Performance of bamboo reinforced interlocking soil-cement hollow block wall under in-plane loading

Steel has been widely used as a building material because of its strength. However, steel production can cause environmental issues such as global warming. This is because large -scale steel production will release a lot of carbon dioxide gas into the atmosphere. In addition, steel prices are also expensive due to high demand for construction projects. Therefore, there is need of replacing steel with more sustainable building material. Thus, the potential use of bamboo reinforced interlocking soil- cement hollow block wall under in-plane loading is investigated. Gigantochloa Scortechinii type of bamboo was used and; prepared in Dog-bone shaped and Cylinder-shaped for tensile and compression test respectively. Solid epoxy surface treatment of bamboo is adopted for this study and treated bamboo was then used as reinforcement in wall sample. Three types of walls 1.5m x 1m x 0.15m was constructed using soil-cement interlocking hollow block with different types of reinforcement. The result showed that the wall reinforced using bamboo can sustained up to 120kN maximum load. This indicates, bamboo may become a new alternative to better sustainable materials. The results of this study will be used for further study of new construction methods using cheaper new materials that contribute to promoting the national economy.