Abstract: “Natural fibers, including the Bamboo, are environment friendly materials. They require a low degree of industrialization and a small energy for their processing and production, and hence the total fabricating cost is also low. The main purpose of this paper is to cover the lack of information about Bamboo; its mechanical properties, interaction with concrete, strength and durability, and to investigate its validity of replacing steel as a reinforcement of concrete beams. This possibility is investigated through experimental results of bamboo reinforced concrete beams compared with others reinforced using steel. The experimental results were verified and expanded using the FE package called ANSYS. In this research, the Bamboo was used without any treatment or stirrups. It was found that untreated Bamboo must not be used as reinforcement in concrete beams, although its mechanical properties may be considered as comparable to steel.”

Keywords: Bamboo, Reinforcement, concrete, ANSYS