This document discusses bamboo as a building material. Bamboo is a renewable and versatile resource that is fast-growing and has high strength for its weight. It can be used to reinforce concrete in beams and columns. The document evaluates the tensile, compressive, and elastic properties of bamboo compared to steel. Case studies show that bamboo-reinforced concrete walls perform better than traditional mud walls in flood-prone areas. While bamboo has some disadvantages like susceptibility to fire and insects, it has benefits of being cost-effective, ecofriendly, and seismically resistant. The document concludes that bamboo is a viable building material alternative to steel.

1. BAMBOO AS A BUILDING MATERIAL
Introduction:
 Since ancient times, it is a low cost
material for construction.
 Natural material with a high strength to
weight ratio.
 Bamboo is renewable and versatile
resource. characterized by high
strength and low weight.
 It is estimated that there are 1200
species growing in about 14.5 million
hectares area.
 Bamboo is the world’s fastest growing
plant, it is approximately grows 7.5 to
40 cm a day, with world record being
1.2 in 24 hours in Japan.
 Objectives:
 To check and compare the (7days,
28days) strength of concrete reinforced
with bamboo and steel in beams and
columns.
 To study the modern construction
techniques for bamboo use in
construction of building elements.
General use:
 Removing atmospheric carbon.
 Paper and pulp industries.
 Boards and furniture.
 Small scale and cottage industries for
handicrafts and other Products.
 Building and Construction.
 Soil stabilization.
Literature Review:
BY – Suresh. All (International
Organisation of Environmental
Research ,Goa, 18-20 Dec. 2008).
“BAMBOO AS GREEN ALTERNATIVE TO
CONCRETE AND STEEL FOR MODERN
STRUCTURES “ Despite of the long
tradition of building with the bamboo,
the material is not used frequently in
modern building constructions.
Bamboo can be a perfect alternative for
steel in the present and the future, as it
possesses all the required mechanical
properties , and can perfectly replace
steel, depending on the situation and
the application.
Tjerk Reijenga “Role of bamboo in
Green Building design”. In this project
we comparing steel reinforcement with
bamboo reinforcement , replacement
of steel with bamboo while reinforcing
SELECTION OF BAMBOO SPECIES:
 It should be available in large quantity
from near by plantations.
 Transportation should be economic.
 It have good engineering properties.
we should considering these factors,
Dendrocalamus Strictus is selected as it
is available in abundance in the
region and has good engineering
properties to be used as a construction
material
BAMBOO SIZES:
Bamboo sizes are generally specified by
minimum diameter ,wall thickness,and
length.
 Column 80-100mm dia, wall thickness
10-12mm dia.
 Bamboo strips for infill panels 18-20
mm wide, 8-10mm thick.

2. Methodology:
Properties:
1. Tensile Strength.
2. Compressive Strength.
3. Elastic Modulus.
ANISOTROPIC PROPERTIES
1. Shrinkage.
2.Fire Resistance.
1.TENSILE STRENGTH : The common
tensile stress in steel reinforcement is
160 N/mm2 and in bamboo 370
N/mm2.
The mass per volume of steel is 7850
kg/m3 and of bamboo is about 500-600
kg/m3.
2. COMPRESSIVE STRENGTH : As we
know that bamboo show anisotropic
property. The portion of lignin inside
the culms affects compressive strength,
whereas the high portion of cellulose
influences the buckling and the tensile
strength as it represents the building
substance of the bamboo fibers.
3. ELASTIC MODULUS : The higher the
elastic modulus, the higher is the
quality of the bamboo. Enormous
elasticity makes it a very useful building
material in areas with very high risks of
earthquakes. The E-modulus for
cellulose is 70,000 N/mm2 and about
50% of the cross-section of the fiber is
cellulose; the fiber is 35,000 N/mm2
There are cellulose fibres in the
longitudinal direction, which is strong
and stiff and in the transverse direction
there is lignin, which is soft and brittle.
1. SHRINKAGE: Bamboo shrinks in a
cross section of 10 - 16%.Therefore it is
necessary to take necessary measures
to prevent water loss when used as a
building material.
2. FIRE RESISTANCE: The fire resistance
is very good because of the high
content of silicate acid. Filled up with
water can stand a temperature of 400°
C while the water cooks inside.
BAMBOO HOUSING:
The majority of bamboo construction
relates to the rural community needs in
developing.
Common types of construction include
farm and school buildings and bridges.
Further applications of bamboo
relevant to construction include its use
as scaffolding, water piping and as
shuttering and reinforcement for
concrete.
THE WORKING OF BAMBOO :
SPLITING:
The cane is split in half and quarters and
then driven apart by a wedge. It can
also be split with a knife frame into four
or eight segments
SHAPING :
Bamboo available in nature is usually
circular in cross.

3. BENDING :
Freshly cut, bamboo can be bent by
heating and will keep his shape after
drying.
When heated above 150° C, bamboo
starts changing its shape and remains as
such after it goes cold.
ADVANTAGES :
Low-cost and environment friendly.
Light weight compared to steel.
Shock absorbing and thus earthquake
resistant.
It uses less fossil fuel to manufacture.
Bamboo can prevent pollution by
absorbing large amounts of nitrogen
from waste water and reducing the
amount of carbon dioxide in the air.
Its abundance in tropical and
subtropical regions makes it an
economically advantageous material.
DISADVANTAGES :
It is not that uniform, i.e., large
varieties of bamboo are found having
different tensile strength.
It has tendency to absorb water and
also to release water on drying.
Bamboo wood is easily infected by
wood-boring insects and attracts living
organisms, such as, fungi and insects
because of its high content of nutrients
unless treated with wood preservatives
or kept very dry.
It is susceptible to catch fire as
compared to steel.
Case Study:
The strength of bamboo concrete
panels is quite higher than the mud wall
and use of bamboo is highly
recommended in flood prone areas.
The bamboo concrete panels are much
more durable.
The initial cost of the bamboo-concrete
panels is higher but the maintenance
cost is lower as compared to mud walls.
The technology evolved can be
effectively adopted for construction of
low-cost houses with cost ranging from
Rs 180 to 250/feet2
depending upon the
design of the house and nature of
interior finish, and also upon the local
conditions.
Construction of bamboo panels does
not require much skill and can be easily
done.
Mud walls get washed in case of floods
which do not happen in case of bamboo
reinforced concrete walls.
For regions, where the availability of
steel is limited and plain concrete
members are commonly being used,
the use of reinforced bamboo concrete
is highly recommended.
Asphalt coating on the bamboo mat
and sand spraying increase the bond
between concrete and bamboo.
CONCLUSION :
Hence we can conclude that the
strength of steel is almost 3-4 times of
the bamboo , but bamboo can be used
as a building material because of
following properties and reasons:-

4. It is cost effective.
It is ecofriendly in nature.
It is fast growing.
It makes bond with concrete.
Bamboo is very light in weight with
compare to steel so dead load of the
member can be decreased with use of
it.
Since bamboo is very effective in
seismic resistance, use of it should be
safe.
REFERENCES:
Department of Civil Engineering,
Pontificia Universidade Catolica, PUC-
Rio, Rua Marques de Sa˜ o Vicente 225,
22453- 900Rio de
Janeiro,BrazilReceived 26 September
2003; accepted 4 June 2004.
Mechanical Properties of
Bamboo.EvelinRottke.achen
University. Faculty of Architecture.
Aachen, North RhineWestphalia,
Germany. Section 3, page 11 and
Section 4, page 11. 27October
2002.Retrieved7December 2013.
REPORTS
“Bamboo Reinforced Concrete Wall as a
Replacement to Brick and Mud Wall”
by:- M Mishra, S Mujumdar.
“Connections and slab for bamboo
construction” by Guzman David, PhD
candidate ,Morel Claude,Professor.