How would I test bamboo vs. steel reninforcement?

[8thgradertiff]

I'm an 8th grader. Actually, I'm not sure if this belongs in this forum, either, but I'm doing a science fair project about bamboo being an alternative to steel reinforcement in concrete walls/buildings/infrastructure. The thing is, I'm having trouble with testing the models themselves. Should I just start randomly pounding the models with a hammer or some bricks?  Power hammers are too expensive and I don't have access to one (not sure how I would test the models with that either). I'm thinking about maybe motorizing the hammer with Arduino and some bits but wouldn't that be too weak to support a whole hammer? Any motor recommendations? What are your thoughts? 

 

[youngmotivatedengineer]

Reinforcement is used to increase strength. Your best test would be to support concrete beam/slab/test object under the 2 ends and add a load to the middle until you reach failure of the concrete component.  If you use hammers or drills to break through you'll only be testing the strength of the actual concrete that you are trying to get through. 

 

[SE_FL]

I would prepare three scaled models of beams for multiple rounds of  testing. 1 with no reinforcement, 1 with steel, 1 with bamboo.

Make sure your beams are all the same size and increase the span to something that doesn't require a super heavy load to crack. Make your depth as shallow as possible to allow tension to control.

 

[8thgradertiff]

I'm an 8th grader. Actually, I'm not sure if this belongs in this forum, either, but I'm doing a science fair project about bamboo being an alternative to steel reinforcement in concrete walls/buildings/infrastructure. The thing is, I'm having trouble with testing the models themselves. Should I just start randomly pounding the models with a hammer or some bricks?  Power hammers are too expensive and I don't have access to one (not sure how I would test the models with that either). How can I prove that bamboo is as efficient as steel in reinforcement?

 

[matt267 PE]

@8thgradertiff

That sounds like a fun project. 

Have you researched why steel is used to reinforce concrete?

Edit:

Why type of "models" are you using? 

 

[Wade_TX]

That sounds like a great experiment! I agree with Matt. The first step is to research why reinforcement in concrete is important.

 

[MA_PE]

Then look into the mechanical properties of steel vs bamboo, especially ductility, tensile strength, and corrosion resistance.

 

[matt267 PE]

I'm guessing he won the Science Fair?  :dunno:

 

[knight1fox3]

I'm guessing he won the Science Fair?  :dunno:

Nah. 1st place is usually reserved for projects that involve electrical engineering. :thumbs:

 

[matt267 PE]

Nah. 1st place is usually reserved for projects that involve electrical engineering. :thumbs:

Doesn't that have something to do with potatoes? 

 

[ptatohed]

Please don't double post.  I merged the two threads. 

 

[knight1fox3]

Please don't double post.  I merged the two threads. 

Bringing the hammer down on an 8th grader! Ptato don't care how old or young you are, no double posting GD! ldman:

LOL

 

[matt267 PE]

Please don't double post.  I merged the two threads. 

Nice of you to show up.

 

[8thgradertiff]

I'm guessing he won the Science Fair?  :dunno:

Reinforcement is used to increase strength. Your best test would be to support concrete beam/slab/test object under the 2 ends and add a load to the middle until you reach failure of the concrete component.  If you use hammers or drills to break through you'll only be testing the strength of the actual concrete that you are trying to get through. 

Thank you for your reply! I actually went with this design and added more kettlebells on a chain until the tensile ends broke

 

[8thgradertiff]

I'm guessing he won the Science Fair?  :dunno:

I'm a she lol, the district fair is this saturday

 

[8thgradertiff]

Bringing the hammer down on an 8th grader! Ptato don't care how old or young you are, no double posting GD! ldman:

LOL

I was so afraid I wouldn't get any replies before the research plan was due, but yea i won't double post anymore lol

 

[8thgradertiff]

@8thgradertiff

That sounds like a fun project. 

Have you researched why steel is used to reinforce concrete?

Edit:

Why type of "models" are you using? 

Steel has strong tensile strength, but somewhere in my research I found that bamboo fibers have a pretty high tensile strength too. I'm using thin concrete models

 

[matt267 PE]

I'm a she lol

Sorry about that. 

the district fair is this saturday

Good luck.

added more kettlebells on a chain until the tensile ends broke

What were your findings? 

 

[tj_PE]

I'm also curious what your results were! And I hope it went well this weekend!

 

[8thgradertiff]

I'm also curious what your results were! And I hope it went well this weekend!

I actually got first in Materials Science! I'm supposed to give a presentation to the Rotary Club this Saturday, and the GA State Fair is next month!

Sorry about that. 

Good luck.

What were your findings? 

Bamboo withheld more mass than the steel ; I actually was unsure about which size rods to use since bamboo is really light while still encompassing more surface area, while steel alloys are so heavy. So I just made a limit of less than 1 pound for both.  The engineer who judged my project threw some really hard questions though-- he asked about the heat capacity and the time it would take to collapse, both of which I did not test. Any tips on how to test this?