Bond Behavior between Bamboo and Normal-Strength Concrete: Experimental and Numerical Investigation

Abstract

Bamboo has been used in various civil engineering applications for several decades, but its use as a substitute for steel in reinforced concrete is still in the nascent stage. Because the properties of bamboo differ both interspecies and intraspecies, a bamboo-reinforced concrete (BRC) member has a larger uncertainty than a steel-reinforced concrete member. Further, bamboo possesses comparatively lower bond strength than steel embedded in concrete. The bond properties have a significant impact on the behavior of BRC beams, especially the displacement response. Therefore, it is essential to characterize the bond properties between bamboo and concrete before designing a BRC beam. In this work, the bond properties are experimentally characterized first through a series of pullout tests. The average bond strength was found to be 2.41 MPa with a standard deviation of 0.4 MPa. Statistical analysis of the experimental findings suggests that the bond strength followed a lognormal distribution. Subsequently, a finite-element model for the pullout tests was developed by utilizing a surface-based cohesive interaction. Our numerical results agreed with the experimental results. By treating the bond stress as a random quantity in the numerical model, 81% of the experimental results were captured. Finally, a finite-element model of a BRC beam was developed, whose results agreed well with the experimental ones. Our experimental results and numerical models may be adopted for creating a rational design framework for BRC members.