Determination of thermal conductivity of bamboo plyboard as thermal insulator for passive roof cooling

Abstract

Two samples of each of different local bamboo species in the treated and untreated conditions were prepared. They are of the species Dendrocalamus merrillianus (Bayog), Schizostachyum lumampao (Buho), Bumbusae (Kawayan), and Bambusa vulgaris (Patong). These samples were used to determine their fire resistance property. The fire resistance criterion was the time required for the samples to burn completely. Sample preparation entails pulverization of the bamboo to a fine-grain sawdust structure, then formed into a board structure. Each bamboo species type was made into the bamboo board (herein referred to as the plyboard) with one sample treated with mango polyphenol extract while the other was left untreated. The result of the fire-resistant tests shows that Bambusa vulgaris (Patong) treated with 10% mango polyphenol extract has the highest fire resistance, implying good insulating property. The scope of this study is limited only for the fire resistance determination and the consequent determination of the thermal conductivity of the selected material in its plyboard form. The thermal conductivity ranges from 0.000 to 0.098 W/m K and the average mean is 0.032 W/m K. It was also concluded that the thermal conductivity in 3 consecutive days and every 4 h was a high correlation. It rejects the null hypothesis; so, therefore, there is a significant difference between thermal conductivity and temperature of bamboo ply. The average mean has a low thermal conductivity, implying that sawdust bamboo ply made of Bambusa vulgaris (Patong) treated with mango polyphenol extract has good insulating value.