Feasibility of Using Palmyrah Strips as Reinforcing Material in Cost Effective Houses

Construction of cost effective houses is a dilemma among the impoverished population in developing countries. The ever increasing price of traditional building materials results in high capital investments for residential buildings. Palmyrah is a significant economic resource, widely spread all over the northeast region of Sri Lanka. This research explores the technical feasibility of using heartwood of Palmyrah as a reinforcing member in lightly loaded concrete elements. Initially, mechanical properties of Palmyrah were examined through static bending, tensile, and compressive tests. Percentages of water absorption, dimensional stability, and anchorage bond strength were investigated to envisage the suitability of Palmyrah as reinforcement. Next, several short span slabs and beams reinforced with Palmyrah strips were subjected to tests. It was observed that Palmyrah reinforcement enhanced the moment capacity of the slabs and beams compared to unreinforced sections. Experimental failure loads of slabs and beams were higher than theoretically predicted values with Palmyrah reinforcement. Further, Palmyrah reinforced beams and slabs underwent flexural failures. Thus, it is concluded that heartwood of Palmyrah has the potential to be used as reinforcement in lightly loaded slabs and beams. Further research is recommended to investigate the durability and serviceability issues. 1. Introduction The current energy crisis, provoked by indiscriminate industrial development and population growth, has caused increasing concerns about managing the limited energy resources available today. The pursuit of sustainable development, while providing shelter for the ever increasing world population without causing environmental degradation, has become a huge challenge. Construction of cost effective houses is an ever-present problem all over the world. The recent escalation of steel prices has created controversial economic problems in developing countries like Sri Lanka, where steel is imported. In addition, after 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami and thirty years of internal conflict, the demand for cost effective houses has increased drastically in Sri Lanka. Lack of reliable technical information about local materials makes the consumers mainly depend on expensive industrialised materials for which the details are freely available. In this context, there is an intense ongoing search for nonpolluting materials and manufacturing processes, which require less energy. Emphasis is placed on innovative, nonconventional materials and construction technologies. As a result, the