Experimental evaluation of physical and mechanical properties of Glued Laminated Guadua angustifolia Kunth Juan F. Correal ⇑ , Juan S. Echeverry, Fernando Ramírez, Luis E. Yamín Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Universidad de los Andes, Bogotá, Colombia highlights  A laminated bamboo product is presented as an alternative to wood products.  Study of the physical and mechanical properties of Glued Laminated Guadua, GLG.  Comparison of mechanical properties of GLG with other laminated bamboo and wood products.  Results may be used as a technical framework for structural design values and as basis for FEM applications. article info Article history: Received 2 May 2014 Received in revised form 9 September 2014 Accepted 24 September 2014 Keywords: Guadua angustifolia Glued laminated bamboo Physical properties Mechanical properties abstract A comprehensive study was conducted in order to determine selected physical and mechanical properties of Glued Laminated Guadua angustifolia Kunth, providing a proper characterization which, in turn, represents a technical framework for structural design values. Experimental tests were performed to determine properties such as density, shrinkage-in-volume, compression (parallel- and perpendicular- to-grain), tension (parallel- and perpendicular-to-grain), shear-parallel-to-grain, and static bending, among others. Comparisons of the experimental results and reported strength values for other laminated bamboo and timber products show great potential for Glued Laminated Guadua as a structural material, since it has higher strength and stiffness than other laminated bamboo products. The experimental results also indicate that Glued Laminated Guadua possesses considerably higher strength and compara- ble stiffness than those of engineered timbers commonly used in the United States and, therefore, has a great potential for its use in light frame construction. The results presented herein may be also used as a basis for further simulations and finite element method applications. Ó 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. 1. Introduction Due to the increasing need for identifying renewable and sus- tainable resources for use in the construction industry, materials of natural origin such as bamboo have become an interesting alter- native, being a more environmental-friendly construction material. Features such as fast growing rate and high strength-to-weight ratio make bamboo a promising alternative material for construc- tion. From a total of 1250 species of bamboo around the world, only few are considered suitable for construction purposes: Bam- busa balcooa, Bambusa nutans, Bambusa polymorpha, Gigantochloa apus, Guadua amplexifolia, Guadua angustifolia, Phyllostachys pubes- cens, among others [1]. However, the use of bamboo in construction is limited mainly because of its natural round cross section, which varies in diam- eter and thickness along the culm. These irregularities have hin- dered its structural use, since standardized connections, or simply the need of straight elements, are not easily achieved. In order to overcome these limitations, laminated products derived from round bamboo have been developed, introducing a more practical solution for traditional structural applications [2]. In recent years, research studies have been conducted in order to determine the feasibility of various laminated bamboo products for structural purposes, proving an adequate behavior and capac- ity [3–9]. Furthermore, the lack of a complete characterization of the physical and mechanical properties of such products limits the use of laminated bamboo for structural design and construction. Various giant species of bamboo have been used for construction purposes in South and East Asia, as well as Central and South America. Specifically, Guadua angustifolia Kunth is a giant species http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.conbuildmat.2014.09.056 0950-0618/Ó 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. ⇑ Corresponding author. Tel.: +57 1 3394949x2811. E-mail addresses: jcorreal@uniandes.edu.co (J.F. Correal), js.echeverry103@ uniandes.edu.co (J.S. Echeverry), framirez@uniandes.edu.co (F. Ramírez), lyamin@ uniandes.edu.co (L.E. Yamín). Construction and Building Materials 73 (2014) 105–112 Contents lists available at ScienceDirect Construction and Building Materials journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/conbuildmat