Karnataka students show how eco-friendly bamboo is a cheaper alternative to steel

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<strong>Displaying their inventive streak, students of Vidyavardhaka College of Engineering located in Karnataka’s Mysuru have come up with bamboo as an environmentally-friendly and less costly alternative to steel construction.</strong></p>
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The students Nishanth, Karthik MP and Mahendra Halamandage have converted bamboo into a type of mesh and from this they constructed a spherical shell. This can be used to make slabs and they claim that it can bear 700 kilograms of weight.</p>
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Sharing further details about this, the Professor who assisted these students, Dr. Umesha P. K. disclosed that the shell is lightweight thus making it low-cost and also low in terms of maintenance. Further, he added that it is resistant to corrosion, weather-proof and economical.</p>
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What makes them even better is that construction using these bamboo-based methods will also provide resistance from earthquakes, said the Professor.</p>
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Use of bamboo will provide a fillip to its cultivation while reducing carbon footprints substantially. Talking to the media, Nishanth said: “In order to produce 1 tonne of steel, 2.4 tonne of carbon dioxide will be emitted to the atmosphere. This is the major issue we have tried to solve using bamboo.”</p>
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The slabs made of bamboo can be put to several uses including covering water tanks, septic tanks, making roofs for low-cost toilets, while ensuring durability.</p>
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Recognising this project, last year the Karnataka State Council for Science and Technology designated it as an outstanding scientific achievement.</p>
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Meanwhile, the college has also filed for a patent of this concept.</p>
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<strong>Also read: <a href="https://www.indianarrative.com/culture-news/bengaluru-s-public-transport-gets-its-first-electric-bus-138406.html">Bengaluru’s public transport gets its first electric bus</a></strong></p>