Physical and mechanical properties of five Indonesian bamboos

Indonesia is a country with abundant of bamboo. More than 100 species of bamboo are found in Indonesia, and the production of bamboo ranks second after China. Bamboo has great potential to be used as industrial raw materials due to its high mechanical properties. The properties of the bamboo's fiber have been widely reported by several researchers, but the rarely properties of bamboo's culm which is consist of fiber, parenchym, and conducting tissue were reported. This research aimed to identify the culm in five most common bamboos in Indonesia namely Bamboo Temen ( Gigantochloa Atter ), Bamboo Apus ( Gigantochloa Apus Kurz ), Bamboo Kuning ( Bambusa vulgaris schard var. Vitata ), Bamboo Gombong ( Gigantochloa pseudoarundinacea ), and Bamboo Hitam ( Gigantochloa verticillata ). Properties identification were on the density, morphology, tensile strength, and modulus of elasticity. The density of different types of bamboo's culm varied from 0.54 to 0.78 g/cm 3 . Morphology of culm showed hollow structure which was consist of vessel and surrounded by fibers. Tensile strength of Bamboo Temen, Bamboo Apus, Bamboo Kuning, Bamboo Gombong, and Bamboo Hitam were of 195, 179, 82, 114, and 118 MPa, respectively whereas corresponding modulus of elasticity were of 16.7; 7.5; 14.3; 16.0; and 10.1 GPa. The best mechanical performance was found in Bamboo Temen.