Eka Juliafad, Lisyana Junelin Restu, Laras Oktavia Andreas, Risma Apdeni, Prima Zola, Kimiro Meguro
As a seismically active country, many community buildings in Indonesia are prone to damage due to seismic forces. Particularly, structures designed and constructed with materials not adhering to building standards, especially those featuring red brick walls, are vulnerable to seismic damage. Researchers have developed numerous strengthening methods, most relying on unsustainable materials. This research utilizes bamboo poles, a cultivable and widely accessible material in diverse regions, as an interlocking system to strengthen red brick masonry walls. This study investigates the influence of bamboo cane on the compressive and shear strength of brick masonry using experimental laboratory, as well as to observe damage patterns in traditional and bamboo-reinforced structures. Interlocking specimens used bamboo cane with 0.5 cm and 1 cm penetration. Compared to non-interlocking masonry, compressive strength increased by 3.26% and 34.23%, and shear strength by 69.49% and 188.25% for the respective penetrations. The results of the brick wall’s compressive strength without interlocking, with interlocking at a penetration of 0.5 cm and 1 cm, increase by 16.85% and 24.08% compared to the brick wall without interlocking. © The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2026.
Department of Civil Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Universitas Negeri Padang, Padang, Indonesia; Department of Civil Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, The University of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan
