Strength Characteristics of Bamboo Reinforced Concrete

Generally steel is used in concrete structures to ensure the safety of the structure. Considering the economical point of view of the structure, cost of the steel is relatively more and it may be replaced by some other material, especially to reduce the cost in low cost housing as well as in highly seismic zones. One of the materials that can replace steel is bamboo. Bamboo is cheap and it is a natural material and the availability of bamboo is more. The properties of bamboo are good tensile strength, flexural strength, and compressive strength. Based on the above properties bamboo can certainly replace steel up to certain extent. The tensile strength and modulus of elasticity of bamboo is determined by tensile test by using UTM. The bamboo culms are cut in required size and the water proofing materials such as synthetic resin and coal tar are applied over the entire surface of the bamboo culms. The coated culms are used as reinforcing material in beams and cylinders with their percentage varying from 2 to 4.  The corresponding strength achieved by the beams and cylinders after 28 days curing is compared with the plain beams and cylinders.