Is the concrete poured using bamboo instead of steel bars useful? Can it really accommodate people?

Many people think of concrete and steel bars. The combination of these two has completed the current urbanization construction, which is why modern cities also have the concept of concrete forests

Many people think of concrete and steel bars. The combination of these two has completed the current urbanization construction, which is why modern cities also have the concept of concrete forests.

Is it true that steel bars and concrete have become a joint entity, inseparable from each other? With the rise of short videos, people not only see concrete mixed with steel bars, but also see another wonderful combination of bamboo concrete.

Due to the fact that bamboo concrete has broken many people's understanding and made them very curious, is bamboo concrete useful? Can a house made of concrete poured with bamboo accommodate people?


The role of steel bars in concrete

Concrete is actually a mixture of various substances, mainly composed of cement (usually calcium carbonate cement), sand, and crushed stone, with sand as the filler and crushed stone as the aggregate.

When a certain amount of water is added to cement, a series of chemical reactions occur inside it, forming a microscopic opaque structure that wraps around the filler and aggregate, forming an overall structure.

After concrete solidifies, it usually has strong compressive strength, which is about 35MPa (1 MPa is 10 atmospheres, which is approximately 350 kilograms per square centimeter)


Although the compressive strength of concrete is good, its tensile strength is very low, only one tenth of its compressive strength, which is 3.5 MPa. When significant external bending and other effects occur, it can lead to cracking and separation of the internal structure of the concrete, leading to damage to the entire structure.

And the performance of steel bars in this regard is very excellent. Due to the different sizes and models of steel bars, the tensile strength also varies. Here, for example, the common 16 thread steel has a tensile energy strength of 540 MPa.


When these two materials are combined, they become structural construction materials with superior performance in compression, bending, shear, and torsion. Moreover, at the beginning of the design, the steel bars are made into a surface with uneven surfaces, which allows for sufficient gripping force between the two and prevents detachment.


And steel bars and concrete have almost similar linear expansion coefficients. When the external weather is hot and cold, the pace of Thermal expansion is basically the same, and there will be no different expansion coefficient, which will lead to internal splitting.


From the above analysis, it can be seen that steel and concrete are a wonderful combination, perfect in every aspect.

The role of steel bars in concrete

As analyzed above, the purpose of adding steel bars to concrete is because the compressive strength of concrete is excellent, but the tensile strength is relatively weak, which is why it acts as a tendon in concrete.

So whether bamboo can replace steel bars, an important condition is whether bamboo has sufficient tensile strength to ensure its role as a backbone in concrete.

Firstly, there is a natural disadvantage of bamboo replacing steel bars, which is that as an industrial product, the tensile strength of steel bars can almost be consistent. That is to say, the tensile strength of steel bars from factories is basically the same.


However, as a plant grown in nature, different varieties, regions, and growth times can all affect the tensile strength of bamboo.

Only those bamboo that have grown for 4-5 years are mentioned here, and they are also the bamboo with the highest tensile strength among various types of bamboo. Such bamboo is not only large in size, but also has a high density.

According to the available data, the tensile strength of this bamboo has reached 150 MPa, which looks very good. Although it is not as strong as the tensile strength of 16 steel bars, it is much stronger than the 3.5 MPa of concrete.


However, there is a premise that this is the tensile strength of the entire bamboo, and 4-5 years old bamboo has a diameter of 20 centimeters, and the middle of the bamboo is hollow, which clearly cannot be watered with the entire bamboo.

So we need to break the bamboo and turn it into pieces. When the entire structure of the bamboo is destroyed, the tensile strength will also be destroyed. If we don't consider damaging the entire structure and divide the bamboo into 10 pieces, then dividing 150 megapascals into ten parts would be 15 megapascals.


It seems that the tensile strength of concrete is much stronger than that of pure concrete at 3.5 MPa, right.

Can I live in a house filled with bamboo and concrete?

From the above data, it can be seen that concrete poured with bamboo is still several times stronger than pure concrete.

In theory, pouring concrete with bamboo is also feasible. In the absence of steel bars, although pouring with bamboo is far inferior to steel bars, it is not necessarily a method.

But it depends on what part is being watered.

If bamboo is used for pouring flooring, it not only reduces costs but also is much stronger than simply using concrete. This method is also used for pouring concrete in many rural areas.


I have never seen the stress parts of using bamboo to pour beams and columns, and these are the most stressed parts of the house. Even if it is difficult to make a house, no one will be careless in these parts.

But using bamboo to water the floor has indeed been seen online. If you are not nervous when building a house, you will not use this method.

This depends on the floor area. If the floor area is not large, using this method is not a problem. Usually, only people walk on it, and the bearing capacity is not much.


In the past, when building houses in rural areas, we used to buy prefabricated panels, which were not only hollow but also made of extremely fine steel.

I think both compression and tension are similar, but there is a big problem with using bamboo. Although bamboo is wrapped in concrete and not easy to rot, its surface is smooth, so its compatibility with concrete is much worse compared to steel bars.

In addition, the expansion coefficients of the two are also not the same, so this type of house is not a big problem in the short term. However, in the long run, bamboo will shrink, and bamboo and concrete are prone to delamination, leading to a decrease in the compressive and tensile strength of the entire structure in various aspects.


So, if you use bamboo flooring, it's understandable. It's not only environmentally friendly but also cost-effective, but using bamboo to build a house is absolutely unacceptable!

If you have different ideas and suggestions, you can leave a message in the comments section and discuss together!


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