S. O. Odeyemi - Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Faculty of Engineering and Technology, Kwara State University, Malete, Nigeria
R. Abdulwahab - Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Faculty of Engineering and Technology, Kwara State University, Malete, Nigeria
M. A. Akinpelu - Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Faculty of Engineering and Technology, Kwara State University, Malete, Nigeria
R. Afolabi - Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Faculty of Engineering and Technology, Kwara State University, Malete, Nigeria
O. D. Atoyebi - Department of Civil Engineering, Landmark University, Omu-Aran, Kwara State, Nigeria

The rising cost of concrete production due to the global recession in world economy caused by the COVID-۱۹ pandemic and the greenhouse gases emitted in the production of cement has necessitated the need for alternative materials for cement. In this study, bamboo strips and steel rebars were used as reinforcements in a ternary blended concrete to determine their strength properties. In alignment with standard requirements for testing, concrete specimens were tested at curing ages of ۷, ۱۴ and ۲۸ days for compressive, splitting tensile and flexural strengths. The morphological and bond characteristics of the bamboo were determined through the Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) and Fourier Transform Infra-Red Spectroscopy (FTIR), respectively; while its tensile strength was determined and compared with that of steel reinforcement. These results showed that bamboo is ductile and has stretching vibrational spectrum. The combinations of quarry dust, river sand, Rice Husk Ash (RHA) and Guinea Corn Husk Ash (GCHA) yielded compressive and split tensile strengths of ۲۰.۴ N/mm۲ and ۲.۱۸ N/mm۲, respectively. Concrete with ۵۰ % river sand and ۵۰ % quarry dust performed better in flexure for both Bamboo Reinforced Concrete (BRC) and Steel Reinforced Concrete (SRC) at ۲۸ days with strengths of ۱۲.۷۵ N/mm۲ and ۲۲.۴۹ N/mm۲, respectively. Therefore, bamboo, quarry dust, rice husk and guinea corn husk ash can be used for reinforced concrete production.

Bamboo, Cement replacement, Compressive strength, Flexural Strength, Waste use