existing code formulae (GB 50005, NDS, and CSA O86) overestimated LB embedment strength. The design of LB bolted connections is guided by this study, which also explains LB embedment criteria and offers design parameters and a prediction method.