Abstract
It is a fact that the construction industry is the main consumer of energy and materials in most countries. The pursuit of sustain-able development, defined in the Brundtland Report 1987 as ‘‘development that meets the needs of the present without compromis-ing the ability of future generations to meet their own needs’’, has become a major issue when trying to meet the challenges inproviding proper housing for the ever-increasing world population. To increase the amount of information concerning bamboo sev-eral successful research programs have been carried out since 1979 at PUC-Rio and in Brazil. Vegetable fibres can be used eitheralone or as reinforcement in different types of matrices such as soil and cement composites. This paper presents the results of someof the recent studies of the microstructure of bamboo as a functionally gradient material. These studies led to the establishment of bamboo
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s composite behaviour through the rule of mix. A concise summary regarding bamboo reinforced concrete beams, perma-nent shutter concrete slabs and columns is discussed. Finally, some recommendations for future studies are proposed with the hopethat the newly developed material could contribute, on a large scale, to sustainable development without harming our globe.
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2004 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.