Strong, durable and fire-resistant glass fiber-reinforced bamboo scrimber

Abstract

A bamboo scrimber (BS) is a useful engineering biomass composite that has been utilized in the construction and building fields. In this study, bamboo bundles and glass fiber (GF) layers with various thicknesses are selected to fabricate a strong, durable, and fire-resistant glass fiber-reinforced bamboo scrimber (GF-BS). The mechanical properties, aging characteristics, and fire-resistant measurements are investigated for glass fiber bamboo scrimbers (GF-BSs) with various thicknesses of the GF. The findings demonstrated that the mechanical properties, including compressive strength, shear strength, the modulus of rupture (MOR), and the modulus of elasticity (MOE), increased by approximately 7%, 25%, 18%, and 22%, respectively for the GF-BS with a thicker GF layer. After the aging test, an enhanced dimensional stability of the GF-BSs was obtained, and their mechanical performance was similar to that of a traditional BS. Significantly improved fire-resistant properties for the GF-BSs were found, especially for those with a thicker GF. After exposure to a flame for 10 min, the charring depth, mass loss, and maximum temperature for the GF-BS reduced by 50%, 15–28%, and 25%, respectively, consistent with the infrared imaging diagrams. After a fire resistant limitation test, the limitation duration increased by 650%, and the mass loss rate decreased by 400% with a lower increment in the temperature rise for the GF-BS during combustion. A significantly higher residual MOR was obtained for the GF-BSs after the combustion. This indicated that GF plays a significant role in the improvement of the mechanical and fire-resistant properties of BS composites. This study provides a method to enhance the service performance of GF-BSs for construction and building industry applications.