As focus is drawn toward more sustainable construction practices, use of bamboo as a structural building material is growing as a topic of interest. It is highly renewable, has low-embodied energy, and has the highest strength-to-weight ratio of steel, concrete, and timber. Composite lumber made from bamboo, termed laminated bamboo lumber (LBL), has gained the particular interest of researchers and practitioners of late, since it has bamboo's mechanical properties but can be manufactured in well-defined dimensions, similar to commercially available wood products. Its primary drawbacks are that it is difficult to connect and is more costly than competing, locally available materials. This paper presents the advantages and challenges of embracing LBL as an alternative building material. Experimental and analytical data on production, performance, economics, and environmental impact of bamboo and LBL are reviewed, synthesized, and further analyzed to present an overview of the viability of using bamboo as a structural material in North America.
Synthetic fibers are among the various types of fibers being used to improve the tensile behavior of concrete. They have a competitive edge over other fibers because they are resistant to most chemicals, which increases the durability. Acid attacks are one of the most threatening scenarios, especially for concrete sewer pipes and culverts. In this study, dry cast concrete cylinders, reinforced with two different volume fractions (0.52 % and 1.04 %) of polypropylene fibers, were constructed and immersed for four months in sulfuric acid solutions of two different pH and three different temperatures. The results showed that a fiber volume fraction of 1.04 % reduces the adverse effects of acid on the compressive strength of concrete, and higher temperatures and lower pH lead to extreme deterioration. The results of this study revealed that a pH of 2.5, along with the highest temperature, deteriorated the specimens more than twice as much as a pH of 4.5 at the lowest temperature.
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