ABSTRACT:

Bamboo can be used for a variety of engineering applications, particularly in

developing countries. Bamboo has been used as housing, wells, piping,

clothing, bridges, bicycles, cooking utensils, eating of its shoots, etc. Bamboo

has many advantages as it is abundant, renewable, preventing of soil erosion,

locally available, natural, exhibits fast growth (5% that of most timbers), and

nearly ubiquitous (found everywhere except Europe and Antarctica). However,

the use of bamboo is currently limited by a lack of building codes and

unsufficient data on mechanical properties. Although there have been some

studies on mechanical properties, these have been conducted under very

specific conditions. Conditions which affect the material properties include size,

moisture content, species of bamboo, and curing process. The purpose of this

poster is to view examples of how bamboo has been applied in developing

countries, summarize our knowledge of material properties, and review the

curing processes used for its treatment.

Bamboo: Properties, Treatment, Application, and FutureLorena Sanchez1, M. MacCarthy2, J. Cunningham1

1 Department of Environmental Engineering, University of South Florida, Tampa, FL

2 Department of Environmental Engineering, Mercer University, Macon, GA

PROPERTIES:

FUTURE PLANS:

• Write a literature review on bamboo treatments

• Find a translator to translate relevant papers, particularly

concerning bamboo wells

• Conduct experiments on differently treated bamboo properties

with REU student this summer

• Eventually implement bamboo wells in Madagascar

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT:

I would like to thank my PhD professor Dr. Cunningham for his weekly mentoring. I

would like to thank Dr. Mike MacCarthy for his experience and advice concerning

wells. I would like to thank the Department on Environmental Engineering at the

University of South Florida for the opportunity to participate in this research.

REFERENCES:CONCLUSION:

Bamboo is a superrenewable material which has been used in the East for

thousands of years for thousands of uses. Interest has begun in the west

since the 1970’s and is now being studied to make material property

standards which may be used for regulated construction. The matearial

properties of bamboo are currently being studied in different labs throughout

the world; one shortcoming of this is that since bamboo is dependent on so

many factors (relative humidity, size, age, type, treatment) that there is no data

tabulating all of the factors. Although there has been a lot of work with bamboo

done in developing country settings, not much has been published. Perhaps

the information is being published in other languages. Specifics on different

treatment processes have hardly been published in any of the scientific

literature.

(Left) Moso Bamboo farm. (Right) Young’s Modulus for a variety of materials, including

bamboo. [14]

Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM) image of bamboo. [15]

A scientific publication in Ground Water shows the use of bamboo in well casing. The

bamboo was used inconjuction with metal and therefore the design can still be improved

to be more sustainable. [12]

[4]

INTRODUCTION:

"Bamboo is lighter in density than a bird but is stronger than steel. It takes more CO2 and produces thirty

percent more oxygen than a tree. It grows as much as a meter per day and is fully mature in 3 years. “[6]

“There could never be enough silver flutes to give one to everybody in the world. There could, easily, be

enough bamboo for all 50 billion fingers on the earth to make and play their own” [17]

“Bamboo is a superrenewable resource, equipped in its genes to multiply at a pace that rivals the proven

reproductive capacities of our race” [17]

“Bamboo’s ecological characteristics could be positively used to combat soil erosion and capture carbon” [29]

TREATMENT:APPLICATIONS:

Map of the world showing where bamboo grows naturally; notice most developing countries

grow bamboo. [13]

Modified growth of different

types of bamboo may be

achieved by placing square mold

around bamboo before growth is

complete. [28]

Boucherie process being applied in different developing world settings [26], [27]

Bamboo buildings and school design which could drastically decrease the cost of school

buildings per student. Also bamboo joints which must be joined differently than regular

timber [6],[7]

Natural home made out of bamboo and rice husks in Iran. [5]

Bamboo construction by famous Colombian architect Simon Velez. His bamboo buildings

withstood an earthquake while ‘modern’ buildings of concrete did not. [9],[10]

The scientific literature

published on bamboo wells

is scarce. The paper on the

left shows one method of

using bamboo wells in

Bangladesh. Bamboo wells

have been successfully

constructed in Tanzania

and India. [11]

Construction:

[1] Bars to Jars: Bamboo Value Chains in Cameroon, Verina Ingram, Julius Chupezi Tieguhong, The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences, 2012.

[2] http://www.infonet-biovision.org/print/ct/293/soilConservation

[3] www.pedalforward.com

[4] http://www.edisontechcenter.org/incandescent.html

[5] A 700 Euro bamboo and rice straw home in Iran, 2014, <http://naturalhomes.org/bamboo-rice.htm>.

[6] Abahari Adobe and Bamboo, Nepal, 2006-2015, <http://abari.org/>.

[7] MILLENNIUM SCHOOL BAMBOO PROJECT, COPPER HEWIT, 2007, <HTTP://WWW.DESIGNOTHER90.ORG/SOLUTION/MILLENNIUM-SCHOOL-BAMBOO-PROJECT/>.

[8] Children's Activity and Education Center on Koh Kood, Thailand by 24H Architects of the Netherlands. Note the bamboo balustrades. www.24h-architecture.com

[9] ‘The man who went bamboo’, David Noto, Built by Colombian architect Simón Vélez, Pereira, Colombia, Jun 4, 2013 <http://thecitypaperbogota.com/features/the-man-who-

went-bamboo/>.

[10] Matina Bridge: A community-initiated bamboo bridge construction, Earvin Delgado, UNID-SEA: Universities and Councils Network on Innovation for Inclusive Development in

Southeast Asia, Ataneo School of Government, Philippines, 2013.

[11] Technical Brief N5 / Slotted bamboo tubewell screen, Waterlines, Bangladesh.

[12] Design of a Low-Cost Bamboo Well, S.K. Shakya, S.R. Singh, B. Anjaneyulu, and A.K. Vashisht.

[13] http://www.wri.org/blog/2014/02/bamboo-secret-weapon-forest-and-landscape-restoration

[14] Bamboo as reinforcement in structural concrete elements. Khosrow Ghavami, Science Direct, Cement and concrete composites, PUC-Rio, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, 2004

[15] Crack Propogation ub Bamboo’s Hierarchial Cellular Structure, Meisam K. Habibi & Yang Lu, Scientific Reports, 2014, City University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China.

[16] Guada Bamboo: Bamboo Preservation - Drying bamboo poles, <http://www.guaduabamboo.com/preservation/drying-bamboo-poles>.

[17] Bamboo World: The Growing and Use of Clumping Bamboo, Victor Cusack.

[18] http://abari.org/treatment

[19] The Book of Bamboo: A comprehensive guide to this remarkable plant, its uses, and its history, David Farrelly, 1984.

[20] http://carlinbamboo.com/images/essays/construction/flame_lg.jpg

[21] http://whambamboo.org/2010/06/heat-treating-bamboo/

[22] The craft and art of bamboo, Carol Stangler, 2001.

[23] Bamboos, Christine Recht, Max F. Wetterwald, 2000.

[24] http://www.earth-auroville.com/bamboo_house_en.php

[25] BAMBOO APPLICATIONS/ bamboo report - Bamboo as a Construction Material, Leimana Pelton, and Valerie Simpson, Bamboo Building Empowerment Network (B.E.N),

Bamboo Village Hawaii. org, Hawaii, USA.0.

[26] An Experiment with a locally contructed boucherie treatment plant in Nepal, Co-Director, ABARI (Adobe and Bamboo Research Institute), Kathmandu Nepal.

[27]Abahari Adobe and Bamboo, Nepal, 2006-2015, <http://abari.org/>.

[28] http://www.lewisbamboo.com/square.htm

[29] Lobovikov et al, 2011

Children’s Activity and Educaiton Center, Thailand. [8]

Wells:

(Left) microscope view of cut bamboo section. (Top Right) Cut bamboo at internode.

(Bottom Right) Cut bamboo with node at center. [16]

Air Drying:

Water Treatment:

Heat Treatment:

Boucherie Process:

Chemical Treatment:

Modified Growth:

Bamboo culms being

passively chemically

treated [24]

Bamboo being heat treated [20]

Bamboo culms after heat treatment [21]

Bamboos being water treated [18]

Factors that affect air drying:

• Age of bamboo culm

• Storage location

• Air circulation

• Moisture content

• Bamboo rotation

• If nodes are broken previously

Bamboo culms should dry in 6-12 weeks

"Mature culms harvested in the dry season are usually resestant to powder beetle attack and

will give long life if used inside a building or under cover. This rule applies more to high quality

structural species (e.g. Dendrocalamus asper, Gigantochloa atter, Fuadua angustifolia, etc.)

than to poor quality starchy species like Bambusa vulgaris.“ [17]

"The most common preservative treatment for bamboo in the

Orient is to leach out the starch, sugars, and other water-

soluble materials sought by insects. This is done by weighting

down and completely submerging freshly cut culms for three

days to three months , preferably in running water since

standing water can stain bamboo. Sea water is also an

alternative if marine boreres aren't present. However, water

leaching at Mayaguez, Puerto Rico, was reported to result in

excessive stains and brittleness of wood.“ [19]

“'Sweat' over a fire; break internodes before hand. Hold

the bamboo pole 6-12 in above the fire, moving circularly.

When wax beads on the surface, let it build up, then

remove from the fire and use a soft cloth to quickly wipe

off the oil and buff the surface. Repeat. The green culm

will change to a shiny tan.” [22]

“Thicker pieces of bamboo become soft and pliable

at about 150 deg C and can be worked into almost

any shape orver a gas flame or the heat of glowing

charcoal.” [23]

0.5 kg neem was first boiled in 10 L of water for 30 min. It was then

cooled down; the result was a very thick black neem concentrate.

However, it was too thick to penetrate the bamboo and therefore diluted at

1:5 ratio with water. The solution was then filtered to get rid of larger

paricles and it then penetrated the bamboo. No long term results are yet

known of this treatment.[25]

“CCA is a heavy duty broad spectrum chemical bamboo preservative

patented as AsCu. It has been found to provide protection for 50 years

or more. Outdoor use is recommended only due to the arsenic

component, which can also causes a green coloration on the bamboo.

Formula: arsenic pentoxide / copper sulphate / sodium dichromate,

ratio 1:3:4, Recommended concentration: 6% outdoor use (structures

exposed to weather but not in contact with ground) 10% outdoor use

(structures exposed to weather and in ground contact)” [16]

"Boucherie Sap Displacement System: We have built a

simple boucherie treatment plant capable of treating up

to six culms in less than one hour (invented by a

Monsieur Boucherie and originally to treat timber). By

attaching a hose pipe fitted with a rubber clamp to the

gresh cut bottom end of a culm, and introducing the

treatment liquid under low pressure, we actually pump

the sap out of the culm and replace it with the

treatment fluid. The plant is simple to build and can be

powered by either a pump, an air compressor, or even

gravity if you can find a easy of locating your treatment

fluid tank 9-10 m higher than the culm being treated.

The operationg pressure range is 1-1.3 bar or atm (15-

20 psi).... Our main treatment medium is 10% solution

of sopper sulphate but a borax solution can be used....

This system works only on fresh cut culms with leaves

and branches removed, and they must be processed

within 12 hours. If the culm is not connected to the

Boucherie immediately after harvesting, both ends

should be freshly cut off again immediately before

connecting to the machine, or the bamboo will have

protected itself by blocking its water carrying vessels

with gelatinous secretions.” [17]

“Boric Acid/ Borax: This salt, is used as an insecticide and

fungicide, and is also effective against fungi and algae. It has an

infinite shelf life and is not affected by temperature. Diluted with

water, bamboo can be impregnated, submerged or sprayed with

this chemical. Formula (1): boric acid / borax, ratio 1:1.5, Formula

(2): boric acid / borax / sodium dichromate, ratio 2:2:0.5, 4-5%

indoor use (not exposed to weather or ground contact)” [16]

(Left) Bamboo used and sold as jars

in Cameroon.

(Top Center) Bamboo used as drip

irrigation system.

(Bottom Center) Bamboo bicycle

company.

(Right) Bamboo filament light bulb as

was made by Thomas Edison before

he used metal