Papers by Keyword: Bamboo Fiber

Abstract: This study focuses on the development of sustainable composite materials for automotivebody panels by utilizing sugarcane bagasse and bamboo fibers reinforced with epoxy resin. Theagricultural by-products were first sun-dried, mechanically processed into fine powder, andchemically treated to improve interfacial bonding before being incorporated into the epoxy matrix.Composite specimens were fabricated through a controlled lay-up process and tested for flexuralstrength and impact resistance in accordance with ASTM standards. Experimental results revealedthat sugarcane bagasse composites exhibited the highest flexural strength of 47 MPa, while bamboocomposites contributed greater ductility and flexibility under load. Notably, a hybrid formulation ofbagasse and bamboo fibers achieved the best balance of properties, recording an impact resistance of187 J/m, which is comparable to commonly used polymers. These findings highlight that naturalfiber-based composites not only offer mechanical performance suitable for exterior automotiveapplications but also provide significant advantages in terms of weight reduction, cost-effectiveness,and environmental sustainability.

Abstract: Concrete is the most widely used construction material, but its environmental impact and reliance on finite resources have driven the need for more sustainable solutions. This research paper presents the optimization of bamboo fiber and wood ash as supplementary materials in concrete to enhance its mechanical performance and sustainability. A powerful statistical technique known as Response Surface Methodology was employed to systematically investigate the effects of varying bamboo fiber and wood ash content on the compressive and flexural strengths of concrete. The optimal combination of 0.36% bamboo fiber and 13.43% wood ash resulted in a flexural strength of 3.227 MPa and a compressive strength of 18.444 MPa, demonstrating the significant potential of these sustainable materials to improve concrete's mechanical properties. The findings of this study provide valuable insights for the construction industry, highlighting the feasibility of utilizing bamboo fiber and wood ash to develop more durable and environmentally friendly concrete mixtures that can contribute to a more sustainable built environment.

Abstract: Bamboo fibers, as sustainable and renewable resources, have gained significant interest as a reinforcement material in concrete. However, the hydrophilic nature of bamboo fibers limits their compatibility with the concrete matrix. To improve the interfacial bonding and mechanical properties of bamboo fibers, an alkali-silane treatment was employed to modify the fiber surface. This study investigated the effects of alkali-silane treatment, with varying silane concentrations, on the chemical composition, thermal stability, surface morphology, and mechanical properties of bamboo fibers. Treated and untreated fibers were incorporated into concrete composites and subjected to mechanical tests, which include splitting tensile strength, flexural strength, and compressive strength tests. FTIR spectra, TGA curves, and SEM micrographs identified that the alkali-silane treatment of 5% NaOH+10% 3-Methacryloxypropyltrimethoxysilane (KH570) solution was most effective in improving fiber properties and concrete composite performance. The treated fiber-reinforced concrete composites exhibited improved splitting tensile strength (+25.03%), flexural strength (+25.45%), and compressive strength (+26.26%) compared to untreated fiber-reinforced and non-reinforced concrete. These findings demonstrate the potential of alkali-silane-treated bamboo fibers as a promising reinforcement material for sustainable concrete composites.

Abstract: To address global environmental challenges and mitigate bamboo-related ecological damage, this study focuses on the development of self-adhesive molded products utilizing solely bamboo fibers and powder obtained through machining center extraction. However, the mechanical properties of these molded products remain inadequate. This study utilizes Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM) and Fourier transform infrared spectrometer (FTIR) analyses to explore the disparities associated with chip size as raw materials for molded products. Bamboo fiber, characterized by its substantial cellulose content and high strength, is contrasted with bamboo powder, which contains significant amounts of lignin and exhibits potential adhesive properties. Building upon these findings, the powder was added to the conventional fiber alone, with results demonstrating that a predetermined ratio (20%) of the powder yields optimal mechanical properties. Moreover, employing a parameter representing the degree of lignin flow utilized in previous molding studies, the study establishes the optimum molding conditions (PD'=1.031) to maximize tensile strength (37.8 MPa) when incorporating a 20% powder mixture.

Abstract: Bamboo is among the most economically-significant non-timber forest products in the Philippines, and its fiber can be used for concrete reinforcement, known as bamboo fiber reinforced concrete (BFRC). However, BFRC needs further exploration, and its direct tensile strength is an essential factor that needs to be studied. The present study assessed the direct tensile strength of BFRC utilizing finite element modeling (FEM) and Artificial Neural Network (ANN). A positive correlation was found between compressive and direct tensile strength of the BFRC. The optimum ANN model was obtained from the trial-error approach. This model has 5-5-1 (input-hidden neurons-output) network topology and uses the tan sigmoid transfer function for both input-hidden and hidden-output layer which brought the most accurate prediction. The Levenberg–Marquardt (LM) provided the best optimization performance among other algorithms. The best model has a mean squared error (MSE) of 0.0000287 and r values of 0.98619, 0.99936, 0.99516, and 0.98565 for training, testing, validating, and overall. Sensitivity Analysis shows that compressive can significantly change the system’s performance even with a small change in its parameter value.

Abstract: In order to improve the tensile strength of bamboo hand sheets used as reinforcement in bio composite materials, bamboo fibers have to be arranged roughly in the same direction. However, the classical method for forming the bamboo hand sheet (using L’HOMARGY machine) is not efficient to align the fibers. The objective of this work is to improve the method for forming the suitable arranged direction of the bamboo hand sheets. The bamboo strips were treated with a 6% NaOH solution at 120^oc for 2 hours before extracting as individual bamboo fibers. These bamboo fibers were then formed as bamboo hand sheet by a dynamic laboratory sheet former (Mecaform, EP MECA, France). The given hand sheets were then cut along different angles (0, 45, and 90 degrees), and ten samples of each unidirectional and classical bamboo hand sheet were tested for the tensile strength according to ISO 1924-1. It was found that the tensile strength and the tensile modulus of bamboo hand sheets are correlated. The tensile strength and the tensile modulus of the 0-degree arranged bamboo hand sheets are double improved compare with the classical bamboo hand sheets.

Abstract: In order to use bamboo as reinforcement in composite material, we first need to extract individual fibers from bamboo strips and re-fabricated as hand sheets. Those hand sheets contain millions of individual fibers contacting each other by their surface force and mainly hydrogen bonding. Therefore, different NaOH concentration used during the extraction stage would provide different surface properties impacting tensile strength of bamboo hand sheets. The objective of this study is to recommend suitable concentrations of NaOH for producing hand sheets as reinforcement material. Hand sheets were produced by cooked bamboo strips in different NaOH concentration, which are 1%, 6%, and 30% at 120^oc for 2 hours. More than 10 samples of bamboo hand sheets with different treatments were submitted to mechanical tensile test following ISO 1924-1. It was found that the ultimate tensile strength and the Young’s modulus of bamboo hand sheets of the different specimen were globally similar. However, for low concentration, ultimate tensile strength and Young’s modulus increase while the NaOH concentration increases. On the other hand, higher values of NaOH concentration do not only extract bamboo fiber but also severely alter bamboo fiber shape. The best ultimate tensile strength and Young’s modulus values are presented by 6% NaOH which are 0.95 kN/m² and 236.4 MPa respectively.

Abstract: Conventionally, short fibers such as steel and synthetic fibers have been mixed into spray mortar used for slope protection to enhance resistance against cracking and durability. However, in the quest of higher performance fiber-reinforced mortar with reduced impact on the environment, natural fibers such as bamboo fibers may play a vital role. Thus, the tensile strength and the bond strength of bamboo fibers used for spray mortar were examined by laboratory tests. The mechanical properties of bamboo-fiber-reinforced spray mortar were examined under cyclic wet and dry conditions along with its resistance against freezing and thawing by a spray test. It was confirmed that 0.75% mixture of bamboo fibers in spray mortar successfully improved mechanical properties and durability. These include adhesion strength to the base surface following exposure to cyclic wet/dry conditions and overall resistance against freezing/thawing. Moreover, higher compressive strength, flexural toughness and adhesion strength to the base surface were achieved by further mixing in vinylon fibers or fly ash in addition to bamboo fibers.

Abstract: Fiber Reinforced Polymer (FRP) made from synthetic fiber had been widely used for strengthening of reinforced concrete (RC) structures in the past decades. Due to its high cost, detrimental to the environment and human health, natural fiber composites becoming the current alternatives towards a green and environmental friendly material. This paper presents an investigation on the mechanical properties of bamboo fiber reinforced composite (BFRC) with different types of resins. The BFRC specimens were prepared by hand lay-up method using epoxy and vinyl-ester resins. Bamboo fiber volume fractions, 30%, 35%, 40%, 45% and 50% was experimentally investigated by conducting tensile and flexural test, respectively. Results showed that the tensile and flexural strength of bamboo fiber reinforced epoxy composite (BFREC) was 63.2% greater than the bamboo fiber reinforced vinyl-ester composite (BFRVC). It was found that 45% of bamboo fiber volume fraction on BFREC exhibited the highest tensile strength compared to other BFRECs. Meanwhile, 40% bamboo fiber volume fraction of BFRVC showed the highest tensile strength between bamboo fiber volume fractions for BFRC using vinyl-ester resin. Studies showed that epoxy-based BFRC exhibited excellent results compared to the vinyl-ester-based composite. Further studies are required on using BFRC epoxy-based composite in various structural applications and strengthening purposes.

Abstract: The paper presents the effect of CaCO₃ content on the tensile, flexural and water absorption properties of bamboo fiber/polystyrene-modified unsaturated polyester composites. Two volume fractions of bamboo fibers had been used with the CaCO₃ content varied from 2.5 to 10 (wt%). The tensile and flexural properties were used to characterize the composites. In addition, the water absorption and its effect of the flexural properties had also been conducted. The results showed that at the bamboo content of 30%, adding CaCO₃ up to 10wt% tended to decrease the tensile strength and elastic modulus of bamboo fiber/modified unsaturated polyester composites up to 27% and 4%, respectively; however, at the bamboo content of 20%, its effect was not significant for both the tensile strength and the elastic modulus. Adding CaCO₃ seemed not to have a significant effect for both the flexural strength and modulus. Having exposed in distilled water, CaCO₃ did not significantly affect the water uptakes and the flexural properties of bamboo fiber/modified unsaturated polyester composites; however, the flexural strength and modulus significantly decreased in the ranges of 24 - 45% and 36 - 43%, respectively, compared to those in dry condition.