Influence of slab structure on the performance of bamboo based concrete formwork

Abstract

To reduce the density of bamboo-based concrete formwork on the premise of meeting the performance requirements, the bamboo was first treated by cold plasma, and then by increasing the distance between the adjacent bamboo strips of the radial bamboo curtain in the middle layer, the internal porosity was increased. The production of lightened bamboo based concrete formwork, which meets China’s forestry industry standards, was achieved. Four groups of bamboo-based concrete formworks with different slab structures were designed. The key results showed that slab structures have an extremely significant effect on the density, MOR, MOE, IB, and TS of the bamboo-based concrete formwork. A group of optimal slab structures was obtained by comparing their physical and mechanical properties (1st and 9th floor-phenolic resin impregnated paper, 2nd and 8th floor-bamboo mat, 3rd and 7th floor-tangential bamboo curtain, 4th and 6th floor-radial spaced bamboo curtain). Based on the required physical and mechanical properties, its density was 0.62 g·cm-3, which was 27.1% lower than that of traditional bamboo plywood template (0.85 g·cm-3) circulating on the current market. This lightened BBCF can save raw materials, facilitate transportation and reduce labor intensity in the application process so that it will be widely used in building construction.