Steel reinforced concrete (SRC) is extensively utilized for developing the load bearing structures. Because of increased cost and non-renewability of steel, the users have to face various problems. So, as an alternative, inexpensive and eco-friendly material like bamboo is gaining popularity. The bamboo most likely comprises of some physical features of steel.

Bamboo belongs to a natural perennial grass-like compound, and it is considered as one of the highest growing woody plants in the world. It refers to the grass family Bambusoideae, which contains cellulose fibre implanted in a lignin matrix. It is extensively utilized as scaffolds and wall proportioning, owning to its extreme strength to weight ratio.

The bamboo can be utilized for construction in different ways. It is found that parallel strand bamboo (PSB) is a high strength and transversely isotropic bio-composite. The natural fibres like bamboo is applied as bio-composites and incorporated into renewable, environment-friendly and well-designed industrial products which can greatly reduce or substitute the influence of petroleum based products in future. The composites made of bamboo fibre can produce maximum tensile capacity of 180 MPa and also calculate the process parameters, like temperature, pressure and press/hold time.

The bamboo can be manufactured to standard reinforcement bar sizes which may be utilized in place of traditional steel bars. The bamboo bars are treated as appropriate rebars for non-load bearing and lightweight reinforced concrete flexural structures. From a recent study to check the behaviour of foamed aerated concrete beams reinforced with bamboo, it was found that the deflection of beams is reduced with growth in the area of bamboo splints; also failure load is minimized with rise in area of bamboo at the tension area. So, it can be said that bamboo contains the capability to be utilized as good alternative for steel as reinforcement in structural members.

The bamboo can be applied as reinforcing material for beam specimens having 25% of combination of admixtures like fly ash and GGBS as partial substitution for cement, and manufactured sand as fine aggregate.

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