Fire Behavior of Bamboo, Guadua angustifolia

Bamboo is a promising building material because it is a renewable resource and it grows extremely fast. Bamboo has been widely used in the traditional architecture of some countries, but now the development of different bamboo products can expand its applications. As in the case of timber products, one of the main concerns about bamboo is the fire behavior. Therefore, in this work we have studied the fire behavior of the Guadua angustifolia depending on various parameters. We have evaluated the effect of moisture and also the influence of the microstructure on the flammability of bamboo. The results show a clear influence of the level of moisture on the fire behavior and some differences depending on the microstructure of bamboo. The internal part, which is rich in vascular cells and parenchyma tissue, has less ability to form a charred residue than the external layer rich in silicon.