Recently, a research team organized by ZJUI Distinguished Professor Yan Xiao and by professor Cristoforo Demartino was approved for funding of 7.73 million Yuan from the Ministry of Science and Technology. The project is a part of a multi-university grand challenge project led by Professor Chen Zhihua of Tianjin University, under the “Technological Innovation of Green Livable Villages and Towns” program of the National Key Research and Development Plan 2019. The ZJUI team is developing “Key Technology of Cost-effective Prefabricated and Hybrid Ecological Bamboo Structural Systems” and “Intelligent Construction Technology of Cost-effective Bamboo Structures”. The research seeks to advance the implementation of bamboo, a sustainable material, into modern prefabrication and intelligent manufacture technologies to promote the application of bio-based materials in residential construction. The goal is to improve the living environment and to protect natural beauty in China’s rural areas. Professor Xiao initiated research efforts on bamboo and bio-based materials more than 15 years ago, seeking materials systems that are environmental friendly and adaptable to needs in China. His team has developed the award winning GluBam technology, which combines advanced modern wood structure development in industrialized countries such as Europe, North America, and Japan with rich bamboo forest resources in China. The invention of Glubam was awarded the Best of What’s New in 2008 by the Popular Science magazine. Professor Xiao has developed several modern bamboo structural systems including light and heavy building framing, steel-bamboo and concrete-bamboo composite systems, large-span roof truss systems, bamboo structure bridge systems, and prefabricated houses. He has led the construction of many demonstration buildings and bridges in China and Africa. Modern engineered bamboo structural innovations from China have become an international trend.Professor Demartino is particularly interested in structural engineering. He used both numerical and experimental approaches to understand the response of structures under different loading conditions and to determine the structural behavior.
Article | Mo Chenyi
