Performance of bamboo reinforced concrete masonry shear walls

In this study, the results from tests on a total of seven squat concrete masonry walls under quasi-static, in-plane, cyclic loading are reported. One wall was reinforced with conventional steel reinforcement vertically and horizontally in bond beams. The other walls were reinforced with varying amounts of Tonkin cane bamboo reinforcement both vertically and horizontally in bond beams. The performance of the walls is presented in this paper comparing different reinforcement layouts and both partially and fully grouted walls. The significance of this study is that it shows bamboo to be a viable alternative to steel reinforcement, which could be of use in low-cost housing applications in regions where bamboo is more cost-effective than steel.