International Refereed Journal of Engineering and Science (IRJES) ISSN (Online) 2319-183X, (Print) 2319-1821 Volume 2, Issue 4(April

2013), PP.55-63 www.irjes.com

Performance Evaluation Of Bamboo As Reinforcement In Design Of Construction Element

Dr. Patel Pratima A.1, Maiwala Adit R.2 , Gajera Vivek J. 3 , Patel Jaymin A. 4 , Magdallawala Sunny H. 5
1 2,3,4,5

(Associate Professor, Civil Engg. Dept., Sarvajanik College of Engineering & Technology, Surat, India) (Project Scholars, Civil Engg. Dept., Sarvajanik College of Engineering & Technology, Surat, India)

ABSTRACT: Traditionally steel is used as reinforcement in concrete structure. But because of cost and
availability, replacement of steel with some other suitable materials as reinforcement is now a major concern. It is a fact that the construction industry is the main consumer of energy and materials in most countries. Though bamboo has been used as a construction material, especially in developing country, until today its use as reinforcement in concrete structure is very limited due to various uncertainties. Since bamboo is a natural, cheap and also readily available material, it can be a substitute of steel in reinforcing of concrete structure. Authors have tested & evaluated physical and mechanical properties like compressive strength, tensile strength, Flexural test, Bonding strength, water absorption, density etc. of the selected bamboo species in material testing laboratory. Purpose of the experiments on bamboo strips is for validation and justification of these results confirm the application of bamboo as reinforcement element. Authors have investigated conducted for the tested types of bamboo are evaluated using the same accepted criteria as that of steel. Also authors have evaluated the performance and justification of fabricated underground water tank by replacement of steel to bamboo.

Keywords - Bamboos, Bambusoideae, Node & end Split, Renewable natural resource, Tangential shrinkage,
Water absorption & waterproofing agent

I. Introduction
Bamboos are giant grasses belonging to the family of the Bambusoideae. It is estimated that 60 90 genre of bamboo exist, encompass approximately 11001500 species and there are also about 600 different botanical species of bamboo in the world. Bamboo mainly grows in tropical and sub-tropical regions of Asia, Latin America and Africa. The energy necessary to produce 1 m 3 per unit stress projected in practice for materials commonly used in civil construction, such as steel or concrete, has been compared with that of bamboo. Bamboo is versatile resource characterized by high strength to weight ratio and ease in working with simple tools. Bamboo is the fastest growing, renewable natural resource known to us. It is a small wonder, therefore, that this material was used for building extensively by our ancestors. It has a long and well established tradition as a building material throughout the tropical and sub-tropical regions. It is used in many forms of construction, particularly, for housing in rural areas. But, enough attention had not been paid towards research and development in bamboo as had been in the case with other materials of construction including timber. Due to ecological materials and having many advantageous characteristics of bamboo, in the last few years, studies have been made on bamboo as structural material and reinforcement in concrete. Bamboo has great economic potential, especially in the developing countries, because it can be replenished within a very short time. A critical assessment of the present status and future prospects of bamboo housing would be helpful in exploiting that potential. 1.1 History of Bamboo An archaeological discovery in Ecuador has traced back the use of bamboo for housing to the preceramic for years ago. Although no such hard evidence is available in Asia, it is known that bamboo has been employed since several centuries for several purposes, including housing, in South, East and Southeast Asia. It is the single most important organic building material in these regions. It is used in over 70% of rural houses and extensively employed as informal shelter for the urban poor. At present, there is an acute shortage of housing

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Performance Evaluation Of Bamboo As Reinforcement In Design Of Construction Elements

because of the scarcity of conventional materials coupled with rapid population growth. Many villagers were already adopted weavers of bamboo, thus quickly mastered the frame construction technique. There use of this technology to built catchment tank for rainwater collection. A study of the feasibly of using bamboo as reinforcing material in precast concrete element was conducted at U.S. Army Engineer Waterways Experiment Stations in 1964. The importance of bamboo as a construction material, particularly for housing, has received renewed attention in recent years, but conceptual application of bamboo as a reinforcement is as old as in 1979. This new born hybrid technology first developed in village areas of Colombia. 1.2 Characteristics of Bamboo The bamboo Culm, in general, is a cylindrical shell, which is divided by transversal diaphragms at the nodes. Bamboo shells are orthotropic materials with high strength in the direction parallel to the fibers and low strength perpendicular to the fibers. The thickness and strength of bamboo, however, decreases from the base to the top of the bamboo shell. The density of the fibers in the cross-section of a bamboo shell varies along its thickness. On the outer skin of a bamboo shell the fibers are concentrated and more resistant to degradation. This presents a functionally gradient material, grew according to the state of stress distribution in its natural environment. In view of the hollowness and the fibers in longitudinal direction, bamboo has a very efficient natural structural design and less material mass is needed than materials with a massive section, such as timber. Fig. 1 shows the parts of a bamboo which are usual to most of the species.

Figure 1 Basic component parts of bamboo

1.3 Physical and Mechanical Properties A series of tests have been conducted on bamboo reinforced concrete elements for determination of Physical and Mechanical Properties like Compressive strength, Flexural strength, Specific gravity, Modulus of rupture, Safe working stress in tension, Bond stress, Water absorption test, Modulus of Elasticity etc. The density of bamboo is found to vary from 500 to 800 kg/m 3, depending on the anatomical structure such as the quantity and distribution of fibres around the vascular bundles. Density increases from the centre to the periphery of the culm. It also increases from the base to the top of the culm. The maximum density is obtained in about three-year-old culms. Bamboo possesses high moisture content which is influenced by age, season of felling and species. Moisture is at its lowest in the dry season and reaches maximum during the monsoon. Because of the differences in anatomical structure and density, there is a large variation in tangential shrinkage from the interior to the outer-most portion of the wall. Bamboo gained excellent strength & tensile strength properties, especially in design of reinforced member. Most of the properties depend on the species, and the climatic conditions under which they grow. Strength varies along the culm height. Compressive strength increases with height, while bending strength has the inverse trend. An increase in strength is reported to occur at 3-4 years, and thereafter it decreases. Thus, the maturity period of bamboo may be considered as 3-4 years with respect to density and strength.

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Performance Evaluation Of Bamboo As Reinforcement In Design Of Construction Elements II. Bamboo as reinforced element Reviewed by Researchers
Solomon K. A. [1] constructed an experimental bamboo classroom building at Fumesua, Kumasi, indicated that the cost of materials and construction is competitive and can be reduced further if labor costs and construction times are reduced, and construction methods improved. This can come about only with resort to plantation bamboo, a trained skilled labor pool, and the encouragement of an industry in the production of bamboo modular units. Prasad J. et al. [2] used cement-sand mortar panels with bamboo as reinforcing material to making low cost housing in hilly regions. However, wall and roof elements made of simple bamboo mat do not last long due to their poor strength against static as well as impact loads and durability. Sakaray H. et al. [3] Studied that the constitutive relationship of the nodes differs from those of inter-nodal regions. Further the nodes possess brittle behavior and the inter-nodal regions possess ductile behavior. The average tensile strength of moso bamboo from present study is 125 N/mm2, which is half the strength of mild steel. The compressive strength of bamboo is nearly same as the tensile strength of bamboo and this behavior is similar to steel. Bond stress of bamboo with concrete is very low compared HYSD steel bars, due to surface smoothness of bamboo. Water absorption of bamboo is very high and waterproofing agent is recommended. Wahab R. et al. [4] studied on Cultivated Bamboos vulgarize of two and four-year old were harvested and studied for their anatomy and physical properties. In the physical aspect, basic density was found to be higher in the 4 year-old culms than in the 2 year-old by 5 to 8%, and increases from lower to upper internodes showing that there is a maturing process going on between the two age-groups relative to the tissue type that they possess. Rahman M. M. et al. [5] tested singly and double bamboo reinforced beams of 750 mm length having 150 mm width and depth for tensile strength test o bamboo having three and five nodes are performed. 1 m bamboo sticks of varying cross sections are used in this test. Also flexural strength test of bamboo reinforced beam is done to characterize the performance of bamboo as reinforcement. Agarwal A. et al. [6] established the ratio of tensile strength to specific weight of bamboo is six times greater than that of steel. Therefore, in this study it has been attempted to develop engineered bamboo structural elements for use in rural housing. Usage of bamboo slats derived from bamboo poles to be joined together and treated to bring about requisite structural bonding and strength. Alluding to the above objectives a series of tests have been conducted on bamboo reinforced concrete elements. Salau M. A. et al. [7] done experimental work includes load capacity test, deflection and failure patterns observation of eighteen concrete columns. Varying bamboo, from 4 No to 12No, strips of coated seasoned bamboo of cross-section 8x10mm, were used to reinforce the concrete columns. However, all columns failed in a similar pattern due to crushing of concrete. The bamboo strips showed no sign of slippage and remain unaffected even after concrete failure. Brink F. E. et al. [8] Design procedures and charts for bamboo reinforced concrete are given and conversion methods from steel reinforced concrete design are shown. Plangsriskul N. et al. [9] tested the mechanical properties of bamboo, specifically force required to embed a 0.5" diameter ball 0.016" into the bamboo samples and its bonding strength with concrete. Two coatings, asphalt emulsion and polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS), were applied. The test results indicated that the bonding strength between the bamboo and concrete with the asphalt emulsion coating was the greatest at 339.27psi. The next strongest was the control sample at 319.07psi, then PDMS resulting in 154.20psi.

III. Experimental Work Testing and Evaluation of Properties of Bamboo

Evaluations of basic properties of bamboo are required for use in bamboo as reinforcement in any construction element. In this study work, three year old bamboo plants of pronounced brown color were selected. Samples of each of 1m were collected from the bottom of the plant having three and five nodes. 3.1 Evaluation of Tensile strength for Elasticity Bamboo culms are cylindrical shells as shown in Fig. 2 and are divided by nodes as solid transversal diaphragms. The strength distribution is more uniform at the bottom of bamboo than at the top or at the middle of it since it is subjected to maximum bending stress due to wind at the top portion of the culms. In order to conduct the tensile strength test, it was necessary to prepare the three bamboo sample of 190 mm 2,186 mm2 and 202 mm2 area having same gauge length of 505 mm. To prepare the sample, bamboo sticks of 75cm length and around 20 mm width with node at centre were cut and allowed to dry and season for 30 days as shown in Fig. 3. The thickness of the sample varies throughout its length since it is a natural material whose properties cannot be controlled strictly.

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Performance Evaluation Of Bamboo As Reinforcement In Design Of Construction Elements

Figure 2 Bamboo culm

Figure 3 Bamboo strip test specimen

The tensile strength of bamboo strip was tested using Universal Testing Machine (UTM) as shown in Fig.4. Specimen was placed in UTM and tensile load was being applied until rupture. Elongation was measured at regular interval of applied tensile load. The load was recorded at regular interval of elongation for every sample and also load at which three bamboo strips failed was recorded. During these tensile tests, it is observed that all specimens were failed at node and at end point as shown in Fig.5 and Fig.6 respectively.

Figure 4 Set up of tensile strength of bamboo strip.

Figure 5 Failure of bamboo strip (node split)

Figure 6 Failure of bamboo strip (end split)

Table 1, 2 and 3 shows the result of observed value of loads, elongation, stress and strain of tested sample 1, 2 and 3of bamboo strips respectively.

Table 1
Area 190 mm2 Load P Elongation (N) (mm) 0 0.00 16000 1.00 18000 1.50 20000 2.00 22000 3.00 24000 4.00 26000 5.00 28000 6.00 29300 8.00 Sample-1 Strain Stress (N/mm2) 0.0000 0.0000 0.0020 84.2105 0.0030 94.7368 0.0040 105.2631 0.0059 115.7894 0.0079 126.3157 0.0099 136.8421 0.0119 147.3684 0.0158 154.2105

Table 2
Area 186 mm2 Load P Elongation (N) (mm) 0.0 0.00 16000 1.00 18000 2.00 20000 3.00 22000 4.00 24000 5.00 26000 8.00 Sample-2 Strain Stress (N/mm2) 0.0000 0.0000 0.0020 86.0215 0.0040 96.7742 0.0059 107.5269 0.0079 118.2796 0.0099 129.0323 0.0158 139.7849

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Performance Evaluation Of Bamboo As Reinforcement In Design Of Construction Elements Table 3

Area 220 mm2 Load P Elongation (N) (mm) 0.0 0.00 20000 0.50 22000 1.00 24000 1.50 26000 2.50 28000 3.50 30000 4.50 32000 5.50 33300 8.50 3.2 Evaluation of Flexural strength of Bamboo strips 3.2.1 Ingredients used in preparation of specimen Cement Ordinary Portland of 53 grade, Fine Aggregate as local sand having fineness modulus 2.69, Coarse Aggregate of 20 mm with surface saturated dry condition, Potable water, Bamboo culms are cylindrical shells and are divided by nodes as solid transversal diaphragms. Bamboo culm was cut in 75 cm length with node at centre. Then whole bamboo culm was cut in 8 strips and individual strip is used. 3.2.2 Preparation of sample [2] Plain concrete slab panel (without bamboo) To cast plain concrete slab panel of size 900 mm x 250 mm x 75 mm the mould of same in to in dimensions was used as shown in Fig. 7. In plain concrete Slab panel, no bamboo stick was used. Sample-3 Strain Stress (N/mm2) 0.0000 0.0000 0.0010 99.0099 0.0020 108.9109 0.0030 118.8119 0.0050 128.7129 0.0069 138.6139 0.0089 148.5149 0.0109 158.4158 0.0168 164.8515

Figure 7 Mould of size (in to in) 900 mm x 250 mm x 75 mm

Figure 8 Plain concrete slab panel

The concrete of M20 grade was made using mixing machine and then mould was filled in three to four layers. Every layer was temped properly using temping and compacted well and then allowed to settle. After casting, concrete samples were kept in wet place and unmolded after 24 hours and submerged in open water tank for curing up to 28 days as required for the test. Singly reinforced concrete slab panel [4] For casting of singly reinforced slab panel same mould was used as state in previous section. In singly reinforced slab panel bamboo strip was used in tension zone. Fig. 9 shows the cross section of singly reinforced slab panel.

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Performance Evaluation Of Bamboo As Reinforcement In Design Of Construction Elements

Figure 9 Cross-section of singly reinforced concrete slab panel

To cast singly reinforced slab panel first of all a layer of 20mm was made. Then 3 bamboo strips were place on it as shown in Fig. 10. Then remaining mould was filled with concrete and compacted so that bamboo did not move from its place.

Figure 10 Placing of bamboo in singly reinforced slab panel

Figure 11 Singly reinforced concrete slab panel

Doubly reinforced concrete slab panel For casting of doubly reinforced slab panel same mould was used as state in previous section. In doubly reinforced slab panel bamboo strip was used in two layer. Fig. 12 shows the cross section of doubly reinforced slab panel.

Figure 12 Cross-section of doubly reinforced concrete slab panel

Figure 13 Casting of concrete slab panel with bamboo reinforcement

To cast singly reinforced slab panel first of all a layer of 20mm was made. Then 3 bamboo strips were place on it as shown in Fig. 13. Then remaining mould was filled with concrete so that 20 mm cover would available

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Performance Evaluation Of Bamboo As Reinforcement In Design Of Construction Elements

for bamboo strips in upper layer. After casting, concrete samples were kept in wet place and unmolded after 24 hours and submerged in open water tank for curing up to 28 days as required for the test. 3.2.3 Test procedure [5] Test setup for all concrete slab panel was same. Fig. 14 illustrates the test setup. Dial gauge was also provided at mid span to calculate the deflection. At regular interval of deflection load was recorded.

Figure 14 Flexural test setup of slab panel

Figure 15 Brittle failure of slab panel

IV. Results and Discussion

Test results of plain , singly and doubly bamboo reinforced are framed as below: Plain Concrete Slab Panel In the plain slab panel test specimen, the first crack occurred vertically from the point of load application which was flexure crack and the crack was widened. Then, crushing of concrete at the point load application was observed. Finally, the slab panel failed at ultimate load of 8.2 kN. Plain concrete slab panel specimen showed the brittle failure (Fig. 15). Singly Reinforced Concrete Slab Panel. In singly reinforced concrete slab panel the crack was seen to be going in a vertical direction. Then the crack got widened. The crack was rising very smoothly and slowly. The slab panel failed at a load of 10.4 kN. The Fig. 16 and Fig. 17 shows the crack development and the failure of the slab panel respectively.

Figure 16 Development of the crack in singly reinforced slab panel

Figure 17 Failure of singly reinforced slab panel

Flexural test results (load versus deflection) of doubly and singly bamboo reinforcement are recorded in Table 4 and Table 5.

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Performance Evaluation Of Bamboo As Reinforcement In Design Of Construction Elements Table 4 Flexural test result of doubly reinforced slab panel
Sr. Deflection No. (mm) 1 0 2 0.050 3 0.100 4 0.150 5 0.200 6 0.250 7 0.300 8 0.350 9 0.400 10 0.450 11 0.500 12 0.550 13 0.600 14 0.650 15 0.700 16 0.750 17 0.800 18 0.850 19 0.900 20 0.950 21 1.000 22 1.050 23 1.100 24 1.150 25 1.200 26 1.250 27 1.300 28 1.350 29 1.400 30 1.450 31 1.500 32 1.550 33 1.600 34 1.650 35 1.700 Load (N) 0 5100 6200 6500 6900 6900 6900 6900 6900 7000 7000 7100 7200 7400 7500 7700 7900 8000 8100 8400 8400 8500 8600 8700 8900 9000 9000 9100 9150 9200 9200 9300 9500 9600 9700 Sr. Deflection Load No. (mm) (N) 36 1.750 9800 37 1.800 9900 38 1.850 10000 39 1.900 10100 40 1.950 10200 41 2.000 10400 42 2.050 10500 43 2.100 10600 44 2.150 10700 45 2.200 10750 46 2.250 10900 47 2.300 11200 48 2.350 11300 49 2.400 11400 50 2.450 11500 51 2.500 11600 52 2.550 11700 53 2.600 11800 54 2.650 11900 55 2.700 11900 56 2.750 12000 57 2.800 12100 58 2.850 12200 59 2.900 12300 60 2.950 12400 61 3.000 12500 62 3.050 12500 63 3.100 12600 64 3.150 12700 65 3.200 12800 66 3.250 12900 67 3.300 13100 68 3.350 13200 69 3.400 13300 70 3.450 13500 Sr. Deflection Load No. (mm) (N) 71 3.500 13600 72 3.550 13800 73 3.600 13900 74 3.650 14000 75 3.700 14100 76 3.750 14300 77 3.800 14400 78 3.850 14500 79 3.900 14600 80 3.950 14700 81 4.000 14800 82 4.050 14900 83 4.100 15000 84 4.150 15100 85 4.200 15200 86 4.250 15200 87 4.300 15200 88 4.350 15250 89 4.400 15300 90 4.450 15300 91 4.500 15300 92 4.550 15300 93 4.600 15350 94 4.650 15400 95 4.700 15400 96 4.750 15400 97 4.800 15400 98 4.850 15400 99 4.900 15400 100 4.950 15500 101 5.000 15500 102 5.050 15500 103 5.100 15550 104 5.150 15600 105 5.200 15650 Sr. Deflection Load No. (mm) (N) 106 5.250 15700 107 5.300 15750 108 5.350 15750 109 5.400 15800 110 5.450 15800 111 5.500 15800 112 5.550 15800 113 5.600 15800 114 5.650 15850 115 5.700 15900 116 5.750 15900 117 5.800 15900 118 5.850 15950 119 5.900 16000 120 5.950 16000 121 6.000 16000 122 6.050 16050 123 6.100 16100 124 6.150 16100 125 6.200 16100 126 6.250 16150 127 6.300 16200 128 6.350 16250 129 6.400 16300 130 6.450 16350 131 6.500 16350 132 6.550 16350 133 6.600 16400 134 6.650 16400 135 6.700 16400 136 6.750 16400 137 6.800 16400 138 6.850 16400

Table 5 Flexural test result of singly reinforced slab panel

Sr. No. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 Deflection (mm) 0.050 0.100 0.150 0.200 0.250 0.300 0.350 0.400 0.450 0.500 0.550 0.600 0.650 Load (N) 6900 7000 7000 6600 6200 6200 6100 6000 5900 5900 5900 5900 5900 Sr. No. 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 Deflection (mm) 0.700 0.750 0.800 1.000 2.000 3.000 4.000 5.000 6.000 7.000 8.000 9.000 10.000 Load (N) 5900 5900 5900 6800 8700 9000 9500 9800 10000 10100 10100 10200 10400

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Performance Evaluation Of Bamboo As Reinforcement In Design Of Construction Elements

Figure 18 Load v/s deflection curve for singly reinforced slab panel

Figure 19 Load v/s deflection curve for doubly reinforced slab panel

The result of tensile test of bamboo strip with ultimate load and elasticity is tabulated below in Table 6.

Table 6 Tension test result of bamboo strip

Sample no. 1 2 3 Area (mm2) 190 186 202 Ultimate Load (kN) 29.3 26.0 33.3 Stress (N/mm2) 154.21 139.78 164.85 Elasticity (N/mm2) 5000 5294 5000

The result of flexural test on slab panel is mentioned in Table 7 as below with elasticity and ultimate load at which panel failed. The ultimate deflection and elasticity of slab panel is also denoted in table

Table 7 Flexural test on slab panel

Sr. No. 1 2 3 Sample Type Weight Ultimate Load Ultimate deflection (kg) (kN) (mm) Plain 50.000 8.2 Singly 43.800 10.4 10 Doubly 45.200 16.6 6.85 Dimension of panel : 900 mm x 250 mm x 75 mm Elasticity (N/mm2) 3434.67 5152

V. Concluding Remark
From above test results Elasticity of Bamboo strips are evaluated 5098 N/mm2 which is comparative same as steel. Same as load carrying capacity of bamboo strips with concrete is justifying with steel reinforcement. Replacement of steel reinforced can be possible by using Bamboo as bonding element in concrete. Bamboo is naturally available material as compared to steel but properties as well workability of Bamboo is compatible.

References
[1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] [9] Solomon K. A., Use of Bamboo for building-a sustainable, strong, versatile and economic option for the preservation of timber in Ghana, Building and Road Research Institute (BRRI). Prasad J., Pandey B. S., Ahuja R. and Ahuj A. K., Low Cost Housing for Hilly Regions Using Locally Available Material, Asian Journal of Civil Engineering (Building and Housing), Vol. 6, No. 4, 2005, pp. 257-265. Sakaray H., Vamsi Krishna Togati N.V. And Ramana Reddy I.V, Investigation on Properties of Bamboo as Reinforcing Material in Concrete, International Journal of Engineering Research and Applications, Vol. 2, Issue 1, 2012, pp.77-83. Wahab R. , Mustapa M.T., Sulaiman O., Mohamed A. and Hassan A., Anatomical And Physical Properties of Cultivated Two- and Four-Year-Old Bambusa Vulgaris, Sains Malaysiana 2010,39(4), pp. 571579. Rahman M. M., Rashid M. H., Hossain M. A., Hasan M. T. and Hasan M. K, Performance Evaluation of Bamboo Reinforced Concrete Beam, International Journal of Engineering & Technology IJET-IJENS 2011,, Vol. 11 No. 04. Agarwal A. And Maity D., Experimental Investigation on Behaviour of Bamboo Reinforced Concrete Members, 16th International Conference on Composite Structures, A. J. M. Ferreira (Editor) 2011, pp. 20-26. Salau M. A., Adegbite I. and Ikponmwosa E. E., Characteristic Strength of Concrete Column Reinforced With Bamboo Strips, Journal of Sustainable Development, 2012,Vol. 5, No. 1, Brink F. E. and Rush P. J., Bamboo Reinforced Concrete Construction, U. S. Naval Civil Engineering Laboratory Port Hueneme, California 1996. Plangsriskul N. And Dorsano N., Materials Characterization of Bamboo and Analysis of Bonding Strength and Internal Strength a s a Structural Member in Reinforced Concrete, California Polytechnical State University, Materials Engineering, 2011

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