Bamboo as sustainable material for future building industry
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Gutters/ pipes With the diaphragm removed, the whole bamboo clum can be used as water pipe either below or above the ground. To ensure waterproof connection for underground pipes the ends of the clum part are fitted into short sections of metal, pvc. Before applying them underground, pipes has to be treated with insecticide to control insect attack. It is said that correctly treated bamboo pipes can provide good service for 10 years
Figure 48. Jointing of bamboo pipes below ground
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Bamboo reinforcement
Seeming unprofessionally, but there are several good reasons why bamboo can be used as the reinforcement for concrete. Its low cost compering with steel, availability and its high strength to weight ratio compared to steel make it potential material for reinforcement. Of course some characteristics don’t allow its application in concrete. For example when on the dry bamboo, we pour concrete, it will absorb water and swell. After bamboo dries, the reinforcement with shrink and break the block. With the use of green (not dried) bamboo it will loose water and again shrink and break the bond. But there are more methods to prevent this damages. Bamboo clums should be at least 3 years old. It is better to use bamboo strips rather than whole Figure 49. Bamboo strip reinforcement clums, for the reason of developing better bend with inner surface than the smooth outer surface. For the moisture barrier the bitumen coating can be applied. To improve bond sand, nails and thin rope can be used in conjunction. The next problem will consider relatively low module of elasticity, when bamboo reinforcement element will crack and deflect perhaps 50% more than steel at equivalent section and about 10 times more bamboo is required than steel for reinforced section. To sum up, while bamboo can be used to reinforce beams and suspended slabs it is best used in floor slabs, roads and lightly loaded elements such as wall, where cracking would not be critical. It is still better to use steel as reinforcement for foundations or columns. But at this filed we can still give a try to our bamboo material.
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