User:Prateek.jain.15/Bamboo bus stop

A bamboo bus stop has been designed and constructed by three students of Civil Engineering department at Indian Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Bombay as a part of their research on "Use of bamboo as a sustainable material in construction". The structure is intended to facilitate sitting/standing shelter for commuters of local bus transit inside the IIT Bombay campus. The structure was built in one month time and was completed in May, 2010.

Purpose The bamboo bus stop is a public utility structure meant for commuters of local bus transport.It is 16ft. wide with a capacity of 6 sitting and 10 standees. The main idea behind it is to create awareness among student masses about the adequacy of bamboo in construction along with its sustainable and eco-friendly nature. Around the globe, construction industry is dominantly responsible for CO2 emissions. India, next to China, is the second largest producer of bamboo, both in terms of quality and quantity. However the use of this indegenous material is very limited in construction.

Modern construction techniques Bamboo structures have a history of more than...years. The potential of bamboo however is unutilized due to lack of information of the material and sub standard construction practices. Bamboo has always been popular in temporary and rural housing in India and by virtue of its brilliant properties, can withstand natural disasters like earthquakes and hurricanes. The main hurdle is difficulty in joining bamboos because of hollow tubular shape causing inefficient force transfer and that is the reason why bamboo structures fail. On the contrary, the bus stop employs modern techniques of construction by making use of steel assemblies in conjunction with cement mortar. These joints allows an efficient force transfer between various bamboo structural elements. The structure displays good strength and rigidity.

Bamboo, being a natural woody material is susceptible to biological degradation affecting its structural properties. In order to increase its life, several treatment methods (both chemical and physical) are performed. One of the eco-friendly chemical treatment using 5% water based solution of Boric-Borax was used to treat the locally procured bamboos for the bus stop. The bamboos were submerged in the solution for 3 days and then air dried under a shed away from direct sunlight.