Summary
The study investigated the feasibility of replacing the steel bars by bamboo in concrete members as alternative materials in the rural and peri‐urban areas. The present study also investigated the effects of bonds between concrete and bamboo on the strength of concrete reinforced with treated and untreated bamboo. The study further examined the effect of split bamboo and whole bamboo when used as concrete reinforcements and compare with the strength of concrete reinforced by steel bars. Laboratory tests such as pull out test, flexural test, bamboo water absorption test, bamboo tensile test, and mechanical crushing test were done for this purpose. Nonlinear finite element model using ABAQUS was used to simulate the problem and validate the laboratory results. The results indicated that the bond at the interface between concrete and bamboo greatly affected the strength of bamboo reinforced concrete. The results also revealed the potential of the treated split bamboos for use as an alternative partial replacement of steel bars in concrete reinforcement and a cost‐effective approach that can be useful in most rural and peri‐urban regions where the relatively low purchasing power of the steel bars, as well as the simple structures, are dominant.