BAMBOO REINFORCED CONCRETE CONSTRUCTION.doc

BAMBOO REINFORCED CONCRETE CONSTRUCTION
February 1966
U. S. NAVAL CIVIL ENGINEERING LABAORATORY
Port Hueneme, California
By
Francis E. Brink and Paul J. Rush
ABSTRACT
This report has been prepared to assist field personnel in the design and construction of bamboo reinforced concrete. The information in this report has piled from reports of test programs by various researchers and represents current opinion.
Comments on the selection and preparation of bamboo for reinforcing are given. Construction principles for bamboo reinforced concrete are discussed. Design procedures and charts for bamboo reinforced concrete are given and conversion methods from steel reinforced concrete design are shown. Six design examples are presented.
editorial note: The original web editor's note includes a disclaimer of any responsibility for what might happen if one builds something using this wonderfully concise and freely provided 1966 . Navy Lab engineering; agrees and is testing small-scale trials. Editor's notes explaining why you're on your own are at the end of this edition.
1. INTRODUCTION
The use of bamboo as reinforcement in portland cement concrete has been studied extensively by Clemson Agricultural College.(ref 1) 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.(ref 2) 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 inelastically even under light load