Laterally Restrained Bamboo Concrete Composite Arch under Uniformly Distributed Loading
Publication: Journal of Structural Engineering
Volume 141, Issue 3
Abstract
The arch, as a structural element, has been used since ancient times, originally in stone or timber, more recently in reinforced concrete or steel. However, the more modern materials involving steel and concrete are highly energy and carbon intensive. Hardwood timber, although renewable, takes between 30 and 50 years to grow when used structurally. But a highly sustainable tropical material, bamboo, a woody grass, requires only 4–5 years of growth before its considerable compressive and tensile strength can be used for developing structural arches for load-bearing applications. This paper investigates the structural performance of bamboo-concrete (Bamcrete) composite parabolic tied arches of span 4.5 m with a rise-to-span ratio of 0.2 under a uniformly distributed loading. An innovative technique of integrating two slender bamboos of the Dendrocalamus strictus genera together to form a rigid joint, termed a Haritha-IITD Bamcrete (HIB) joint, is described. The paper also discusses the test set-up for loading and monitoring the performance of the Bamcrete arch. Furthermore, a comparison is made between the experimental results and computer modeling using STAAD software, where good correlation is obtained within the linear response range. The techniques involved in making a Bamcrete arch are so successful as to suggest strong potential exists for widespread use as a sustainable and renewable structural load-bearing element.
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Acknowledgments
This research was supported by the National Agricultural Innovation Project (NAIP), Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) through its subproject entitled Bamboo as a Green Engineering Material in Rural Housing and Agricultural Structures for Sustainable Economic Growth code number NAIP/ Comp–4/ C-2009/ 2008-2009. The authors would like to acknowledge the support provided by Heavy Structures Laboratory, Department of Civil Engineering, IIT Delhi for undertaking the experiments. Also, the authors acknowledge the support of Prof. Supratic Gupta, Dept. of Civil Engineering, IIT Delhi during initial experimentation and providing mix design for concrete. Further, the authors would also acknowledge M/s Bamboo Technocraft for providing the fabrication support.
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Published In
Journal of Structural Engineering
Volume 141 • Issue 3 • March 2015
Copyright
© 2014 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: Aug 31, 2012
Accepted: Sep 10, 2013
Published online: Apr 7, 2014
Discussion open until: Sep 7, 2014
Published in print: Mar 1, 2015
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