The most popular building material worldwide is steel-reinforced concrete, and over 90% of the cement and 80% of the steel used in the global construction industry are used in developing nations.
However, very few developing nations are able to manufacture their own cement or steel. For instance, just two of the 54 countries in Africa produce steel.
However, Future Cities Laboratories asserts that steel is not indestructible. Bamboo is a material substitute that grows in the tropical region of our globe, a region that closely resembles the developing world.
For many years, bamboo has been used in construction. Given bamboo’s exceptional tensile qualities, it should be of great interest to replace steel reinforcement in reinforced concrete structures.
Construction of bamboo-reinforced concrete uses the same design, mix ratios, and construction methods as steel-reinforced concrete.

BASED ON THE FOLLOWING CRITERIA, BAMBOO CAN BE CHOSEN FOR REINFORCEMENT:

• Age and Hue: Use bamboo that is clearly brown in color. This demonstrates the bamboo is at least three years old.
• Use the diameter with the longest, broadest culms.
• Avoid bamboos that have been cut during the spring or summer harvesting seasons.
• The best species among the 1500 varieties of bamboo must be examined and tested in order to meet the criteria for use as a reinforcing material.

THE ADVANTAGES OF USING BAMBOOS:

• The rapid growth and maturity rate of bamboo,
• sustainability,
• aesthetics, and
• acceptability;
• its strength properties,
• low price

These qualities of bamboos make it worthwhile to research using them as a substitute for steel in structural applications. However, compared to other materials like steel, bamboo is observed to have an appreciable tensile strength property, which is the essential criterion of a reinforcing material. This quality is a result of the bamboo’s original structural design. When in its natural environment, the hollow tube construction has a great resistance to wind forces.

BAMBOOS’ AVAILABILITY IN NIGERIA
Except for Bayelsa State and Lagos State, where the distribution is thought to be rather low, bamboo is widely available in practically all of the states of the Southern area of Nigeria.
Abia, Anambra, Akwa Ibom, Cross River, Delta, Edo, Ebonyi, Enugu, Imo, Ogun, Oyo, Osun, Ondo, and Rivers States are those where bamboo is found in abundance.
Additionally, according to the RMRDC (2004) assessment, bamboo makes up at least ten (10) percent of the native vegetation in these states, with existing bamboo clumps exhibiting significant gregarious development that is continuous over sizable areas.
The distribution of bamboo was seen in states like Bayelsa, Benue, Ekiti, Kogi, Kwara, Lagos, and Nassarawa States. Since bamboo was found to be widely distributed, it can be assumed that between six and nine percent of the natural vegetation is made up of bamboo.
Additionally, some bamboo clusters were noted in the Federal Capital Territory, the Plateau, Taraba, and Niger States (FCT).
There are 12 states in the North Western and North Eastern regions where bamboo is uncommon, nevertheless.
Adamawa, Bauchi, Borno, Gombe, Kano, Kaduna, Katsina, Kebbi, Sokoto, Jigawa, Yobe, and Zamfara State are among these states.

TENSILE POWER
It may be argued that Nigerian bamboos are very weak in tension, with a tensile strength of 31N/mm2 to 94N/mm2, 0N/mm2 to 50.19N/mm2, 3kN for the tensile tension, and 19kN.
Steel’s ductility enables plastic deformation and necking before it breaks. Bamboo breaks down into fragile pieces. It snaps abruptly without undergoing plastic deformation.

COMPRESSION POWER
In terms of their cross-section, bamboo with thinner tubes has a better compressive strength rating than bamboo with bigger tubes.
Because bigger tubes of bamboo typically have the drawback of having a small portion of the outer skin that is very resistant to stress, thinner tubes of bamboo have better material qualities.
As a result, the amount of lignin in the culms affects compressive strength, and the amount of cellulose—which serves as the foundation for bamboo fabrics—influences buckling and tensile strength.

LIMITATIONS
If left untreated, bamboo’s natural shape decomposes and regenerates in nature as well as in concrete in 3 to 6 months.
The bonding strength is impacted by an untreated bamboo in the following ways:
1. By displacing the concrete and expanding the bamboo material
2. It may contract, which could cause concrete to segregate further.
3. through the development of voids inside the concrete
4. through the development of fissures as a result of void creation
5. Opposing the seismic force is insufficient.
6. Prior to use, other materials must be coated.

CONCERNS
Before deciding if bamboo may replace steel in concrete, there are a few questions that need to be answered.
1. Bamboo’s mechanical characteristics. The bamboo reinforced structures are more likely to have larger deflection, wider cracks, and lower load or moment bearing capacity than the steel reinforced structures because bamboo has an elasticity modulus under tension that is roughly 1/10th that of steel.
2. Compared to concrete, bamboo experiences various dimensional changes as a result of moisture, temperature, and load.
In other words, as concrete starts to cure, bamboo swells and pushes against it from water absorption.
However, as it dries, it contracts back, leaving a space between the bamboo and concrete surface.
This is in addition to the differential thermalexpansivity and Poisson’s ratio makes it vulnerable to cracking of the concrete during the service life.
3. Like timber, bamboo is vulnerable to environmental degradation and insect attacks. Its durability depends on the types of species, ages, conservation condition, treatment, and so on.

Although some research suggests that the bonding of bamboo with concrete can be strengthened using some adhesives, such as epoxy, the procedure is costly.
Similar to how the endurance of bamboo can be increased with treatment, although this too depends on a variety of other factors, such as age, chemicals, etc.
Even when all the aforementioned requirements are completed, construction must be thoroughly inspected in every aspect.

IMPROVE BAMBOO MATERIAL DURABILITY
Because it is a natural product, it is more vulnerable to pests and the elements. To combat this, go through bamboo curing. The starch in the humidity content, which is the main factor attracting insects, can be treated during the curing process. Only the correct kind of bamboo can be used for the cure. As was mentioned in the bamboo choice. Bamboo can be dried in one of four ways:
1. On-site treatment
2. The immersion method
3. Using heat
4. Smoke Treatment
To ensure that the penetration occurs properly, the treatment must be applied while the bamboo is dry. The preservation process applied to bamboo to maintain the durability element shouldn’t affect the chemical makeup. The actual treatment ought to be durable and not wash away in high water, if any. Bamboo material durability is a big concern. Bamboo has high levels of physical and chemical characteristics and alow humidity content. This low amount would prevent bamboo mold growth.
Second, the majority of the restrictions can be addressed by treating the bamboo culms with bitumen or other appropriate materials and adding nails at predetermined intervals.

CONCLUSION
Bamboo works well for affordable homes, especially where it is widely accessible. According to a 2012 interview with Vanguard Nigeria, Dr. Ikponmwosa from the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering addressed the usage of bamboo for concrete beams up to 4 meters in length.