 Contents:

• INTRODUCTION
• BAMBOO CHARACTERISTICS
• SELECTION OF BAMBOO
• PLACING OF BAMBOO
• BAMBOO AS AN ENGINEERING MATERIAL
• BAMBOO REINFORCED CONCRETE
ELEMENTS
• EXPRIMENTAL OBSERVATIONS
• ADVANTAGES OF BRC
• OTHER APPLICATIONS OF BAMBOO
• CONCLUSION
 Introduction:
• Bamboo is characterized as a bio degradable, renewable
and an energy efficiency natural resource.
• It is an environmentally sustainable building material.
• It has been used as construction material in certain
areas for centuries.
• Bamboo can be used as an alternative material in
reinforcement of concrete.
• Bamboo can reduce the problem of carbon footprints.
• Bamboo has great tensile strength as compared to steel.
 Bamboo Characteristics:

• TENSILE STRENGTH
• COMPRESSIVE STRENGTH
• ELASTIC MODULUS
• ANISOTROPIC PROPERTY
• SHRINKAGE
• FIRE RESISTANCE
 Protection of Bamboo in case
of BRC:
• The Swelling and shrinkage of bamboo in concrete create a serious
limitation in the use of bamboo as a substitute for steel in concrete.
• One effective treatment is the application of a thin layer of epoxy to
the bamboo surface followed by a coating of fine sand.
• Enamel Paint
• Bitumen Layer
 Uses of Bamboo in Construction:

• Bamboo Housing
• Bamboo Flooring
• Bamboo Reinforced Concrete (BRC)
• Foundations
• Bamboo Scaffoldings
• Bamboo Roofing
 Selection & Preparation of Bamboo for BRC:

• Selection
• Preparation:
1.Splitting
2.Seasoning
3.Bending Splitting
4.Water Proof Coatings
 Placement of Bamboo:

• Bamboo reinforcement should not be placed less than

1½ inches from the face of the concrete surface.
• Reinforcement should be evenly spaced and lashed
together on short sticks placed at right angles to the
main reinforcement.
• The ties can be made with vegetation strips.
• Spacing of the stirrups should not exceed 6 inches.
 Bamboo as Engineering Materials:

• Durability
• Effect of water absorption
• Bonding strength
 Concrete Mix Design for BRC:

• Grade – M25
• Ratio(C:S:Ag) - 1:1:2
• Concrete Mix design procedure is followed as same
conventional method used for RCC.
• Procedure:
1. Weighing
2. Mixing Concrete
3. Casting Specimens
4. Finishing
5. Curing
 Experimental Investigations:

• Casting of Specimens:
1.Plain Cement Concrete Beam
2.Beam with TMT Bar
3.BRC Beam
 Calculations of Materials:

• M25 grade Ratio: (1:1:2)

• Cement : OPC 43 GRADE
• Sand : River Sand
• Coarse Aggregates
• Volume of a beam:
= 0.15*0.15*0.70
=0.01575 m3
• Hence the quantities for the mix of simple M25 grade beam:
1450
• Cement : 1 ∗ 0.01575 ∗ = 5.70 𝑘𝑔
4
1800
• Sand : 1 ∗ 0.01575 ∗ = 7.10 𝑘𝑔
4
2200
• Coarse Aggregates : 2 ∗ 0.01575 ∗ = 17.50 𝑘𝑔
4
  Compressive Strength Testing in CTM:

• Compressive strength of the specimens is tested out after curing of

28 days.
• Load at which the beam fails is noted.

Compressive Strength Testing Machine

 Observations:

Sr No. Specimen Beam Crushing or Failure Load (KN) % Increase in Load with respect to
PCC beam

1 Beam1-PCC Beam 21 KN -

2 Beam 2- 58 KN 176 %
TMT Bar Beam

Beam 3
3 Bamboo Reinforced Beam 32 KN 52.38 %
 Comparison of Failure Loads in Specimens:
  COMPARISON OF BAMBOO AND STEEL:

• The strength of bamboo is greater than

steel.
• Bamboo is easily accessible
• Bamboo lowers the cost of construction
• Bamboo can crack and deflect more than
steel reinforcement.
• Tensile Strength is higher tham steel.
• No Carbon Footprints as steel.
 Advantages of BRC:

• Reduces Problem of Carbon Footprints.

• Low cost construction.
• It is eco friendly as it absorbs NO2 in water
• and CO2 in air.
• Bamboo is easily accessible.
• Earthquake Resistance as it withstands
7.8 Richter of seismic attack.
 Limitations and Drawbacks :
• Few considerations currently limit the use of bamboo as
a universally applicable construction material
• Jointing techniques - Although many traditional joint
types exist, their structural efficiency is low.
Considerable research has been directed at the
development of more effective methods.
• Flammability
• Lack of design guidance and codification - The
engineering design of bamboo structures has not yet
been fully addressed.
• Not useful for heavy structures.
 Conclusion:
• Bamboo-strip-mat reinforced beam when compared with plain concrete beam 52.5 %
increase in load in flexure was recorded, it indicated that bamboo-strip-mat can be
used as reinforcement in concrete construction.
• When bamboo-strip-mat reinforced beam was compared with beam reinforced with
TMT steel reinforced beam it was reported decrease in failure load about 44.83%
indicating that steel cannot be fully replaced by bamboo-strip-mat.
• More effecting resin coating may increase failure load of bamboo-strip-mat as it was
found during test bamboo-strip-mat was corroded.
• The bamboo reinforced concrete can easily be used at the place of plain cement
concrete to increase the load bearing and flexural strength of structures.
• It can also replace the reinforced concrete partition walls also as these are low load
bearing components of building.
• Bamboo reinforced concrete can be great ecofriendly initiative in reducing the carbon
footprints to save the environment from being polluted.
 Reference:
1. M.B.Varma, An attempt to test suitability of bamboo strip as a structural material, Journal os
structural engineering and management, ISSN:2393-8773 (online),Vo;ume 2,issue 3,oct.2015.
2. M. B. Varma, State of The art: Bamboo as a structural Material, International Journal of
Engineering Research, ISSN 2319- 6890 (Online) Volume no.5,Issue Special 1,Jan.2016.

3. Ogunbiyi et.al “Comparative Analysis of Tensile Strength of Bamboo and Reinforcement

Steel Bars as Structural Member in Building Construction” International Journal of Scientific
Technology and Research, Volume 4, Issue 11, November 2015.

4. NPTEL Portal.

5. Jikar.K.Sevalia et.al “Study on Bamboo as Reinforcement in Cement Concrete” International

Journal of Engineering Research and Applications, Vol.3, Issue2, March-April 2013.