BAMBOO

AS A BUILDING
MATERIAL

HERITAGE INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY

NAME- ABHIJIT PAL
DEPT.- CIVIL ENGINEERING
CONTENTS
• Introduction
• Usage
• Bamboo piles Installation
• Facts and properties
• Preservation of Bamboo
• Advantages of Bamboo
• Resistance to Earthquakes
• Comparison
• Limitations
• Conclusion
 INTRODUCTION
• Since ancient times, it is a low cost
material for construction
• natural material with a high strength-
to-weight ratio
• Various structural shapes may be
made by training the bamboo to
assume them as it grows
• Previously taken as a material for poor
or about temporary constructions
 USAGE
building elements like
• Foundations

• Floors

• Walls
 USAGE
• Roof

• Trusses

• Door and windows

 USAGE
• Bamboo piles
• Compacts soft soil increasing its bearing
capacity

• The friction provided by the construction

grade bamboo increases its load bearing
capacity

• Treated split bamboo piles can form 8m long

90mm diameter piles Built using bamboo
tiles(Thiruvanantapuram ,Kerala)
BAMBOO PILES INSTALLATION
 The split piles are filled with coconut coir
strands wrapped with juice

 Then they are tied with galvanised iron wire

 After installation the area is covered with 2-

5m depth of soil
 FACTS AND PROPERTIES
• It is a perennial grass
• Fastest growing plants (30cm-1m
in 24hrs)
• Strongest part is node where
branching occurs
• 1450 species across the world
• Long has been used as
scaffolding material
 PROPERTIES
• Shaping-Various structural
shapes is made by training it as
it grows

• Splitting-Can be cut and

laminated into sheets and planks

• Bending- Can be bent by heating

above 150’C
MECHANICAL PROPERTIES
PRESERVATION OF BAMBOO
• Non chemical or traditional
methods
•Smoking

•White washing

•Curing
PRESERVATION OF BAMBOO
• Neem seed oil treatment
Oil from the neem seeds can
improve water resistance and
dimensional stability

Either Samples are soaked in hot

neem seed oil at 60’C for
4hrs(better)

Or samples are soaked in oil at

room temperature for 24hrs
PRESERVATION OF BAMBOO
• Chemical treatment
• Borax-boric acid treatment

The centre of bamboo is drilled

through the whole length

Bamboo is soaked in boric acid

solution for 2 days for effective
penetration
Borax-boric acid treatment
Bamboo is stacked vertically to
drain the solution to reuse it

After that it is left to dry

ADVANTAGES OF BAMBOO
• Light weight

• Cost-effective

• Durability
CONTINUED..
• Strength

• Flexibility

• Earthquake resistance
RESISTANCE TO EARTHQUAKES
• High residual strengths to absorb
shocks and impacts

• Few examples-
• 30 houses survived a 7.6
magnitude earthquake without
any damage in Costa Rica
• A house in Bhutan that
withstood a 6.9 magnitude
earthquake
COMPARISON
COMPARISON
COMPARISON
LIMITATIONS
• Jointing Techniques- Though many
techniques are present but structural
efficiency is low

• Flammability- Not fire resistant and

the cost of fore treatment is relatively
high

• Splitting- Low strength along

transverse direction can lead to cracks

• Lack of design guidance and standard

codes-Yet to be fully addressed Splitting failure
CONCLUSIONS
• Based on the research results of bamboo
obtained in universities and other institute
around the world the first norms for bamboo
were created determining the physical and
mechanical properties of bamboo.
• These norms have been evaluated by
international code council and will be included in
the ISO norms in near future.