Shear Behavior of Bamboo-Reinforced Sulfur Concrete Beams Using Martian Soil Simulant

Author(s)

Matthew Soltani, Ph.D., P.E., Mitchell Thiel and Patrick Fishburne

Abstract

Mars colonization signifies the upcoming frontier in space exploration and construction. Leveraging materials native to Mars presents a sustainable strategy for building habitats.

Sulfur concrete, which can be synthesized using Martian soil, surfaces as a promising material in this context. While concrete benefits from reinforcement, shipping it from Earth is prohibitively expensive. As a solution, this study explores bamboo bars as tensile reinforcements in sulfur concrete beams, examining two distinct beam sizes.

The bamboo bars’ ultimate tensile strength and density stand at roughly 38% and 9.5% of A36 mild steel’s benchmarks, respectively. Intriguingly, bamboo-reinforced beams reported a 30% to 60% shear strength augmentation compared to their nonreinforced counterparts. The research also delved into the beam size effect, revealing that larger bamboo-reinforced beams boast an 87% enhancement in postcracking stiffness relative to their smaller counterparts.