Bamboo Mesh Reinforced Cement Composites

INTRO...
Bamboo is abundant in tropical and subtropical region Able to be used for low-cost building material
Rural housing

Reinforcement for concrete Advantages : High STR, Low cost, Abundance Disadvantages : low E, Poor bonding, Water absorption
Poor bonding + Water absorption = No composite

action

Any Solution?
Apply treatment for Bamboo
Make bamboo less water-absorbing Make the interface between bamboo and cement rougher
Coconut fiber (????)

Increase casting pressure

Increased casting pressure ensures better matrix impregnation

The Variables
Bamboo culm Strips Woven Mesh
Treated Un-treated Size and layer number varied Normal casting pressure Increased casting pressure

The Measured Results

Tensile Strength
Failure behavior

Flexural/Bending Strength
Failure behavior

Impact Strength Charpy Impact Test

Notched???

THE EXPERIMENT
Materials Preparation Experiment Procedure Results and Discussion

The Materials Bamboo Mesh

3 Series of bamboo : A, B, and C
Local Bamboo, Seasoned for 2 months Width = 5.5 mm; Thickness = 0.88 mm

A : Not Treated B : Treated C : Treated

Increased casting pressure

The Materials - Mortar

Portland Cement + Mortar, 1 : 1.5 Water/Mixture ratio = 0.4 Adimixture Rapidard 60cc/kg
Accelerate curing time

The Preparation
Tensile Specimen : 304x50x19 mm
Width of specimens end = 76 mm

Flexural Specimen : 375x100x19 mm Impact Specimen : 70x45x19 Coating : Using water sealer by brushing, dry in air 24 hours

 Bamboo Mesh

 Cast in plywood molds Bamboo meshes tied by wire The mortar pressed manually, then vibrate for 30 seconds Specimen C Casting pressure applied using jack

De-mold after 24 hours Water curing for 5 days (???) air drying for 24 hours

Test Procedure
Tensile and Flexural Instron Testing Machine Impact Charpy

Results and Discussion - Tensile

Tensile behavior
Approximately linear until crack After crack = Stress drop (influenced by bamboo volume fraction) Load increase after redistribution of internal force occur (???)

Failure mode = Destruction of bamboo matrix bond

Result and Discussion - Flexural

Similar to tensile Difference : Multiple cracks instead of single crack

Overall Test Results

Conclusion
Bamboo mesh adds considerable ductility and toughness to the mortar Failure mode is interface breaking Still low on interface strength Applying pressure may increase composite action between bamboo and matrix