Application of Mangrove Timber in Reinforcing Concrete

Abstract

Use of mangrove timber beams for supporting floor slabs in historic buildings in Zanzibar Stone Town is still applied although the available structural data on mangrove timber is inadequate. This concern has called for an investigation on the structural properties of mangrove timber, so that the information obtained could help to establish the structural strength of the existing floor slabs in historic buildings. Hence, mangrove timber specimens were sampled from Zanzibar, and tested in the laboratory for their strengths in tension, compression and shear. The test results showed that mangrove is a hardwood timber of strength class D70, the highest rank of timber classification. Also, concrete beam specimens reinforced with mangrove timber rods, and others reinforced with structural steel were studied. The obtained test results showed that beams reinforced with mangrove timber rods with enlarged ends performed better than those reinforced with uniform mangrove rods. The strength of the beams reinforced with mangrove timber was found to be 50% of the beams reinforced with steel bars, implying that mangrove timber can be used to reinforce concrete beams.