Comparative Study of the Effects of Treatment Methods on the Tensile Performance of Bamboo

Abstract

Bamboo is a rapidly replenishing resource that is used as a practical building material in many nations. However, it is not commonly used in the United States or other western nations, in part because building codes and safety standards have not yet included it. The mechanical characteristics of bamboo must be thoroughly comprehended and recorded in order to develop these. Major variables, including age, bamboo species, density, moisture content, post-harvest treatment, and the testing standards used, affects its properties greatly. This work presents a comparative study of the effects of treatment methods on the tensile performance of bamboo. In this research, bamboo samples of size 12x12mm, 14x12mm, 16x12mm and 20x12mm were prepared, some of the samples were treated with epoxy, bitumen emulsion, binding wire and some were treated by combining binding wire and either of epoxy or bitumen emulsion while few were untreated. Tensile strength test was carried out on both samples and the results shows that the tensile strength of bamboo samples was greatly increased in all the treatment methods used. Tensile strength of bamboo is also a function of size, from the research, it was observed that size 20mmx12mm possess higher strength. Hence, it is recommended for construction works, bamboo treated with epoxy has higher strength other treatment methods. However, a combination of binding wire and other treatment techniques give superior strength, epoxy was observed to have demonstrated higher strength than bitumen and binding wire alone.