Climate change is a formidable environmental challenge, compelling all sectors to reduce their carbon footprint. This study explored the behavior of pretreated bamboo as a possible replacement of steel reinforcement in lightweight reinforced cement concrete (RCC) structures, since steel is a major source of carbon emissions. Three types of reinforced concrete beams were tested: (1) steel-reinforced, (2) plain bamboo-reinforced, and (3) acetic acid-treated bamboo-reinforced. Results highlighted that acetic acid-treated bamboo demonstrated notable enhancements, with a 32.56 % reduction in water absorption, a 17 % increase in tensile strength, and a 25 % improvement in elongation under load compared to untreated bamboo. The treated bamboo-reinforced beam achieved a failure load of 60.6 kN, significantly higher than untreated bamboo (28.1 kN) and approaching the 77.6 kN load of steel-reinforced beams. However, interfacial bonding issues between concrete and bamboo persisted due to slippage. To address this, nanosilica treatment was applied to enhance surface roughness and chemical adhesion, achieving an average pull-out load of 16 kN and bond strength of 1.052 MPa substantially better than untreated bamboo. This study demonstrates that treated bamboo, enhanced with acetic acid and nanosilica, can serve as a viable steel replacement in RCC structures, contributing to the construction industry's decarbonization and advancing sustainability.

中文翻译：

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推进可持续建筑：用化学处理的竹子加固的混凝土梁的实验研究，并使用纳米技术增强界面粘合


气候变化是一项艰巨的环境挑战，迫使所有行业减少碳足迹。本研究探讨了预处理竹子在轻质钢筋水泥混凝土 （RCC） 结构中作为钢筋替代品的行为，因为钢材是碳排放的主要来源。测试了三种类型的钢筋混凝土梁：（1） 钢筋，（2） 普通竹筋，以及 （3） 醋酸处理的竹筋。结果显示，醋酸处理的竹子表现出显着的增强效果，与未处理的竹子相比，吸水率降低了 32.56%，拉伸强度提高了 17%，负载下的伸长率提高了 25%。处理后的竹筋梁的破坏荷载为 60.6 kN，明显高于未处理的竹子 （28.1 kN），接近钢筋梁的 77.6 kN 荷载。然而，由于滑移，混凝土和竹子之间的界面粘合问题仍然存在。为了解决这个问题，应用纳米二氧化硅处理来提高表面粗糙度和化学附着力，实现了 16 kN 的平均拉出载荷和 1.052 MPa 的粘合强度，大大优于未经处理的竹子。这项研究表明，经过处理的竹子，加上醋酸和纳米二氧化硅的增强，可以作为 RCC 结构中可行的钢替代品，有助于建筑行业的脱碳和促进可持续发展。