Effects of characteristic inhomogeneity of bamboo culm nodes on mechanical properties of bamboo fiber reinforced composite

Abstract

Dendrocalamus farinosus and Phyllostachys heterocycla bamboo logs were subjected to a novel treatment process for the preparation of bamboo fiber mats (BFMs), and the obtained BFM were used to fabricate bamboo fiber reinforced composite (BFRC). We studied the mechanical properties of the BFRCs manufactured from the mats with and without bamboo nodes. The presence of nodes in BFM greatly reduced tensile strength, compressive strength, modulus of elasticity, and modulus of rupture of the BFRCs, while the BFRCs fabricated from BFMs with nodes possessed higher horizontal shear strength. Therefore, the nodes in bamboo culms were an important factor in the uniform distribution of mechanical properties, and BFMs should be homogeneously arranged to reduce the impact of nodes on the mechanical strengths of BFRCs.