Can Bamboo Replace Steel as Reinforcement in Concrete, for

the key Structural Elements in a Low Cost House, Designed for

the Urban Poor?

Chandra1. SabnaniAuthor1, Madhuwanti2. LatkarAuthor2, Utpal3. SharmaAuthor3

This research seeks to consistently, link and tie up
Abstract: —Housing shortage in Urban India due to the rising innovation with policies, which can support bamboo
unafforability makes it logical to consider alternative technologies for technology as well as the concept of mass bamboo housing for
their application. The intention of the research is, to evolve a design the Urban Poor. It necessitates examining Bamboo in detail,
using bamboo as one of the chief structural materials, for a safe and
durable house, affordable by the urban poor. It is targeted at those for its appropriateness, as a structural material for construction
Urban Poor living close to bamboo growing regions. The design thus of a single Dwelling Unit. Since Cost is an essential
evolved shall clearly indicate the cost reduction, of the superstructure consideration while designing dwellings for the poor, the focus
where steel reinforced concrete, is replaced by bamboo reinforced through the iterative process, narrowed down to the
concrete, in key structural elements. A higher cost reduction ratio substitution of the high energy guzzling and unaffordable
could help in creating affordable housing markets in most growing
material i.e. Steel Reinforced Concrete with Bamboo
cities in India. Proven technologies from all over the world have been
examined closely to arrive at the one that would minimize the Reinforced Concrete for the key structural elements like slab,
consumption of steel, which constitutes a large share of the cost of a walls, columns and beams, of a modest dwelling unit. It is also
dwelling unit. This Paper shall project some breakthrough findings imperative to minimize costs drastically without compromising
on which the overall research has based itself. on safety, durability, dignity and social acceptance. This
process could make housing affordable, and the housing
Keywords—Bamboo, Concrete, Reinforcement, Steel, Structural market reachable. The long term effect would be the increase
Elements in the willingness to pay among a large number of the urban
poor, primarily those who reside close to bamboo growing
I. NTRODUCTION
regions, most of whom belong to the informal sector. This
ESEARCH, innovations in alternative materials and
R building technologies, targeted for the low cost mass
housing sector are unable to see the light of day.
sector does not have the means, an identity, a support system
and documents of citizenship nor the tenural rights, thereby
excluding it from a substantial and important part of the
There could be many reasons why these experiments, though mainstream, nationwide housing activity. Such exclusion
successfully conducted in Laboratories, never reach the field denies it access to favorable policies, financial and target-
for application. Are these solutions user-friendly? Are they group schemes, for enjoying routine benefits such as; access to
practicable, feasible, efficient and actually time, cost and housing loans, insurance, legal ownership rights and housing at
energy efficient? Are they socially acceptable? Do they subsidized rates.
integrate basic demands of a modern urban set-up in terms of
amenities and facilities? Surely there has to be an equally II. THE RESEARCH OBJECTIVES
robust implementing strategy through timely precipitation,
dissemination and awareness building for a widespread market A. Why Bamboo
penetration. Bamboo has historically been used as a building material
due to its inherent properties, being regenerating,
biodegradable, with high tensile strength, and light weight. It
does not require sophisticated fuel/energy guzzling procedures
for processing. However, despite its innumerable qualities one
Chandra1. SabnaniAuthor1 is an Associate Professor and a PhD scholar
does not get to see bamboo houses. The conventional brick,
(inter disciplinary Board) with the Department of Architecture and Planning, RCC, framed structures have emerged as the prime solution for
Visveswaraya National Institute of Technology, Bajaj Nagar, Nagpur. India, mass housing, even though they are not affordable by the
Phone: +91-9890253994 fax; E-mail: chandra_sabnani@hotmail.com majority of the sections in society. The irony is that while on
Madhuwanti2. LatkarAuthor2 is an Associate Professor (and the
Supervisor) with the Department of Civil Engineering, Visveswaraya National one hand there is acute housing shortage, homelessness,
Institute of Technology, Bajaj Nagar, and Nagpur, India Email: poverty, growth and worsening conditions of slums in urban
mv.latkar@rediffmail.com areas, on the other hand, valuable research on alternative
Utpal3. SharmaAuthor3 is a Professor (and the supervisor for this research
work) with the School of Planning & Public Policy, School of Planning cheaper and easy to construct solutions, do not disseminate to
C.E.P.T University Ahmedabad, India E-mail: utpalsharma2008@gmail.com the level of practical application in the field. The Research
Objective is to investigate why this is happening.

Even as the study evolved it saw major milestone shifts in

the Research focus.

13
 Whole Bamboo Engineered Bamboo Bamboo since bamboo is subjected to maximum bending stress at the
Reinforced Concrete Only for Structural Elements base, owing to the wind and its own weight. A mathematical
formula, relating thickness (t), to the position of the inter-node
(n), is established for all species. The equation for DG is as
BAMBOO REINFORCED CONCRETE STRUCTURAL ELEMENTS follows…..T= -0.0003n3 + 0.025n2 – 0.809n + 16.791 The
durability of bamboo depends on the Preservative treatment
OVERVIEW DETAILED ANALYSIS OF ONE ELEMENT
methods. Its chemical composition should not have any effect
Why Bamboo Reinforced Concrete PRECAUTIONS
BEAM
COLUMNS
on the bamboo fibre, and once injected it should not get
Selection
SLAB
Preparation
Concrete Mix Proportions LIMITATIONS MEASURES
washed away by rain or humidity. With the help of this
Placement of bamboo POTENTIALS
POSSIBILITIES
WALLS
equation the designer can choose the required thickness from
the range of bamboo species DG. Drying bamboo is critical for
Mechanical properties of bamboo for BRC Structural Qualities of Bamboo
Design principles Analysis of a Beam out of B.R.C : Phase 1 its conservation. Bamboo with less moisture is less prone to
Limitations of BRC The bahaviour of bamboo reinforced beams. :Phase 2
Potentials and Possibilities The decrease in strength during curing – Phase 3 mould attacks especially if the moisture content is less than
The maximum allowable percentage of bamboo in concrete Phase 4
15%.
Focus – Countering Limitations and Harnessing Potential of Bamboo
B. Water Absorption
Fig. 1 Research Focus The capacity to absorb water was found to be the least in the
case of species like DG and VS. (Dendrocalmus Gigantius
B. Potential and Possibilities with bamboo
and Bambusa Vulgaris Schard.) The Dimensional variation of
Bamboo is the fastest growing woody plant on the planet untreated bamboo, due to water absorption can lead to micro
belonging to the grass family. Most species produce mature and macro cracks in cured concrete. The dimensional variation
fibre in about three years, much more rapidly than any tree of the transversal sections of these species reached up to 6%
species. Some species grow by up to one metre a day, and the after 7 days of immersion in water. The main factors that affect
majority of them reach a height of 30 metres or more. Bamboo this bonding are; adhesive properties of the cement matrix, the
has exemplary “green” credentials. It is adaptable to most compression friction forces appearing on the surface of the
climatic conditions and soil types. It is being used increasingly reinforcement bar due to shrinkage of the concrete and the
in land stabilization to check erosion. It can be grown quickly shear resistance of concrete due to surface form and roughness
and easily, even on degraded land, and harvested sustainably of the reinforcement bar. A reinforcement bar in concrete is
on three- to five-year rotation. Bamboo is truly a renewable prevented from slipping either by adhesion or a bond between
material. Its strength and light-weight makes the buildings them. The dimensional changes of bamboo due to moisture
resistant to wind and earthquake and can be effectively and temperature influence all the three bond characteristics
exploited through careful yet simple design and detailing. severely. During the casting and curing of concrete,
Internationally, bamboo has a long history as a building reinforcing bamboo absorbs water and expands. itself. The
material. differential thermal expansion of bamboo w.r.to concrete may
C. Limitations also lead to cracking of concrete. The swelling and shrinkage
As a material resource, bamboo has not received the of bamboo in concrete creates a serious limitation in the use of
mainstream recognition it deserves. The bulk of bamboo is bamboo as a substitute for steel. To improve the bond between
gathered from the wild or rural environment, but in many areas bamboo segments and concrete, an effective water-repellent
bamboo resources have dwindled due to overexploitation and treatment is necessary The Impermeability treatment is
poor management. Possibly the major factor contributing to affected by a) Adhesive properties of the substance applied to
the view of bamboo as a temporary material is its lack of bamboo and concrete b) Its water repellent property c) The
natural durability. It is susceptible to attack by insects and topography of the bamboo / concrete interface. Application of
fungi. Its service life may be as low as one year when in a thin layer of epoxy to the bamboo surface with a coating of
ground contact. Even when issues of durability and strength fine sand is an effective treatment. Others include asphalt
are resolved, the question of acceptability remains. paints, tar based paints and specific bituminous materials have
good impermeability properties.
III. HOW TO COUNTER LIMITATIONS – KNOWN PRACTICES C. Bonding strength
The durability of bamboo can be greatly enhanced by The application of a very fine layer of IGOL-T or Negrolin
appropriate specification and design and by careful use of safe product on bamboo, wrapped with a wire of 1.5mm diameter,
and environmentally friendly preservatives such as boron. A has shown to increase shear strength for the interface. The
bamboo building need not look “low-cost” or even necessarily bamboo shear stress = F / L x S. Here F is the applied Pulling
look like bamboo! Imaginative design and the use of other load and S is the perimeter of the bamboo and L = 100 mm, is
locally available materials within the cultural context can make the length of bonded interface. The bonding between bamboo
the building desirable rather than just acceptable. and concrete has been established through pull out tests. To
avoid the effects of non-uniform shear stress distribution in
A. Durability
conventional tests, only the middle part (100 mm) of the bar is
The density of the fibers in the cross section of a bamboo subjected to shear. This treatment has proved to have
shell varies along its thickness. The thickness decreases from improved the shearing bond strength of bamboo / concrete
the base to the top of the bamboo shell. Fibre Distribution is interface by up to 90%. Recently a product called Sikadur 32-
more uniform at the base than at the top or the middle part,
14
Gel, which has been developed to prevent the corrosion of economized. In Brazil the steel reinforcement consists of
reinforcement bars, has been applied on the surface of square sections for a 200x200 mm column. An experiment was
reinforcing bamboo segments. The results show that this new conducted to substitute the steel with treated bamboo
product has increased the bonding strength of treated bamboo segments. 3 years old DG was split and cut into rectangular
segments, 5.29 times, compared with that of untreated sections of 30mm width and was used as reinforcement of the
segments of bamboo and steel, column. The surface of the column was then cleaned and
slightly roughened. The bamboo reinforcement was treated
IV. STRUCTURE POSSIBILITIES with Sikadur 32-Gel. The form made from plywood of 15 mm
thickness stiffened with 20 x 80 mm timber ribs at 400 mm
A. Building Components- Beams spacing, improved the rigidity against the side deflection. A
Simply supported Bamboo Reinforced Concrete beams, comparison was made between a steel reinforced column
fabricated with normal, light weight and laterite aggregates of (having the same mix proportions and curing of 28 days, with
20 mm maximum size have been tested at PUC-Rio and the wet saw dust), and the bamboo reinforced column for the
Federal University of Paraiba (UFPb). A beam, reinforced strains, lateral deflection, crack initiation and propagation of
with steel bars, served as a reference. The Test results showed concrete. It was observed that when axial; load was
that the treatment of bamboo prior to use improved the incrementally applied, the crack which could be seen with a
bamboo- concrete bonding by more than 100%. By adopting r magnifying glass of x5, was considered to be the first crack.
(Bamboo reinforcing ratio) = 3% as the ideal value, the All the columns failed at almost the same load due to crashing
ultimate applied load increased by 400% as compared to of concrete at the extreme end including the conventional steel
concrete beams without reinforcement. Ordinary Portland reinforced concrete. The main conclusion of this research was
cement CP-32 and natural-washed river sand was used. that 3% of the bamboo reinforcement treated with Sikadur 32-
BEAM
Gel would be as good as the conventional steel reinforcement
DETAILED ANALYSIS OF ONE ELEMENT
MEASURES for normal concrete recommended by Brazilian Norm.
Determination of the properties of
Analysis of a Beam out of
bamboo and the appropriate
B.R.C : Phase 1 splint size that would be used to
ensure optimum utilization of
bamboo in concrete.
V. ANALYSIS OF BRC ELEMENTS SUBJECTED TO BENDING
The bahaviour of bamboo
reinforced beams. :Phase 2
The bahaviour of bamboo
reinforced beams.
Based on the research results of bamboo studies in Brazilian
with respect to the rate of water
absorption. : universities, and other institutes around the world the first
The decrease in strength Countering the decrease in
norms for bamboo were created, determining the physical and
during curing – Phase 3 strength during curing with
thicker layer of bitumen mechanical properties of bamboo. These norms have been
The maximum allowable Found to be 5.20% against 4% evaluated by ICBO and will be included in the ISO norms. The
percentage of bamboo in percent for steel reinforcement
concrete Phase 4 in concrete.
results of the investigations show that bamboo can substitute
steel satisfactorily. The structural elements developed and
Fig.2 Measures to counter limitations for the design of BRC beams studied could be used in construction, and efforts are being
made to investigate and establish the durability of bamboo
The normal concrete was 1: 1.4::2.4 by weight with a water reinforcement, besides improving the bonding of bamboo
cement ratio of 0.45 and the proportion for light weight reinforcing bars.
concrete were 1:3.22:0.78 of cement, fine and course
aggregate, with a water cement ratio of 0.55 respectively. The VI. PRECAUTIONS FOR USING BRC- BEAMS COLUMNS SLABS
compressive strength was established on 15 diameter and 30
cm high cylinders. The ultimate compressive strength fa and A. Selection
modulus of elasticity in compression, Ec varied between 20 to The following factors should be considered in the selection
40 MPa and 12- 34 Gpa, respectively. The split culms were of of bamboo culms (whole plants) for use as reinforcement in
30 mm wide rectangular sections. The smooth surface of the concrete structures: Use only bamboo showing a pronounced
bamboo splints was cleaned and slightly roughened before brown color. This will ensure that the plant is at least three
being coated with a thin layer of the impermeable product with years old. Select the longest large diameter culms available.
fine sand. The pieces are then wrapped with 1.5 mm wire at 10 Do not use whole culms of green, unseasoned bamboo. Avoid
mm distance and once more coated with the same product. bamboo cut in spring or early summer. These culms are
Immediately after that, fine sand was manually pressed into the generally weaker due to increased fiber moisture content.
surface and splints were allowed to dry for 24 hrs before being
B. Preparation
fixed inside the formwork. The bamboo reinforcement ratio, r,
varied between 0.75% and 5% 1. Sizing
Splints (split culms) are generally more desirable than
B. Possibilities for replacing steel – Columns whole culms as reinforcement. Larger culms should be split
Recently tested structural component is a bamboo into splints approximately ¾ inch wide. Whole culms less than
reinforced column. The main reinforcement of a 300mm ¾ inches in diameter can be used without splitting. Splitting
diameter column is made entirely of treated 300mm wide DG the bamboo can he done by separating the base with a sharp
bamboo segments. The bamboo was treated with a new knife and then pulling a dulled blade through the culm. The
product, Sikadur 32-Gel, to improve bonding. In this, apart dull blade will force the stem to split open; this is more
from the bamboo reinforcement, the concrete form is also desirable than cutting the bamboo since splitting will result in
entirely made of bamboo. Finishing costs of concrete are thus continuous fibers and a nearly straight section TABLE I shows
15
the approximate net area provided by whole culms and by ¾- bamboo rods or splints should not be less than the maximum
inch-wide splints, as well as the cross-sectional properties of size aggregate plus ¼ inch. Reinforcement should be evenly
standard deformed steel bars and wire mesh. spaced and lashed together on short sticks placed at right
TABLE I angles to the main reinforcement. When more than one layer is
NET AREA PROVIDED BY WHOLE CULMS AND BY ¾-INCH-WIDE SPLINTS
required, the layers should also be tied together. Ties should
preferably be made with wire in important members. For
2. Seasoning secondary members, ties can be made with vegetation strips.
When possible, the bamboo should be cut and allowed to Bamboo must be securely tied down before placing the
dry and season for three to four weeks before using. The culms concrete. It should be fixed at regular intervals of 3 to 4 feet to
must be supported at regular spacing to reduce warping. prevent it from floating up in the concrete during placement
3. Bending and vibration. In flexural members continuous, one-half to
Bamboo can be permanently bent if heat, either dry or wet, two-thirds of the bottom longitudinal reinforcement should be
is applied while applying pressure. This procedure can be used bent up near the supports. This is especially recommended in
for forming splints into C-shaped stirrups and for putting members continuous over several supports. Additional
hooks on reinforcement for additional anchorage. diagonal tension reinforcement in the form of stirrups must be
4. Water-proof Coatings used near the supports. The vertical stirrups can be made from
When seasoned bamboo, either split or whole, is used as wire or packing case straps when available; they can also be
reinforcement, it should receive a waterproof coating to reduce improvised from split sections of bamboo bent into U-shape,
swelling when in contact with concrete. Without some type of and tied securely to both bottom longitudinal reinforcement
coating, bamboo will swell before the concrete has developed and bent-up reinforcement. Spacing of the stirrups should not
sufficient strength to prevent cracking and the member may be exceed 6 inches.
Whole Culms 3/4 Inch Wide Splints
Diameter (in.) Area (sq. in.) Thickness (in.) Area (sq.
in.)
3/8 0.008 1/8 0.094
1/2 0.136 1/4 0.188
5/8 0.239 3/8 0.282 TABLE II
MECHANICAL PROPERTIES OF BAMBOO
3/4 0.322 1/2 0.375
1 0.548 5/8 0.469
2 1.92 3/4 0.563
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 C. Anchorage and Splicing of Reinforcements
surface and weaken the bond with the concrete.
Dowels in the footings for column and wall reinforcement
should be embedded in the concrete to such a depth that the
VII. CONSTRUCTION PRINCIPLES - BEAMS COLUMNS SLABS
bond between bamboo and concrete will resist the allowable
In general, techniques used in conventional reinforced tensile force in the dowel. This embedded depth is
concrete construction need not be changed when bamboo is to approximately 10 times the diameter of whole culms or 25
be used for reinforcement. times the thickness of ¾ inch wide splints. In many cases the
A. Concrete Mix Proportions footings will not be this deep; therefore, the dowels will have
to be bent into an L-shape. These dowels should be either
The same mix designs can be used as would normally be
hooked around the footing reinforcement or tied securely to
used with steel reinforced concrete. Concrete slump should be
the reinforcement to insure complete anchorage. The dowels
as low as workability will allow. Excess water causes swelling
should extend above the footings and be cut so that not more
of the bamboo. High early-strength cement is preferred to
than 30 percent of the splices will occur at the same height. All
minimize cracks caused by swelling of bamboo when seasoned
such splices should be overlapped at least 25 inches and be
bamboo cannot be waterproofed.
well tied. Splicing reinforcement in any member should be
B. Placement of bamboo overlapped at least 25 inches. Splices should never occur in
Bamboo reinforcement should not be placed less than 1½ highly stressed areas and in no case should more than 30
inches from the face of the concrete surface. When using percent of the reinforcement be spliced in any one location.
whole culms, the top and bottom of the stems should be VIII. DESIGN PRINCIPLES- FOR BEAMS COLUMNS AND SLABS
alternated in every row and the nodes or collars, should be
staggered. This will ensure a fairly uniform cross section of the A. Similarity with Steel Reinforced Concrete
bamboo throughout the length of the member, and the wedging Bamboo reinforced concrete design is similar to steel
effect obtained at the nodes will materially increase the bond reinforcing design. Bamboo reinforcement can be assumed to
between concrete and bamboo. The clear spacing between have the mechanical properties. When design handbooks are

16
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 Fig. 7 The number and size of bamboo reinforcing rods
reinforcing. Better bond develops between bamboo and
concrete when the reinforcement is-split in addition to These curves are drawn for 3 percent of the concrete cross
providing more compact reinforcement layers. Large-diameter section as bamboo reinforcement which is in the optimum
culms split into ¾-inch-wide splints are recommended. Design range for flexural members. Other reinforcement percentages
principles for the more common structural members are can be used as noted on the figure. A minimum number of rods
presented in the following sections. Examples of the use of should be used to provide adequate spacing. The bamboo
these principles for each member discussed are included. stirrup area should always be about 4 times the steel stirrup
area.
B. Beams and Girders
Flexural members reinforced with bamboo can be designed C. Columns
with the use of Fig.5 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
. Figure 1. Resistance coefficients for bamboo reinforced concrete beams and their flexural provided so that every vertical bar is held firmly in its
members.
designed position and has lateral support equivalent to that
Fig. 5 Design of Flexural Members Reinforced with Bamboo 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
Bamboo longitudinal reinforcement should be between 3 2% of the area of all the vertical reinforcement confined by it.
and 4 percent of the concrete cross section. Fig. 6 can be used The concrete cross-sectional area of bamboo reinforced
to convert existing designs for steel reinforced beams to rectangular columns conservatively should be 2.25 times the
equivalent bamboo reinforced designs. concrete area of steel reinforced rectangular columns,
indicating a 50-percent increase in face dimensions.
D.Example - 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.
Fig. 6 Bamboo Steel Equivalence for Reinforcement 1. For an unreinforced rectangular column the safe axial load,
P, is given by:
The curve provides the cross-sectional dimensions of a P = 0.8Ag (0.225 f'c) where Ag is the cross-sectional area of
bamboo reinforced beam that will have the same bending the concrete column.
moment resistance coefficient as a balanced steel reinforced 2. The column should have a cross-sectional area of:
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 3. If a square column is chosen, it will have face dimensions
from Fig.7.
b = (155.5)1/2 = 12.47 in., say 12.5 in.

17
 [3] T. A. I. Akeju and F. Falade (2001), ‘Utilization of Bamboo as
Reinforcement in Concrete for Low-cost Housing’,
Proceedings, International Conference on Structural
Engineering, Mechanics and Computation, Cape Town, South
Africa, 2-4 April 2001, pp 1463-1470.
[4] F. Falade and T. A. I. Akeju (1997). ‘The Potential of Bamboo
as Construction Material’ Fourth Int. Congress on Structural
Fig. 8 Bamboo Reinforcement in a Square Column Engineering Analysis and Modeling (SEAM 4) – Ghana 9-11
September, 1997, pp. 447-460.
The amount of vertical reinforcement should be 4 percent of [5] F. Falade and T. A. I. Akeju (2002). ‘Structural Design and
the concrete area and can be obtained from Figure 7. Try 3/4- Economy of Bamboo Reinforced Concrete Beams’, Proc. Fifth
inch-thick splints. The number required is 8.8 for an area of International Conference on Structural Engineering Analysis
and Modeling, (SEAM Engineers’ Centre, Accra, Ghana, Marchz
(12.5) (12.5) = 156 sq in. However, Figure 7 provides only 3- [6] F. Falade and T. A. I. Akeju (2002). ‘Structural Design and
percent reinforcement; thus 8.8 should be multiplied by (4/3) Economy of Bamboo Reinforced Concrete Beams’, Proc. Fifth
to get 11.7. Thus, 12 splints should be used; these should be International Conference on Structural Engineering Analysis
and Modelling, (SEAM Engineers’ Centre, Accra, Ghana,
spaced evenly around the perimeter with 1-1/2 in. of cover. March, 2002, pp 215-228.
Lateral ties should be arranged as shown in the following
figure to provide each vertical splint with a 90-degree corner XII. BIOGRAPHY
(or smaller) Chandra1. SabnaniAuthor1 and a Ph.D.Scholar is (B-Arch- 1982,
VRCE Nagpur, M.U.R.P. 1982-84 SPA New Delhi), is a Fellow
Member of the Indian Institute Of Architects, India, and an Associate
IX. CONCLUSION Member of the Institute of Town Planners, India, having been an
office bearer/ executive member and an editor in both.
Having understood from extensive research through She is currently a researcher and this is an interim paper, as part of
literature available on the use of bamboo as reinforcement in an on-going research, on Bamboo Architecture and Technology,
concrete it is established that bamboo can replace steel for leading to a PhD. The Title of the paper: Can bamboo replace steel as
modest housing for the urban poor who live close to bamboo reinforcement in concrete, for the key structural elements in a low
growing regions. cost house, designed for the Urban Poor?
The Title of the Thesis is: Investigating the Prevalence, Relevance
The reason why it is not a favorable proposition arises not
and Appropriateness of Bamboo Technology for Housing in India.
due to the material’s inherent limitations, but the procedural The Study is currently at the stage of structural analysis. However,
methods required for its treatment before it is actually used as being a qualitative research, few of the findings even as the research
a structural material, The reason for its non popularity can be is in progress, are of great relevance to the Profession.
attributed to the Precautions that have to be used during the
design and construction of the structural elements. The
research so far leads to further analysis on how to simplify its
treatment and eliminate operational problems in making
bamboo one of the key structural materials. The research focus
now shifts to examining whether bamboo reinforcement
actually works out to be cheaper than steel reinforcement
given the labour costs, the wastages, the skills required, and
the need for on-the-job-training for its use in the long term.

X. ACKNOWLEDGMENT
F.A. Author thanks her Supervisors and Co- Authors, S.B. Dr
M.V.Latkar and T.C. Prof. Utpal Sharma for their valuable inputs
from time to time. F.A. Author would specially like to thank the
Research and Planning cell of the Visvesvaraya National Institute of
Technology currently
Chaired by Dr. Animesh Chatterjee (Dean - Research and
Consultancy, Professor at the Department of Mechanical
Engineering, V.N.I.T.), along with the members Dr. Rajesh Gupta
(Dean Finance and Professor at the Department of Civil
Engineering), Dr. D.H. Lataye (Associate Professor at the
Department of Civil Engineering, V.N.I.T. Nagpur), for their
unstinted guidance and reviews during the six- monthly seminars as
part of course work.

XI. REFERENCES
[1] Publications of the Brazilian Association of the sciences of
Non-Conventional Material Technologies
[2] Professor Funso Alphonsus Falade, Head of Civil &
Environmental Engineering, and University of Lagos.

18