INTRODUCTION
The
use of bamboo as reinforcement in Portland cement concrete has been
studied extensively by Clemson Agricultural College. Bamboo has been
used as a construction material in certain areas for centuries, but its
application as reinforcement in concrete had received little attention
until the Clemson study.
A study of the
feasibility of using bamboo as the reinforcing material in precast
concrete elements was conducted at the U. S. Army Engineer Waterways
Experiment Station in 1964. Ultimate strength design procedures,
modified to take into account the characteristics of the bamboo
reinforcement were used to estimate the ultimate load carrying capacity
of the precast concrete elements with bamboo reinforcing.
Bamboo
was given recent consideration for use as reinforcement in soil-cement
pavement slabs in which the slabs behave in elastically even under light
loads. For this case ultimate load analysis was shown to be more
economical and suitable for use.
The results of
these investigations form the basis of the conclusions and
recommendations presented in this report. Further studies will be
required before complete confidence can be placed theoretical designs
based on the material presented here.
2. SELECTION AND PREPARATION OF BAMBOO
2.1 Selection
The following factors should be considered in the selection of bamboo culms (whole plants) for use as reinforcement in concrete structures:1. Use only bamboo showing a pronounced brown color. This will insure that the plant is at least three years old.
2. Select the longest large diameter culms available.
3. Do not use whole culms of green, unseasoned bamboo.
4. Avoid bamboo cut in spring or early summer. These culms are generally weaker due to increased fiber moisture content.
2.2 Preparation
Sizing.
Splints (split culms) are generally more desirable than whole culms as
reinforcement. Larger culms should be split into splints approximately ¾
inch wide. Whole culms less than ¾ inch in diameter can be used without
splitting. (See Fig 4)
Splitting the bamboo can
he done by separating the base with a sharp knife and then pulling a
dulled blade through the culm. The dull blade will force the stem to
split open; this is more desirable than cutting the bamboo since
splitting will result in continuous fibers and a nearly straight
section. Table II shows the approximate net area provided by whole culms
and by ¾-inch-wide splints, as well as the cross-sectional properties
of standard deformed steel bars and wire mesh.
Seasoning. When
possible, the bamboo should be cut and allowed to dry and season for
three to four weeks before using. The culms must be supported at regular
spacings to reduce warping.
Bending. Bamboo can
be permanently bent if heat, either dry or wet, is applied while
applying pressure. This procedure can be used for forming splints into
C-shaped stirrups and for putting hooks on reinforcement for additional
anchorage.
Waterproof Coatings. When seasoned
bamboo, either split or whole, is used as reinforcement, it should
receive a waterproof coating to reduce swelling when in contact with
concrete. Without some type of coating, bamboo will swell before the
concrete has developed sufficient strength to prevent cracking and the
member may be damaged, especially if more than 4 percent bamboo is used.
The type of coating will depend on the materials available. A brush
coat or dip coat of asphalt emulsion is preferable. Native latex, coal
tar, paint, dilute varnish, and water-glass (sodium silicate) are other
suitable coatings. In any case, only a thin coating should be applied; a
thick coating will lubricate the surface and weaken the bond with the
concrete.
3. CONSTRUCTION PRINCIPLES
In
general, techniques used in conventional reinforced concrete
construction need not be changed when bamboo is to be used for
reinforcement.
3.1 Concrete Mix Proportions
The
same mix designs can be used as would normally be used with steel
reinforced concrete. Concrete slump should be as low as workability will
allow. Excess water causes swelling of the bamboo. High early-strength
cement is preferred to minimize cracks caused by swelling of bamboo when
seasoned bamboo cannot be waterproofed.
3.2 Placement of bamboo
Bamboo
reinforcement should not be placed less than 1½ inches from the face of
the concrete surface. When using whole culms, the top and bottom of the
stems should be alternated in every row and the nodes or collars,
should be staggered. This will insure a fairly uniform cross section of
the bamboo throughout the length of the member, and the wedging effect
obtained at the nodes will materially increase the bond between concrete
and bamboo.
The clear spacing between bamboo
rods or splints should not be less than the maximum size aggregate plus ¼
inch. Reinforcement should be evenly spaced and lashed together on
short sticks placed at right angles to the main reinforcement. When more
than one layer is required, the layers should also be tied together.
Ties should preferably be made with wire in important members. For
secondary members, ties can be made with vegetation strips.
Bamboo
must be securely tied down before placing the concrete. It should be
fixed at regular intervals of 3 to 4 feet to prevent it from floating up
in the concrete during placement and vibration. In flexural members
continuous, one-half to two-thirds of the bottom longitudinal
reinforcement should be bent up near the supports. This is especially
recommended in members continuous over several supports. Additional
diagonal tension reinforcement in the form of stirrups must be used near
the supports. The vertical stirrups can be made from wire or packing
case straps when available; they can also be improvised from split
sections of bamboo bent into U-shape, and tied securely to both bottom
longitudinal reinforcement and bent-up reinforcement. Spacing of the
stirrups should not exceed 6 inches.
3.3 Anchorage and Splicing of Reinforcements
Dowels
in the footings for column and wall reinforcement should be imbedded in
the concrete to such a depth that the bond between bamboo and concrete
will resist the allowable tensile force in the dowel. This imbedded
depth is approximately 10 times the diameter of whole culms or 25 times
the thickness of ¾ inch wide splints. In many cases the footings will
not be this deep; therefore, the dowels will have to be bent into an
L-shape. These dowels should be either hooked around the footing
reinforcement or tied securely to the reinforcement to insure complete
anchorage. The dowels should extend above the footings and be cut so
that not more than 30 percent of the splices will occur at the same
height. All such splices should be overlapped at least 25 inches and be
well tied.
Splicing reinforcement in any member
should be overlapped at least 25 inches. Splices should never occur in
highly stressed areas and in no case should more than 30 percent of the
reinforcement be spliced in any one location.
4. DESIGN PRINCIPLES
Bamboo
reinforced concrete design is similar to steel reinforcing design.
Bamboo reinforcement can be assumed to have the following mechanical
properties:
When
design handbooks are available for steel reinforced concrete, the
equations and design procedures can be used to design bamboo reinforced
concrete if the above mechanical properties are substituted for the
reinforcement.
Due to the low modulus of
elasticity of bamboo, flexural members will nearly always develop some
cracking under normal service loads. If cracking cannot be tolerated,
steel reinforced designs or designs based on unreinforced sections are
required.
Experience has shown that split bamboo
performs better than whole culms when used as reinforcing. Better bond
develops between bamboo and concrete when the reinforcement is-split in
addition to providing more compact reinforcement layers. Large-diameter
culms split into ¾-inch-wide splints are recommended. (References to
splints in the following examples will be understood as meaning
¾-inch-wide splints of a specified thickness unless otherwise stated.
Design
principles for the more common structural members are presented in the
following sections. Examples of the use of these principles for each
member discussed are included.
4.1 Beams and Girders
Flexural
members reinforced with bamboo can be designed with the use of Figure
1. Bamboo longitudinal reinforcement should be between 3 and 4 percent
of the concrete cross section.
Figure 2 can be
used to convert existing designs for steel reinforced beams to
equivalent bamboo reinforced designs. The curve provides the
cross-sectional dimensions of a bamboo reinforced beam that will have
the same bending moment resistance coefficient as a balanced steel
reinforced beam, singly reinforced. Economy of concrete increases going
to the left on the curve; therefore, deeper, narrower replacement beams
are recommended.
The number and size of bamboo
reinforcing rods (culms or splints) can be selected from Figure 2b.
These curves are drawn for 3 percent of the concrete cross section as
bamboo reinforcement which is in the optimum range for flexural members.
Other reinforcement percentages can be used as noted on the figure. A
minimum number of rods should be used to provide adequate spacing. The
bamboo stirrup area should always be about 4 times the steel stirrup
area.
4.1.1 Example 1 - Design of Bamboo Reinforced Beam:
Design
a bamboo reinforced concrete beam to span 8 feet and to carry a uniform
dead load plus live load of 500 pounds per linear foot and two
concentrated loads of 12,000 pounds each symmetrically located 2 feet
each side of the center line of span. Assume the ultimate strength of
the concrete is 2500 psi; the allowable compression stress is 0.45 f'c or 1125 psi. Allowable unit diagonal tension stress, , in the concrete is 0.03 f'c
or 75 psi. Allowable tension stress, s, in the bamboo is 4000 psi; the
allowable unit bond stress between bamboo and concrete is 50 psi.
1. At the intersection of the allowable stress curves (Figure 1) for concrete and bamboo, find R = 115 and p = 3.1 percent. 2. Maximum bending moment, M, is given by:
M = [500(8)2(12)]/8 + 12,000(2)(12) = 336,000in. - lb.
R = M/bd2
3. From
bd2 = 336,000/115 = 2920 in.3
4. If b = 8 in. is chosen, then d = (2920/8)½ = 19.1 in.
5. Bamboo reinforcement = pbd = 0.031(8)(19.1) = 4.75 sq in.
6. Use ¾-inch-thick splints, area = 0.563 sq in. (from Table II). Number required = 4.75/0.563 = 8.4; round up to 9. Space evenly in three rows. Bend up top row randomly in the outer one-third ends of the beam.
7. Check the bond stress. Maximum shear at the support, V, is determined as:
V = 500(8)/2 + 12,000 = 14,000 lb.
The perimeter of one splint is 4(3/4) or 3 in.; the total perimeter of the longitudinal reinforcement, ∑0,
is 9(3) = 27 in. The value of j = 0.925 is taken from Figure 1 for 3.1
percent reinforcement. The bond stress, u, is calculated from:
u = V ÷ ∑ojd = 4,000 ÷ 27(0.925)(19.1) = 29 psiThis is less than the allowable bond stress of 50 psi.
8. Calculate the shear, V', taken by the concrete from
V' = νbjd = 75(8)(0.925)(19.1) = 10,600 lb.
Where ν is the allowable diagonal tension stress of the concrete.
9. Try ¼-inch-thick splints for stirrups. The area provided by one stirrup bent into a U-shape, A, is 2(0.1875) = 0.375 sq. in. Maximum spacing, s, is given by:
s = Aσjd ÷ (V - V') = 0.375(4,000)(0.925)(19.1) ÷ (14,000 - 10,600) = 7.8in.
Common practice is to include two additional stirrups past the point where diagonal tension reinforcement is not needed.
Example 2 - Replacement of a Steel Reinforced Beam with a Bamboo Reinforced Beam:
Construction drawings call for the beam given in the sketch below. Replace it with a bamboo reinforced beam. There are no objections to deepening the member.
1. Select the cross-sectional dimensions from Figure 2a. Avoid using sections with depth to width ratios greater than 4 for reasons of stability. Try width of 1.0b or 10 in. and a depth of 1.32d or 29.0 in. The area is 290 sq in.
2. The amount of reinforcement can be selected from Figure 2b. Assume that 3/4-inch-thick splints will be used. The number of splints required for 200 sq in. is determined at 11. This number is multiplied by the ratio 290/200 to get 16 splints. These should be-distributed evenly in four rows.
3. Determine the vertical stirrups required. The No. 4 steel stirrups have a cross-sectional area of 0.2 sq in. (Table II). These stirrups are spaced at 10 in. which provides (12/10)(0.2)= 0.24 sq in. of reinforcement in a 12-inch length. Four times this area should be used for bamboo stirrups or 0.96 sq in. per foot of length. From Figure 4, select 3/8-inch-thick splints spaced at 4-inch centers.
4. The top two rows should be bent up randomly in the outer one-third sections of the beams to assist the vertical stirrups in resisting diagonal tension.
The final design is shown in the following sketch.
Columns
Bamboo
reinforcement in columns serves to resist a compression load equal to
that taken by the concrete it displaces; it also will resist shear and
tensile stresses. Of the full cross section of concrete, only 80 percent
is considered effective in rectangular tied, columns. Allowable
concrete stress should not exceed 0.225 f'c where f'c is the ultimate compressive strength of the concrete.
Vertical
reinforcement should be approximately 4 percent of the column cross
section for rectangular columns. When bamboo is used as lateral tie
reinforcement, the ties should be spaced not over 16 times the least
dimension of the vertical reinforcement nor farther apart than the least
dimension of the column. Enough ties should be provided so that every
vertical bar is held firmly in its designed position and has lateral
support equivalent to that provided by a 90-degree corner of a tie. A
common rule for determining the size of a tie is that its
cross-sectional area is 2 percent of the area of all the vertical
reinforcement confined by it.
The concrete
cross-sectional area of bamboo reinforced rectangular columns
conservatively should be 2.25 times the concrete area of steel
reinforced rectangular columns, indicating a 50-percent increase in face
dimensions.
4.2.1 Example 3 - Square Bamboo Reinforced Column Design:
Determine the cross section and bamboo reinforcement of a column required to carry an axial load of 70,000 lb. Ultimate compression strength of the concrete, f'c, is 2500 psi.1. For an unreinforced rectangular column the safe axial load, P, is given by:
P = 0.8Ag (0.225 f'c)
where Ag is the cross-sectional area of the concrete column.
2. The column should have a cross-sectional area of:
Ag = 70,000 ÷ 0.8 (0.225) (2500) = 155.5 sq. in.
3. If a square column is chosen, it will have face dimensions of
b = (155.5)½ = 12.47 in., say 12.5 in.
4.
The amount of vertical reinforcement should be 4 percent of the
concrete area and can be obtained from Figure 2. Try ¾-inch-thick
splints. The number required is 8.8 for an area of (12.5)(12.5) = 156 sq
in. However, Figure 2 provides only 3-percent reinforcement; thus 8.8
should be multiplied by (4/3) to get 11.7. Thus, 12 splints should be
used; these should be spaced evenly around the perimeter with 1½ in. of
cover. Lateral ties should be arranged as shown in the following figure
to provide each vertical splint with a 90-degree corner (or smaller).
Example 4 - Replacement of Steel Reinforced Square Column Design with Bamboo Reinforced Square Column:
Construction drawings call for a 12-inch-square concrete column reinforced with 12 No. 6 steel reinforcing bars. Three No. 2 ties on 12-inch centers are required. Replace this column with a square column reinforced and tied with bamboo.1. The face dimensions should be increased by 50 percent. The bamboo reinforced column will have sides of 1.5(12) = 18.0 in.
2. The cross-sectional area is 18.0(18.0) = 324 sq in. Use 4 percent of the concrete area as vertical reinforcement. Figure 2 is used to determine the size and number of bamboo reinforcement. Assume 3/4-inch-thick splints will be used. For a concrete area of 200 sq in., the number of these splints required is 11.0. Since this figure provides 3-percent reinforcement, the number of splints should be multiplied by the ratio (4/3); it should also be multiplied by the ratio (324/200) as a correction factor for concrete area. These multiplications indicate that 24 splints should be used.
3. Lateral ties should be arranged as shown in the following figure. Tie reinforcement should be 2 percent of the area of the vertical bars confined by it. Each tie confines four 3/4-inch-thick splints; therefore, the calculations for tie size and spacing are identical to those in Example 3.
Ground-Supported Slabs
Figure
3 is used to determine slab thickness and required amount of bamboo
reinforcement. Figure 4 can be used to determine the size and spacing of
the reinforcement. In general, the reinforcement spacing should not be
greater than the slab thickness.
When designs
are available for steel reinforced slabs, no change in thickness is
required when reinforced with bamboo instead of steel. However, the
volume of the bamboo matting reinforcement should be about 4 times the
amount used for steel matting.
4.3.1 Example 5 - Ground-Supported Slab Design:
Design a bamboo reinforced concrete slab to support a maximum wheel load of 7000 pounds. The wheel contact area on the slab is estimated at 60 sq in. Slab length between joints will be 8 ft.1. The slab thickness is determined from Figure 3a to be about 5½ in.
2. The required reinforcement is determined from Figure 3b to be 0.11 sq in. per foot of slab width.
3.
The amount of the reinforcement is determined from Figure 4. The
required amount of reinforcement can be provided by 1/8-inch-thick
splints on 12-inch centers. However, in general, the reinforcing spacing
should not be greater than the slab thickness; a 6-inch spacing is
adequate.
4.3.2 Example 6 - Replacement of Steel Reinforced Slab with a Bamboo Reinforced Slab:
Construction drawings call for a 6-inch-thick slab reinforced with No. 10 gage steel reinforcing wire on 6-inch centers. Replace it with a bamboo reinforced slab.1. The thickness of the slab does not change.
2.
From Table II, the cross-sectional area of a No. 10 gauge wire is
0.0143 sq in. Since these wires are spaced at 6 in., the area per foot
is 0.0286 sq in. Bamboo reinforcement should be 4 times that of the
steel reinforcement or 0.114 sq in. per foot of slab width. From Figure
4, 1/8-inch-thick splints on 8-inch centers is adequate; however, the
spacing should not exceed the slab thickness so a 6- inch spacing should
be used.
4.4 Walls
Non-bearing
concrete walls should have a thickness of not less than 5 inches and not
less than 1/30 the distance between the supporting or enclosing
members; they should be reinforced with at least 3/4-inch-diameter culms
on 6-inch centers in both vertical and horizontal directions. This
reinforcement should be provided as a one-layer mat in the middle of the
wall. Two bamboo culms 1/2 inch or more in diameter should be placed
above and at the sides of openings, and two 3/4-inch-diameter culms 4
feet long should be placed diagonally across the corners of openings.
Figures and Tables
Figure 1.↑ Resistance coefficients for bamboo reinforced concrete beams and their flexural members.
Figure 2.↑ Bamboo substitute beams and reinforcement.
Figure 3.↑ Slab thickness and reinforcement for ground supported slabs.
Figure 4.↑ Size and spacing of bamboo reinforcement in slabs and walls.
Table II . Properties of bamboo and steel reinforcing bars
BAMBOO
| Whole Culms | |
| Diameter (in.) | Area (sq. in.) |
| 3/8 | 0.008 |
| 1/2 | 0.136 |
| 5/8 | 0.239 |
| 3/4 | 0.322 |
| 1 | 0.548 |
| 2 | 1.92 |
| 3/4 Inch Wide Splints | |
| Thickness (in.) | Area (sq. in.) |
| 1/8 | 0.094 |
| 1/4 | 0.188 |
| 3/8 | 0.282 |
| 1/2 | 0.375 |
| 3/4 | 0.5563 |
STEEL REINFORCING
| Nominal Dimensions - Round Sections |
|
Bar Designation No.
| Nominal Diameter (in.) | Cross Sectional Area (sq. in.) |
|
2
|
0.250 (2/8)
|
0.05
|
|
3
|
0.375 (3/8)
|
0.11
|
|
4
|
0.500 (4/8)
|
0.20
|
|
5
|
0.625
|
0.31
|
|
6
|
0.750
|
0.44
|
|
7
|
0.875
|
0.6
|
|
8
|
1.00
|
0.79
|
|
9
|
1.128
|
1.00
|
|
10
|
1.270
|
1.27
|
|
11
|
1.410
|
1.56
|
STEEL WIRE
| Wire size chart | |||
| AS&W Wire Gauge Numbers | Diameter (in.) | Area (sq. in.) | Weight (lb/ft) |
| 0000 | 0.3938 | 0.12180 (2/8) | 0.4136 |
| 000 | 0.3625 | 0.10321 | 0.3505 |
| 00 | 0.3310 | 0.086049 | 0.2922 |
| 0 | 0.3065 | 0.073782 | 0.2506 |
| 1 | 0.2830 | 0.062902 | 0.2136 |
| 2 | 0.2625 | 0.054119 | 0.1838 |
| 3 | 0.2437 | 0.046645 | 0.1584 |
| 4 | 0.2253 | 0.039867 | 0.1354 |
| 5 | 0.2070 | 0.033654 | 0.1143 |
| 6 | 0.1920 | 0.028953 | 0.09832 |
| 7 | 0.1770 | 0.024606 | 0.08356 |
| 8 | 0.1620 | 0.020612 | 0.07000 |
| 9 | 0.1483 | 0.017273 | 0.05866 |
| 10 | 0.1350 | 0.014314 | 0.04861 |
| 11 | 0.1205 | 0.011404 | 0.03873 |
| 12 | 0.1055 | 0.0087417 | 0.02969 |
| 13 | 0.0915 | 0.0065755 | 0.02233 |
| 14 | 0.0800 | 0.0050266 | 0.01707 |
| 15 | 0.0720 | 0.0040715 | 0.01383 |
| 16 | 0.0625 | 0.0030680 | 0.01042 |
