Development of bamboo-based polymer composites and their mechanical properties

This paper presents the development of composites for ecological purposes (Eco-composites) using bamboo fibers and their basic mechanical properties. The steam explosion technique was applied to extract bamboo fibers from raw bamboo trees. The experimental results showed that the bamboo fibers (bundles) had a sufficient specific strength, which is equivalent to that of conventional glass fibers. The tensile strength and modulus of PP based composites using steam-exploded fibers increased about 15 and 30%, respectively, due to well impregnation and the reduction of the number of voids, compared to the composite using fibers that are mechanically extracted. The steam explosion technique is an effective method to extract bamboo fibers for reinforcing thermoplastics. (C) 2003 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.