One drawback of bamboo as concrete reinforcement beams is the relative displacement between the two materials. The research reported in this paper aimed to experimentally investigate the improvement of bamboo-concrete-bond by means of nailing. Eight concrete beams were tested, six of them reinforced with Dendrocalamus giganteus Munro nailed bamboo-splints and two reference beams, reinforced with bamboo-splints without pins. Steel pins or bamboo pins were used. Two, three and four pins were nailed between bamboo nodes. Load-displacement and load-strain curves are presented and discussed. The results showed that the pins improved the beam stiffness; nevertheless, they reduced locally the transversal section of the bamboo splint and, consequently, the ultimate load. Finally, similar results were showed by beams reinforced by steel pins or bamboo pins.
bond; reinforced concrete; non metallic reinforcement; alternative material
