Development and characterization of a laminate composite material from polylactic acid (PLA) and woven bamboo fabric

This article presents the development and mechanical characterization of a composite material fabricated from both renewable resources and biodegradable materials: bamboo woven fabric as reinforcement and polylactic acid (PLA) as resin matrix. The laminate composites were produced using a film stacking method. The physical, thermal, and, mechanical properties of bamboo fabric, PLA matrix, and laminate composites were investigated. It is shown that the breaking force of the plain woven bamboo fabric in the weft direction was greater than in the warp direction. Further, the tensile, flexure, and, impact properties of PLA increased when weft direction bamboo fabric reinforcement is used. In addition, scanning electron microscopy examination of laminate composite showed good bonding between bamboo fiber and PLA resin. In summary, laminated composites based on polylactic acid and bamboo fabric display excellent energy absorption capability, which can be exploited for the development of engineering structural applications. (C) 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.