Resistance to Parallel Compression to the Fiber of a Native Bamboo Species from Mexico (Otatea fimbriata Soderstrom)

Abstract

In the present investigation the maximum compression effort was determined parallel to the fiber in a species of bamboo native to Mexico (Otatea fimbriata Soderstrom), found wild in the municipality of Suchiapa, Chiapas, for validation as a construction material. Samples were tested with knot and without knot of the lower, middle and upper part of the culms, following the procedures of the NTC-5525: 2007 "Test methods to determine the physical and mechanical properties of the Guadua Angustifolia Kunth" and the Standards ISO: 22157-1: 2004 and ISO TR 22157-2: 2004. Maximum resistance values are within the reported range of other bamboo species (genus Guadua). The compression values show that the Otatea fimbriata Soderstrom is an alternative material, natural, highly renewable and with high potential for its use in construction.