Experimental study on improving bamboo concrete bond strength

Bamboo concrete bond behaviour is investigated through pullout test in this work. The bamboo strip to be used as reinforcement inside concrete is first treated with chemical adhesive to make the bamboo surface impermeable. Various surface coatings are explored to understand their water repellant properties. The chemical action at the bamboo concrete interface is studied through different chemical coatings, sand blasting, and steel wire wrapping treatment. Whereas mechanical action at the bamboo concrete interface is studied by developing mechanical interlock. The result of pullout tests revealed a unique combination of surface treatment and grooved bamboo profile. This combination of surface treatment and a grooved bamboo profile together enhances the strength of bond. Performance of a newly developed grooved bamboo strip is verified against equivalent plain rectangular bamboo strip. The test results show that the proposed grooved bamboo reinforcement, when treated, shows highest bond strength compared to treated plain, untreated plain and untreated grooved bamboo reinforcement. Also, it is observed that bond strength is majorly influenced by the type of surface treatment, size and spacing of groove. The changes in bamboo-concrete bond behavior are observed during the experimentation.