Comparative Analysis of a Sustainable Bamboo Bridge and a Steel Bridge

Resumo

This paper is concerned with a numerical analysis and comparison between a steel bridge and a bamboo
bridge, both designed for pedestrian traffic. First, the finite element (FE) method was used to build a numerical

model of an existing steel bridge. Later, another FE model was considered changing steel elements with Dendro-
calamus giganteus sustainable bamboo elements, in order to verify the bamboo feasibility as a structural material.

It was demonstrated that both bridges have satisfactory stiffness and load carrying capacity under the Brazilian
standards. Based on the results and the analysis, the sustainable bamboo bridge proved to be lighter and cheaper
than the real steel bridge with equal load carrying capacity.