Precast segmental bamboo reinforced concrete beams with bolted connections subjected to flexural loads: An experimental investigation

Indonesia is one of the wealthiest botanically countries in the world. There are more than 130 species of Bamboo can be found in this country. Bamboo is a natural raw material which is one of the fastest growing plants that has many advantages as a construction material. We conducted an experimental investigation to study the performance of the precast segmental bamboo reinforced concrete beams with bolted connections subjected to flexural loads. Tests were carried out on three specimens with dimensions of 120 mm x 150 mm x 1000 mm, consisting of one control beams (BK), one precast segmental bamboo reinforced concrete beam with four bolted connections (BS4), and one precast segmental bamboo reinforced concrete beam with six bolted connections (BS6). We found that the load carrying capacity of precast segmental bamboo reinforced concrete beams with four bolted connections (BS4) and six bolted connections (BS6) had a decrease of 57.99% and 55.62% respectively compared to control beam (BK). Similarly, the deflection ductility index of the precast segmental bamboo reinforced concrete beams with four bolted connections (BS4) and six bolted connections (BS6) had a decrease of 49.78% and 46.59% respectively compared to control beam (BK). Also, we observed that the crack pattern developed in the control beam indicates a flexural failure mechanism while the crack pattern developed in the precast segmental bamboo reinforced concrete beams indicates a shear failure mechanism. As a conclusion, this study will significantly contribute to the growing development of research on the bolted connection system in bamboo reinforced concrete members, especially in Indonesia.