Experimental verifi cation of bamboo-concrete composite bow beam with ferro-cement bond

ABSTRACT: Sudhakar has developed various structural components using bamboo concrete composites (bamcrete) and demonstrated them in building houses as is presented in a companion paper. This paper presents the initial experimental verification of one of the structural arch forms proposed by Sudhakar using bamboo as a structural element. In this case, two bamboo arches vertically separated are connected using Ferro-Cement Band ties to generate a Bow Beam Arch as a load bearing member. This paper presents the manufacturing details of the bow beam arch and the initial experimental results.