A Comparative Analysis of Bamboo as a Construction Material in the Civil Engineering Sector

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A COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS OF BAMBOO AS A CONSTRUCTION MATERIAL IN THE
CIVIL ENGINEERING SECTOR
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A COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS OF BAMBOO AS A CONSTRUCTION MATERIAL IN
THE CIVIL ENGINEERING SECTOR
Abstract
Bamboo has played a very essential role in the development of mankind since time immemorial.
It has a wide range of application in day to day activities of human beings, both as a woody
material and as food. Bamboo will continue to play a crucial role in the transformation of rural
environments and development of enterprises, in different of developing world where it grows.
The realization that bamboo is the fast-growing woody biomass and the most significant non-
timber resource, has evoked interest in the preservation, processing and utilization of bamboo as
an substitute to wood. Due to the excellent properties of bamboo it has attracted a lot of
applications in the construction where it is used as a construction material. As an economic
building material, bamboo’s rate of productivity and cycle of annual harvest outstrips any other
naturally growing resource. Bamboo is a cheaper construction material when compared to other
construction materials such as steel. Other materials goes through rigorous industrial process
which requires a lot of resources while bamboo is obtained by natural means of agriculture.
TABLE OF CONTENTS

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Abstract............................................................................................................................................2
CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION
I.0 1ntroduction................................................................................................................................5
1.1 Research background and problem statement......................................................................7
1.2 aims and objectives....................................................................................................................8
1.3 Research questions.....................................................................................................................9
1.5 Significance of the research.......................................................................................................9
1.6 Research structure....................................................................................................................10
CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW
2.1 Introduction..............................................................................................................................11
2.2 Properties of bamboo...............................................................................................................11
2.3 The working of bamboo...........................................................................................................13
2.31 Splitting..................................................................................................................................13
2.32 Shaping..................................................................................................................................15
2.33 Bending..................................................................................................................................15
2.4 Preservations of bamboo..........................................................................................................16
2.41 Traditional method or non-chemical methods.......................................................................17
2.42 Chemical methods.................................................................................................................18
2.5 Bamboo housing......................................................................................................................20
2.51 Domestic housing and small buildings..................................................................................21

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2.52 Foundation.............................................................................................................................22
2.53 Flooring..................................................................................................................................24
2.54 Walls......................................................................................................................................25
2.55 Roofing...................................................................................................................................26
2.56 Scaffolding.............................................................................................................................29
2.6 Advantages of Bamboo as a Building Material.......................................................................31
CHAPTER 3: RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
3.1 Introduction..............................................................................................................................36
3.2 Data collection.........................................................................................................................37
3.21 Questionnaires.......................................................................................................................37
Advantages of Questionnaires.......................................................................................................38
Disadvantages of using questionnaires.........................................................................................38
3.23Secondary source....................................................................................................................39
3.24 Interviews..............................................................................................................................39
3.3 Data analysis............................................................................................................................39
3.4 Ethical Considerations.............................................................................................................40
3.5 Limitations...............................................................................................................................40
CHAPTER 4: DISCUSSIONS
4.1 Combative analysis..................................................................................................................41
4.2 The behavior of bamboo in earthquake...................................................................................41

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4.3 Strength to weight ratio...........................................................................................................42
4.4 Reasons for bamboo in construction........................................................................................42
4.5 Considerations for whether bamboo is suitable for a project..................................................43
CHAPTER 5: CONCLUSION
CHAPTER 6: REFERENCES
LIST OF FIGURE

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Fig 1: fire resistant bamboo cane filled with water......................................................................14
Fig2: splitting of the bamboo cane................................................................................................15
Fig3: Splitting bamboo with a knife frame....................................................................................16
Fig 4: Bamboo forced to grow in a square shape..........................................................................16
Fig 5: Bamboo subjected to bending.............................................................................................17
Fig 6: Bamboo foundations...........................................................................................................25
Fig 7: Different types of bamboo walls.........................................................................................27
Fig 8: Double layers of bamboo shingles......................................................................................29
Fig 9: Lancet shingles....................................................................................................................29
Fig 10: Bamboo used as a covering material.................................................................................30
Fig 11: Bamboo canes used for scaffoldings.................................................................................32
Fig 12: Bamboo used for scaffolding............................................................................................32
Fig 13: Prototype of ZERI bamboo pavilion in Hannover, Colombia,.........................................45
Fig 14: Jenny Garzon Bridge, Colombia.......................................................................................46
Fig 15: Low-cost bamboo housing in Costa Rica..........................................................................46
CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION
I.0 1ntroduction
Since ancient times bamboo has been an established building material and it has been for long
used widely in the construction of many structures such as housing and resorts. Bamboo is a

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versatile and renewable resource which is characterized by low weight and high strength, at the
same time easy to work with by using simple and locally available tools. It is accepted as one of
the most substantial non-timber resources because of its high social economic merits.
It is approximated that there are roughly 1200 different types of bamboo grown in about 14.5
million hectares of land in different parts of the world. Majority of the bamboo grows in Asia,
Latin America and Africa. Bamboo is the fastest growing woody plant in the world currently
(Farrelly, 2014, p. 672). It is estimated that bamboo grows 7.5cm to 40cm daily. Bamboo grows
three times faster than any other plant species. The commercial significant species of bamboo
generally matures within 4-5 years, after which many harvests are carried out after every second
year for a maximum of 12years in some species. Bamboo has also excelled in the biomass
production whereby it gives more than 40 tons of biomass per hectare yearly. Bamboo accounts
for almost a quarter of biomass generated in the tropical areas and approximately a fifth of
biomass produced in the subtropical areas. It has been used for soil rehabilitation and brick
making in different parts of India and the rehabilitation of the tin-mine sites in Malaysia.
Bamboo protects the top soil from the being carried away by the tropical rains, Bamboo also
plays a very important role in preserving the exposed areas by offering a micro-climate for the
watershed protection and first regeneration. Bamboo also is grown along the river banks and the
areas prone to soil erosion so that the bamboo plants closely matted roots can be able to bind
the soil particles together (Minke, 2017, p. 628).
The history of using bamboo in construction industry dates backs to hundreds of years back. Use
of bamboo has been recognized as one of the most economic construction system which offers
easily replaceable and yet light weigh structures. The methods, tools and procedures used in the
bamboo construction are generally simple and locally available. Despite the unfavorable

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treatment and human exploitation, trees remain to be greatest commander in the construction
industry whereby many people have enjoyed benefits associated with the use of bamboo in
construction.
Bamboo is mainly used as a construction material in the developing world. The bamboo house
are usually simple in design and constructed by the use of locally available tools and equipment.
Apart from housing bamboo has a wide application in the construction of other engineering
structures such as bridges, farm structures, scaffolding and shuttering elements. The application
of bamboo in the construction industry has increased in the recent past because of the innovation
of the bamboo panels.
1.1 Research background and problem statement
The nature of the modern societies has led to great changes on how people’s life specifically
when it comes to the type of buildings which majority of people prefer. The fast moving scope of
the consumer demands has similarly changed a lot of elements in the construction industry. Also
the shifting economic circumstances have in some way resulted to increase in the overall cost
of construction in terms of cost of materials and cost of labour (Rockwood, 2017, p. 92). To
address the issues, Professionals and civil engineers in the construction industry such as
architects are constantly researching for cost effective alternatives in the construction industry.
The main aim of these strategies is s to maximize the economic gain within the construction
sector while keeping while ensuring that other factors such as production cost and labour are
kept constant (Minks, 2011). The civil engineers have considered the combination of cheaper and
locally accessible materials in construction. Nevertheless, one of the greatest problems of this is
the inability of some available options to endure the test of time regarding to their strength and
the overall value. The scenario hence calls for the engineers to look for more practical