© JUL 2021 | IRE Journals | Volume 5 Issue 1 | ISSN: 2456-8880

Review On Bamboo as Building Material

PRATHMESH VITTHAL SULANE1, DANISH ALI2
1
Prathmesh Vitthal Sulane, MGM’s polytechnic Aurangabad
2
Danish Ali, MGM’s polytechnic Aurangabad

Abstract- In this world of constantly increasing abundantly in tropical rain forest. But after industrial
population and depleting resources there is urge to era has begun the use of bamboo as building material
adopt cost effective and eco-friendly structures. This become obsolete. Bamboo is considered as cheap and
paper discusses the potential of bamboo and project non-permanent materials. It is also considered as low-
the possibilities of usage of bamboo in the class material, even called as “the poor man timber”
construction field. Bamboo is an ancient solution for by many modern builders (Lobokivov, 2009). People
the present-day problem. Bamboo is an appropriate tend to choose brick, concrete and steel as structural
substitute for the present convention building and construction materials for modern building.
material such as steel and wood. The main
characteristic of the bamboo which makes it a But nowadays, after global warming and sustainability
suitable building material is its high tensile strength issues are emerged, bamboo as building materials is
which is equivalent to mild steel at the yield point and widely discussed and reviewed. Some architect and
very good weight strength ratio making it high builder nowadays tend to choose bamboo for building
resilient against the forces created by the earth material. High-quality woods for construction are
quakes and hurricanes. Bamboo can replace 70% of rarely found nowadays because of deforestation.
steel and wood used in the construction and reduce Wood also takes long time to regrow and ready to use
the cost by 40%. Bamboo can be used from as construction materials. Meanwhile bamboo can be
scaffolding to every stage of construction like in harvested in a short time, which is between 3-5 years.
footings, beams, columns, slabs, stair cases, etc. When planting, bamboo also releases oxygen into the
Bamboo is the renewable resource with amazing air, the ability that cannot be performed by industrial
growth rate, rejuvenates the soil and grows in varied materials like steel, plastic and concrete. For the
climatic conditions. Bamboo absorbs carbon dioxide reasons, bamboo has been widely known as
and releases 35% more oxygen into the atmosphere sustainable building materials.
than other hardwood trees. There are few building
codes also available for the usage of bamboo in the Bamboo naturally grows in the forest but also can be
construction such as ISO 22156:2004 Bamboo cultivated in plantation [1].
structural design, ISO 22157:2004 Bamboo physical
and mechanical properties, IS 9096:1979 Code of Bamboo is primarily a type of giant grass with woody
practice for preservation of bamboo for structural stems. The stems are called “shoots” when the plant is
purposes, IS 15912:2018 Structural design using young and “culms” when the plant is mature. Each
Bamboo. Thus, bamboo is environmentally friendly, bamboo plant consists of two parts – the “Culm”/stem
energy efficient and cost-effective material. that grows above the ground and the underground
“rhizome” that bears the roots of the plant. “A single
Indexed Terms- Bamboo, Building, Steel, Structure. bamboo clump can produce upto 15 kilometres of
usable pole (up to 30 cm in diameter) in its lifetime.”
I. INTRODUCTION [2].

The use of bamboo as building materials has occurred

in a long period. Most of traditional houses in Asia use
bamboo as building materials, both as structural and
non-structural materials. The use of bamboo in
traditional houses is due to the fact that bamboo grows

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 © JUL 2021 | IRE Journals | Volume 5 Issue 1 | ISSN: 2456-8880

8. Transportation industry- truck bodies, railway

carriages etc.
9. Boards and furniture
10. Long-time source of biomass for industry
11. Fuel source - capable of generating 1000-6000
cal/g- for households and small industries is an
Fig. 1 – Various Types of bamboo
age-old, continuing practice. [7]
II. ADVANTAGES OF BAMBOO
V. MAIN PROPERTIES OF BAMBOO
"Reference [3]"The various advantages of bamboo are
"reference [8]"Because As discussed before that
mentioned below:
Bamboo is a viable alternative for steel, concrete and
1. Light, strong and versatile
masonry, it is so because of its properties which are
2. Environment-friendly
clearly mention below:
3. Affordable
4. Self-renewing resource
A. TENSILE STRENGTH
5. Fast growing grass – 30cm to 1m in a day
Bamboo is able to resist more tension than
6. Extremely strong natural fibre at par with standard
compression. The fibres of bamboo run axially are of
hardwoods. Strongest part is its node.[4]
highly elastic vascular bundle that has a high tensile
7. It has a great capacity for stock absorption, thus
strength. The tensile strength of these fibres is higher
makes it useful in earthquake-prone areas [5].
than that of steel, but it’s not possible to construct
8. Highly productive.
connections that can transfer this tensile strength.
Slimmer tubes are superior in this aspect too. Inside
III. DISADVANTAGES OF BAMBOO
the silicate outer skin, axial parallel elastically fibres
with a tensile strength up to 400 N/mm2 can be found.
"Reference [6]"The major disadvantages of bamboo
As a comparison, extremely strong wood fibres can
are as follows:
resist a tension up to 50 N/mm2.
1. Lack of design guidance and codes.
2. Requires preservation.
B. COMPRESSIVE STRENGTH
3. Durability–bamboo is subjected to attack by fungi,
Compared to the bigger tubes, slimmer ones have got,
insects; for this reason, untreated bamboo
in relation to their cross-section, a higher compressive
structures are viewed as temporary with an
strength value. The slimmer tubes possess better
expected life of not more than 5 years.
material properties due to the fact that bigger tubes
have got a minor part of the outer skin, which is very
IV. GENERAL USES
resistant in tension. The portion of lignin inside the
culms affects compressive strength, whereas the high
1. Soil stabilization, wind break, urban waste water
portion of cellulose influences the buckling and the
treatment and reduction of nitrates contamination
tensile strength as it represents the building substance
2. Creating a fire line in traditional forests-due to the
of the bamboo fibres.
high content of silica.
3. Removing atmospheric carbon - bamboo can
C. ELASTIC MODULUS
capture 17 metric tons of carbon per hectare per
The accumulation of highly strong fibres in the outer
year, i.e., effectively than any other species.
parts of the tube wall also work positive in connection
4. Building and construction.
with the elastic modulus like it does for the tension,
5. Small scale and cottage industries, for handicrafts
shear and bending strength. The higher the elastic
and other products.
modulus, the higher is the quality of the bamboo.
6. New generation products as wood substitutes
Enormous elasticity makes it a very useful building
7. Industrial products
material in areas with very high risks of earthquakes.

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D. ANISOTROPIC PROPERTIES Due to a distinctive rhizome-dependent system,

Bamboo is an anisotropic material. Properties in the bamboos are one of the fastest-growing plants in the
longitudinal direction are completely different from world and their growth is three-times faster than most
those in the transversal direction. There are cellulose other species of plants. They are renewable and
fibres in the longitudinal direction, which is strong and extremely versatile resource with multi-purpose
stiff and in the transverse direction there is lignin, usage. Among many uses of bamboo, Housing is one
which is soft and brittle. of the major areas applications especially in the wake
of residential shortages around the globe.
E. SHRINKAGE
Bamboo shrinks more than wood when it loses water. Bamboo as a building material is conventionally
The canes can tear apart at the nodes. Bamboo shrinks associated with the region of Southeast Asia and South
in a cross section of 10-16 % and a wall thickness of America where climate is best suitable for its
15-17 %. Therefore, it is necessary to take necessary cultivation. In many of the nations, bamboo is used to
measures to prevent water loss when used as a building hold up suspension bridges or simply make places of
material. dwelling.

F. FIRE RESISTANCE Utilization of Bamboo for construction is achieved by

The fire resistance is very good because of the high a structural frame technique which is related to same
content of silicate acid. Filled up with water, it can approach applied in usual timber frame design and
stand a temperature of 400° C while the water cooks construction.
inside.
In the case bamboo, floor, walls and roof are
Table 1 - Properties of bamboo, steel and spruce interconnected and often rely on the other for overall
wood stability. Bamboo has played a vital role in the growth
KN/cm2 Spruce Bamboo Steel of enterprises and the rural transformation [9].
wood
Elastic 1100 2000 2100 A. SOME CUTES AND JOINTS IN BAMBOO
Modulus
Compressive 4.3 6.2-9.3 14
Strength
Tensile 8.9 14.8 16
Strength
Bending 6.8 7.26-27.6 14 Figure 2 – Types of cut on bamboo
Strength
Shear 0.7 2.0 9.2
Strength

VI. B A M B O O AS ABUILDINGMATERIAL

Bamboo as a building material has high compressive

strength and low weight has been one of the most used
Figure 3 – Types of joint in bamboo
building materials as support for concrete, especially
in those locations where it is found in abundance.

Bamboo as a building material is used for the

construction of scaffolding, bridges and structures,
houses.

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B. Bamboo Wall

Figure 8 – Bamboo scaffoldings

Figure 4 – Different types of bamboo wall

C. BAMBOO TRUSS

Figure 9 – Bamboo scaffoldings

VII. WHY BAMBOO AS REINFORCEMENT

FOR RCC STRUCTURE FOR SMALL
Figure 5 – Combined culm-slat Bamboo Truss CONSTRUCTION IN HARSH CORROSIVE
ENVIRONMENT?

In Brazil systematic studies were carried out on

bamboo since 1979, of which the greater part was
dedicated to the development of a methodology for its
application in space structures and as reinforcement in
concrete. The energy necessary to produce 1 m 3 per
Figure 6- Bamboo Roof Truss
unit of stress projected in practice for materials
commonly used in civil construction has been
D. BAMBOO SCAFFOLDING
compared with that of bamboo. It was found that for
steel it is necessary to spend 50 times more energy than
for bamboo (Janssen, 1981). In the production of one
tone steel two tons of CO2 is produced. In contrast
bamboo plant absorbs CO2 besides producing oxygen.
The tensile strength of bamboo is relatively high and
can reach 370 MPa (Dunkelberg, 1985, Liese, 1992,
Lopes, 1974), this turns the use of bamboo attractive
as substitute of steel, especially when considering the
relation between tensile resistance and specific weight
of bamboo which is six times greater than that for steel
Figure 7 – Bamboo scaffoldings (Ashby, 1992, Wgst, et al.,1993) [10].

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in normal use is taken as the unit. This is indicated by

the term “S use” (also called the “allowable stress”)
and is about 140 N/mm2 for steel and 10 N/mm2 for
timber. In each of the three diagrams in Fig. 12, a
formation like a hill can be seen. This is the area of
stresses at failure during tests, the middle part of the
“hill” indicating the mean stress at failure (denoted by
“smean”). Each hill also shows an “S” value, which is
the standard deviation indicating whether the results of
Figure 10 - Bamboo reinforcement after 15 years in
a test are widespread or not. Technicians consider the
open air
stress under which 5% or 2.5% of the specimens fail
as the limit, and the allowable stress shall be at a safe
distance below this limit. These limits are indicated as
S5% or S2.5%. On the vertical axis, we see the value “p”,
which is the chance that a stress will occur. If a hill is
wide and flat, the “p” is low; if a hill is narrow and
steep, the “p” is high. The lowest diagram is for steel,
a material that is produced using a very controlled
process and hence, bad specimens are very rare. It
shows a narrow and steep hill, indicating that failure
Figure 11 - Steel reinforcement after 10 years in
under stress occurs in a narrow range indicated by a
closed area
small value for “S”. This means that the allowable
stress (“S use”) can be at a short distance from the
In 1979 (Ghavami and Hombeeck, 1981). The steel
stress at failure. The diagram in the middle for wood
reinforced concrete columns are part of the tunnel
and bamboo, which are natural materials, shows a
structure of Rio’s Metro. The bamboo reinforced beam
wide variety of stresses around the mean stress at
after testing has been exposed to open air in the PUC-
failure. In these materials, specimen quality varies
Rio university campus. It can be observed that the
widely from very bad to very good. Because of this
bamboo segments treated against insects as well as for
uncertainty, one finds a large distance between the
bonding with IGOL-T show a verysatisfactory
stress at failure and the allowable stress. The top
behavior (refer fig. 10) and appearance after 15 years.
diagram is for concrete, which is between the other
However, the steel reinforcing bars after ten years had
two as far as safety is concerned. In normal
a serious corrosion problem (refer fig. 11) and are
circumstances, the use of steel is economical because
being substituted. The bamboo segments of the beam
of the short distance between allowable stress and
were taken out of the concrete and tested for their
stress at failure, signifying the optimum use of the
mechanical strength. They had a slight deterioration in
material. The use of timber and bamboo, on the other
their tensile strength as compared with the original
hand, is less optimal since the allowable stress is very
untreated bamboo[11].
low when compared with stress at failure [12].

VIII. STRUCTURAL SAFETY In the case of a disaster like a hurricane or an

earthquake, however, the stresses will get multiplied.
They may become double the allowable stress. In such
When considering a material for structural use, the
cases, stresses in steel will come into the area of
first question that arises is about its safety. Fig. 12
failure, but not in timber and bamboo. This means that
shows a comparison between bamboo, timber, steel
steel structures will suffer much damage, while most
and concrete in term of their behavior under stress. The
structures of timber or bamboo will remain in good
stresses, with the symbol “S” (pronounced “sigma”),
condition. A bamboo house is a good place to stay
are plotted on the horizontal axis. To make stresses
during a hurricane or an earthquake (provided the
between these different materials comparable, the
house has been built with proper care) [13].
value of the stress in the material when the building is

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ACKNOWLEDGMENT

Authors thanks to the Department of Civil

Engineering, MGM’s Polytechnic Aurangabad for
providing research material of structural analysis of
bamboo.

REFERENCES

[1] The Potential of Bamboo as Building Material in

Organic Shaped Buildings by Esti Asih Nurdiah
[2] A Case Study on Bamboo as Green Building
[3] Material by Ayesha Syeda, Barvaliya Shrujal
Jayesh Kumar
[4] International Journal of Civil Engineering
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(2014), pp. 249-254
[5] NPTEL - Building materials and composites
{week 4, lecture 10, pp. 48}
[6] NPTEL - Building materials and composites
Figure 12 - A comparison of safety of bamboo and {week 4, lecture 10, pp. 48}
other materials
[7] International Journal of Civil Engineering
Research. ISSN 2278-3652 Volume 5, Number 3
CONCLUSION (2014), pp. 249-254
[8] International Journal of Civil Engineering
Bamboo is lighter in weight than bird but is stronger Research. ISSN 2278-3652 Volume 5, Number 3
than steel. It takes carbon dioxide in and releases 30% (2014), pp. 249-254 {pp. 6}
more oxygen than tree. It grows a meter in one year [9] Karamchandani, K.P., ‘Role of bamboo as a
and is mature in almost 3 years. Houses constructed construction material’; Symposium on timber
using this bamboo are cool in summer and stays warm and allied products; National Buildings
in winter and more over it can withstand earthquakes Organization, New Delhi, 18 May 1959.
and can stand forever. The environmental and [10] https://theconstructor.org/building/bamboo-as-a-
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product and will therefore always have some extent of aterial
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978-0-415-47597-6 {pp. 15-16}
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And with more R&D on bamboo as a structural 978-0-415-47597-6
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[14] Designing and Building with Bamboo by Jules
J.A. Janssen {pp.21}

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