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| Bamboo has been used in a variety of construction applications to varying degrees of success, but a new bamboo fiber composite may be the perfect sustainable replacement for steel reinforcements in concrete. |
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| Bamboo reinforced concrete |
Bamboo Fiber Composite
Could a bamboo
fiber composite replace steel reinforcements in concrete?
JESSICA MCMATHIS
The American Ceramic Society
Steel
has long played an important role in growing and vibrant world economies.
I
know this not because global economic statistics tell me so, but because I hail
from Pennsylvania, just a few hours north of Pittsburgh, where steel was once
more than just an industry—it was a way of life.
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| Steel City in the 1940s |
At the turn of the 20th century, 37 percent of the world’s steel was produced in the U.S. — with Pittsburgh’s steel mills accounting for 60 percent of what was produced nationally by 1910.
But
by the end of the century, steel production in the States, particularly in
Pittsburgh, had slowed.
Three-quarters of the city’s steel operations had closed up shop in the late 1980s, forcing the Steel City to reinvent itself, which it has, to great success. (Need proof? See it for yourself at MS&T14, October 12–16.)
In
2013, America ranked fifth in overall steel production, generating some 87
million metric tons — far below the 779
million metric tons produced by world leader China.
The
production and consumption of steel has been critical in shoring up the
economies of China and other developing countries — Brazil, India, and South
Korea among them — but these countries are not always capable of producing a
supply that can meet an increasingly growing demand.
Enter
scientists at Singapore’s Future Cities Laboratory (ETH Zürich’s research lab),
who offer bamboo, a natural — and unnaturally strong — wood, as a replacement
in places where steel isn’t so plentiful.
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| Bamboo scaffolding on a Hong Kong building |
Bamboo is Mother Nature’s magic material — sustainable, resilient, and oh-so-abundant in many developing countries.
More
than a snack for our furry friends, it has been used in a variety of
applications in construction — everything from suspension bridges and
scaffolding to small (and not-so-small) homes.
Bamboo
is strong, almost as strong as steel. It’s also pretty effective at curbing
carbon emissions, which makes it an even better and sustainable building
material.
What
makes it not so ideal is that bamboo, if left untreated, can swell with water
and rot. As a result, it hasn’t been used to reinforce concrete with much
success — at least, not until now.
Led
by Dirk Hebel, the research team at Future Cities has developed a bamboo fiber
composite that has, thus far, showed great promise as a replacement for steel
reinforcements.
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| Bamboo reinforced concrete |
According to a Civil Engineering Magazine (CE) article, the composite — 80 percent bamboo, 20 percent adhesive, and 300 percent more dense than raw bamboo — is “water resistant, does not swell, and is durable.”
Further,
researchers say that testing of its pliancy and tensile strength show that the
composite would be a viable replacement for a steel reinforcement.
“To reintroduce production into cities as part of a
complex social and cultural lifestyle, it requires that this production — and
the products themselves — do not harm our health or environment,” Hebel says in the
CE article.
“Renewable and ‘green’ materials like the one we are
researching, which do not require a ‘smoke industry,’ but rather a low-tech
approach, could be the game-changers whereby small and middle-sized companies
can operate as part of an urban system. Wherever bamboo is growing, this
process could work out.”
The team will continue to test the bamboo fiber and how it interacts with other materials. They hope to begin pilot testing within the next two years.
The American Ceramic
Society
Since 1898, ACerS has been the hub of the
global ceramics community and one of the most trusted sources of ceramic
materials & applications knowledge. If ceramics and glass technologies are
a significant part of your work, then ACerS is the professional society for
you.
Who We Are
The mission of ACerS is to advance the study,
understanding, and use of ceramics and related materials, for the benefit of
our members and society. More than 11,000 scientists, engineers, researchers,
manufacturers, plant personnel, educators, students, marketing and sales
professionals from more than 70 countries make up the members of The American
Ceramic Society.
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