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Bamboo Cane as an Alternative Reinforcement in Reinforced Concrete Beam

Conference Paper · July 2021

DOI: 10.1109/MERCon52712.2021.9525805

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 Bamboo Cane as an Alternative Reinforcement
in Reinforced Concrete Beam
Yathushan K. Kishok S. Bryan E. Thevarajah.
Dept. of Engineering Technology, Dept. of Engineering Technology, Dept. of Engineering Technology,
University of Jaffna, University of Jaffna, University of Jaffna,
Kilinochchi, Sri Lanka. Kilinochchi, Sri Lanka. Kilinochchi, Sri Lanka.
2016et102@tech.jfn.ac.lk 2016et042@tech.jfn.ac.lk bryan@tech.jfn.ac.lk

Nithurshan M
Dept. of Engineering Technology,
University of Jaffna,
Kilinochchi, Sri Lanka.
nithurshan@univ.jfn.ac.lk

Abstract—Concrete is one of the most energy consumed sub-tropical regions. It has been broadly used for many forms
materials in construction, which has higher compressive of construction, mostly for housing in rural areas. Bamboo is
strength but poor in tensile strength. Steel is used to compromise a versatile and renewable resource, and it has high strength
the tensile strength of the concrete. Bamboo is a versatile and and low weight [1]. Also by using simple tools, bamboo can
fast-growing natural material that has high compressive and be shaped easily. Due to the high socio-economic benefits
tensile strength. The use of bamboo as an alternative to steel from bamboo-based products around the world, it is widely
reinforcement will reduce the energy consumption in recognized as one of the most important non-timber forest
construction and reduce the cost. To investigate the feasibility of resources [2]. More than 1200 species of bamboo are growing
using bamboo as an alternative reinforcement, the bamboo fiber
in about 14.5 million hectares’ area as estimated. Most of
mix concrete, and bamboo reinforcement in a structural element
them grow in Africa, Latin America, and Asia. Besides, it is
such as beam were tested under compressive and flexural tests.
The experimental study consisted of 12 cubes and 6 beams registered as the world’s fastest-growing woody plant.
specimens. Results show that the load-carrying capacity of Approximately 7.5 cm to 40 cm grows in a day, it is three
concrete beams reduced because of the usage of bamboo fiber in times faster than most other species in the world [3].
concrete. However, the ultimate load-carrying capacity in a The geometry of the typical bamboo culm comprises of
hybrid beam was observed to almost equal to the steel- hollow circular cross-section with nodes along with the culm
reinforced beam and showed a similar deflection. Based on this
height. The wall thickness intermodal diameter, distance, and
study results, it was concluded that the bamboo can be used as
fiber density vary from the bottom to the top end. The
an alternative reinforcement in reinforced concrete beams, and
it can reduce the cost of beams in the construction.
bamboo strip possesses high tensile strength due to the
fibrous (along the grains) structure of the culm [2]; bamboo
Keywords: Bamboo fiber, Bamboo reinforcement, Hybrid possesses high strength to weight ratio (about six times
beam, Steel reinforcement higher) compared to conventional reinforcing steel [4].
Bamboo culm, around three to four years of age, achieves its
I. INTRODUCTION optimum strength, and it matures completely by the fifth year
In the current situation, a large part of development [5]. Bamboo can sustain tension as well as compression
projects are being constructed utilizing conventional loading unlike any other natural material, which can only take
materials like concrete and steel and the demand for these tension in major, due to the dense fibrous structure.
materials has been increased exponentially in the last two Nevertheless, bamboo is being an organic natural material
decades. In construction, one of the most commonly used and the durability of the bamboo in a concrete composite has
material is concrete as it has high compressive strength and impediments to its utilization [6]. The bonding between
durability but very low tensile strength. So that the concrete bamboo and concrete is majorly influenced by the friction on
is required to be reinforced with additional tensile elements the surface of bamboo and concrete. To increase the
to increase the tensile capacity of the concrete. Nowadays durability and bond quality between bamboo and concrete,
steel is used to reinforce concrete in form of a rebar which many researchers have investigated various bamboo
helps to increase the tensile strength very much. treatment processes including soaking, drying, waterproof
Undoubtedly, steel is non-renewable material and its coating (different adhesives on the bamboo surface to make
production cost is very high. The production process pollutes the exterior surface impervious), sandblasting, and thin wire
the environment as well. Most importantly, due to its high warping to counteract the slipperiness of the bamboo surface
production cost in developing countries like Sri Lanka, steel [7]. With the above-mentioned characteristics of bamboo,
reinforcement is not affordable. Therefore, there is a need to many experimental research studies have been conducted to
study alternative materials that can reduce the cost and the investigate the feasibility of using bamboo as an alternative
adverse effects on the environment. reinforcement in beams to compare their properties with a
conventional reinforced concrete beam. Although, the
Bamboo can be proved to be one of the appropriate comparative aspect of Ease of Use, bamboo reinforced
materials that may reinforce with concrete to produce concrete beams (BRC) has not been explored so far. In this
desirable results. Traditionally, bamboo has been used as a study, bamboo is utilized in different aspects and ratios in
construction material throughout the world’s tropical and concrete beams to increase its ultimate load-carrying capacity

978-1-6654-3753-0/21/$31.00 ©2021 IEEE

and alternative to steel reinforcement to investigate the IV. MATERIALS
feasibility of using bamboo in concrete. In this study the strength class of 42.5 N Ordinary
II. BAMBOO AS A STRUCTURAL ELEMENT Portland Cement (OPC) was used in concrete mix. 4.75 mm
downgrade river sand was used as fine aggregate. Sieve
Bamboo is a timber material, which is used in the analysis was carried out on the sand according to ASTM
construction industry and it is being used for constructing C136 - 05 and fineness modulus was determined to be 2.78.
trusses, roof skeleton, walling and ceiling, foundation, doors,
and windows. As bamboo is a natural and fast renewable Crushed stone from local stone crusher having nominal
material, the use of bamboo will be eco–friendly. Researchers aggregate size of 20 mm, fineness module of 4.77 was used
had found that bamboo can be used in construction in as coarse aggregate in concrete mix.
circular, square, and triangular cross-sections. In addition, it Commercially available TOR steel with 8 mm and 12mm
was found that square cross-sections possess higher flexural diameter were used to prepare the steel reinforcement for the
strength [8]. On the other hand, it was reported that the elastic specimens. Tensile test for the reinforcement steel bar having
modulus of bamboo is lower than the elastic modulus of steel 12 mm diameter was carried out according to ASTM
so that bamboo can crack and deflect more than steel E8/E8M. Three specimens were tested using universal testing
reinforcement in the same conditions [9]. while bamboo machine (UTM) with the capacity of 2000 kN and average
lowers the construction cost and increases the building tensile strength was determined as 593 Nmm-2.
strength, there are drawbacks to using bamboo in structural
elements in construction. Green bamboo, identified as Bambusa vulgaris, was
collected at the age between three to four years and 6 m from
A. water absorption of bamboo the base of the bamboo tree at Pambamadu, Vavuniya as
Water absorption of bamboo will cause shrinkage and green bamboo is the only species found in the nearest area.
swelling issues in bamboo. When bamboo is used as The bamboo was cut into bamboo splints in the dimension of
reinforcement in concrete, it will absorb the water from 15 mm x15 mm x 710 mm, to use as rebar in the concrete
concrete mix during the casting and curing period, and after beam. The sample thickness of the bamboo splints varied
curing stopped bamboo loses moisture and shrinks. As a throughout its length because its natural properties cannot be
result, cracks will occur in the concrete around the bamboo controlled, and the tensile properties of bamboo splints may
rebar because of change in volume of bamboo. In addition, also vary because of several factors such as age, dimension,
there may be a reduction in the designed water cement ratio defects, etc. To use as an alternative to coarse aggregate into
(w/c) concrete mix [7]. However, it is reported waterproof the concrete, bamboo fibres were cut from bamboo splints in
coatings can prevent bamboo from absorbing the water [9]. the dimension of 5 mm x 15 mm, after soaked in water and
dried for a sufficient period in the air.
B. Bonding of bamboo with concrete
Bonding is a major issue of reinforcement in concrete. As bamboo has a slippery nature on its surface and the
Surface of bamboo is slippery in nature. The surface highest percentage of water absorption, the bond quality
smoothness will increase when waterproof coating is applied between bamboo and concrete may low. In order to increase
to bamboo. There are many ways to increase the bond the bond quality and make it impervious, the bamboo splints
strength of bamboo with concrete. Agarwal et al.[10] reported were treated in the following order. Bamboo splints were
that bamboo treated with sikadur 32 gel has shown more bond soaked in the water which helps to increase the durability and
strength in the pull-out test. Muhtara et al. [7] concluded sand prevent insect attack by bamboo submerged in water,
coating is applied to bamboo strips to increase friction. followed by dried in free air to remove the water content
Bamboo which is gripped with steel wire also increases the which prevents the fungi attack and openings along with the
bond strength of the bamboo with concrete [11]. bamboo fibrous structure. Afterwards, varnish coating was
applied twice to make the bamboo strip impervious. Finally
C. Tensile strength of bamboo sand coating and wire warping with 1.5 mm wire at 1 cm
Reinforcement is applied in concrete to withstand the distance were applied to improve the bond quality by
tensile stress. Bamboo should have higher tensile strength to increasing the friction on surface of the bamboo strip. The
be used as reinforcement. Rani et al. [3] found that the tensile bamboo treatment process and preparation are shown in Fig.
strength of bamboo is exactly one-half of steel. Number of 1.
nodes in bamboo strips also influences the tensile strength of
the bamboo. Rahman et al. [12] found that the tensile strength V. SAMPLE PREPARATION
of 3 nodes bamboo is 110.66 MPa and 5 nodes bamboo is A. Mix design
102.54 MPa. Further, bamboo treatment also influences in the
The TABLE I summarizes the mixture proportions of
tensile strength of bamboo. Tensile strength of treated
M30 concrete, which was used in the preparation of all
bamboo is higher than untreated bamboo. For instance,
specimens. Mix design was carried out according to BRE
tensile strength of untreated bamboo is 117.1 MPa while
mix design method. The ratio of water to cement (W/C) was
treated bamboo is 1126.6 MPa [11].
0.53.
III. OBJECTIVE B. Cube specimen
The main objective of this study is to assess the feasibility In the preparation of cube specimens, overall combination
of bamboo in concrete in the form of fiber to increase the of 4 cubes, in the dimension of 150mm x 150 mm x 150 mm,
load-carrying capacity and in the form of splints to act as were casted for testing as follows; control cube (M30), and
alternative reinforcement to steel in structural element such
as beam.
 TABLE. II. Reinforcement arrangement in the beam

Types of No. of Steel No. of Bamboo Bamboo%

Beam bars strips
SRCB 5 - -
BRCB - 5 100
Hybrid I 1 4 80
Hybrid II 2 3 60

Fig. 1. Bamboo strips treatment Fig. 2. Reinforcement arrangement in the beams

bamboo fibre mix concrete cubes with the fiber weight ratio VI. EXPERIMENTAL PROGRAME
of 5%, 10%, and 15%. Each combination had 3 specimens The compressive strength test for cube specimens, and
therefore a total of 12 cubes were casted. Coarse aggregate flexural strength test for beam specimens were carried out
were replaced by bamboo fibres in the concrete mix for fibre using UTM with a capacity of 2000 kN. In addition to that
mixed concrete only. After 24 hours the specimens were the sieve analysis for aggregates, absorption test for bamboo
unmoulded and submerged in water for 28 days for curing fiber and tensile test for bamboo strip were also examined.
before testing.
A. Absorption test.
TABLE I. Mixture proportions
The bamboo fibers were placed in the container and
Materials Quantity ( kg /m3) soaked in to the water then air bubble was removed inside the
Cement 360 aggregate by giving blows inside water. After 24 h the
Fine Aggregates 680 samples were taken out and samples weight were measured
Coarse Aggregates 1215 in condition of saturated surface dried (SSD), then dried in
Water 190 oven and oven dried (OD) samples weight were also
measured, finally water absorption was calculated.
C. Beam specimen B. Tensile test for bamboo strip.
The beam mould was prepared in the dimension of 150 Bamboo strip was placed in universal testing machine
mm x 150 mm x 750 mm using plywood from-work, where (UTM) where the load was increased gradually until the
15 mm plywood stiffened with 30 mm x 80 mm timber ribs specimen ruptures. The tensile test was performed according
to provide rigidity against the side deflection. In this to ASTM E8/E8M as same as for steel. The data of stress-
experimental study, 4 types of beam were used such as steel- strain behaviours were collected from UTM to calculate the
reinforced concrete beam (SRCB), bamboo reinforced tensile strength of bamboo.
concrete beam (BRCB), Hybrid-1, and Hybrid-2. Hybrid
beams consist of both steel and bamboo reinforcement with C. Compressive strength test.
different ratios. The reinforcement cage was prepared with The compressive strength of specimens were tested using
the steel and bamboo as tabulated in Table II, where UTM at age of 28 days. Dimension of 150 mm cube test was
approximately 15 mm width and 710mm bamboo strip, 12 performed according to BS 1881-116:1983 as shown in Fig.
mm diameter steel rebar as primary reinforcement, and 8 mm 3. In order to provide uniform loading on the cube, the UTM
diameter steel for shear reinforcement were used. Shear links was operated at constant loading rate of 0.2 kN/min. The
were provided in the space of 150 mm throughout the span maximum strength of each specimen was recorded and
for all specimens. The reinforcement arrangement for beam average strength of 3 samples was considered as compressive
specimens is shown in Fig. 2. The reinforcement cage was strength of the specimen.
placed in moulds maintaining 20 mm clear cover and M30
concrete was poured with vibration to avoid segregation. D. Flexural test for beam.
After 24 hours the specimens were unmoulded and The flexural test was performed according to ASTM
submerged in water for curing before testing. Flexural test C78/C78M (3-point loading). Loading points were marked in
was carried out on beam specimens according to ASTM the specimens and placed in the UTM carefully.
C78/C78M using UTM.
 from the experiment, where S1-S3 denotes 5% bamboo
fibers, S4-S6 10% fibers, and S7-S9 15% fibers.
TABLE. III Compressive strength results of specimens.

Average
Force Compressive Reduction
Sample Strength
(KN) strength (MPa) (%)
(MPa)
C1 715.9 31.82
C2 717.9 31.91 31.69 0
C3 705.5 31.36
S1 550.4 24.46
S2 420.3 18.68 22.02 30.53
S3 515.4 22.91
Fig. 3. Compressive test S4 460.7 20.48
S5 495.8 22.04 20.21 36.23
The applied load was increased gradually on the mid-span of
the beam at constant rate of 0.2 kN/min. Fig. 4 shows the S6 407.6 18.12
loading arrangement of the specimen at UTM. The deflection S7 179.2 7.96
of the beam at mid-span and maximum load-carrying S8 133.7 5.94 6.94 78.10
capacity were recorded. S9 155.6 6.92
Standard 201.4 8.95 - -
Deviation
Variation 44.3 44.3 - -
(%)

D. Flexural strength of beams

The specimens were tested under 3-Point loading to
determine the flexural strength of each specimen at age of 28
days. The flexural strength of SRCB was taken as control
beam and the results were compared with other specimens.
The TABLE VI summarizes the flexural strength of each
specimens tested and Fig. 5 shows variation of deflection of
the beam with applied load. In Fig. 5, up to the appearance of
the first tension crack in the central zone (up to the load of 12
kN), all beams showed the same rigidity.
The ultimate load of SRCB was slightly high value
compared to its theoretical value. Theoretically the load
caring capacity was calculated as 81 kN by using Euro code
Fig. 4. Flexural test of beam specimens 3. Comparatively the hybrid II reached the flexural strength
of steel reinforced beam, SRCB. It can be seen in Fig. 5 that
VII. RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONS when the percentage of bamboo content increases in the
beam, there was significant change in the deflection of
A. Absorption of bamboo bamboo-reinforced beam as compared with that of steel
The moisture content of bamboo fiber was determined by reinforced beams. In fact, BRCB showed higher deflection
using randomly selected samples. Based on the calculations, compared to other specimens as the reinforcement for the
the average moister content of collected bamboo species is beam specimen was completely made out of bamboo. This
8.52%. may be due to the lower modulus of elasticity of bamboo
compared to that of steel reinforcement and also the lower
B. Tensile strength of bamboo
bonding between treated bamboo and concrete when
The bamboo strips with three nodes were tested and the compared to that of steel and concrete. Further, load-
average tensile strength of bamboo strip was determined as deflection curves for bamboo reinforced beams show the
97 Nmm-2 from the UTM data. The strength value varied for significant nonlinearity, which confirms that bamboo has
each specimen due to the cross-sectional area changing along energy absorption capacity.
the length of bamboo strips. Further, It was observed during
the tensile tests, all tensile specimens were failed at the node The crack propagation on the beam surface was
point. monitored. Fig. 6 shows the crack propagation on the beams
at its failure load. It can be seen that number of cracks for
C. Compressive strength of cube specimens bamboo reinforced beam (BRCB) is less than that for other
The fiber mix concrete cube specimens have resulted in a beams. This is because of low bonding between bamboo
reduction of compressive strength compared to control cubes reinforcement and concrete. In addition, BRCB failed by
when the fiber content increases in concrete. Several factors flexure crack occurred vertically from the point of load
may affect the compressive strength such as bond quality of application, which shows more ductile behaviour of the beam
fiber and absorption of fiber which could result in swelling. compared to SRCB and hybrid beams.
The TABLE III summarises the test results that were obtained
 TABLE. III Flexural strength results of beams

Flexural Average Deflect

Force Increme
Sample strength Strength ion
(KN) nt (%)
(MPa) (MPa) (mm)
SRC 88.9 25.68 25.68 3.8 0.0
BRC 36.6 10.57 10.57 37.3 -58.8
Hybrid
50.2 14.50 6.7
I-1
16.31 -36.5
Hybrid
62.7 18.11 4.2
I-2
Hybrid II-1 88.2 25.48 4.3
25.45 -0.9
Hybrid II-2 88.0 25.42 3.9
Standard
20.7 5.98 - - -
Deviation
Variation
29.9 29.90 - - -
(%)

100
SRC BRC
90 Hybrid 1-1 Hybrid 1-2
Hybrid 2-1 Hybrid 2-2
80
70
60
Load (kN)

50
40
Fig. 6. Crack pattern of beams
30
On the whole, hybrid reinforcement is recommended to
20 be used in structural element such as beam, and further
10 researches are needed on the treatment of bamboo, and to
finding an optimum ratio of steel and bamboo reinforcement
0 for the beam.
0.00 10.00 20.00 30.00 40.00
Displacement (mm)
REFERENCES
Fig. 5. Load vs deflection comparison of all beams.
[1] A. Kaware, U. R. Awari, and M. R. Wakchaure, “Review of bamboo
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2013, pp.2461-2464.
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Eindhoven.
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VIII. CONCLUSIONS
[4] U.S. Naval Civil Engineering Laboratory, Bamboo reinforced concrete
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experimental results.
[5] K. Ghavami, “Bamboo as reinforcement in structural concrete
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