The sleeve-bolt connection and the groove-plate connection are two major forms of bamboo’s joints under tension and compression load, and the strength of these two connections is normally governed by the brittle failure mode of shearing-split. A new configuration of sleeve-cement bamboo joint is designed. Comparative loading tests were carried out to study the static tensile and compressive performances of the bamboo joints. It is found that the joint with sleeve-cement connection behaves more ductile under tension and possesses higher strength under compression than those with the sleeve-bolt and groove-plate connections. The sleeve-cement connection ensures effective transition of the axial load in the bamboo joint, and there are more to be optimized in its design.

The vane shear test (VST) is comprehensively analyzed by means of empirical method, which on soft ground of one offshore foundation engineering project in Jiangsu province of China. The methods of judgment of soil stress history are summarized. Based on the shear strength of soft clay, consolidation state of the soft clay is obtained. The conclusion shows that it belongs to slight over-consolidation state. In the meantime, the two evaluation methods are comparatively analyzed. In the depth more than 5 m, the curves of over consolidation ratio (OCR) of two methods show a good consistency. The methods and applications can provide useful reference for engineers.