TITLE:
Influence of the Age of Bamboo Culm and Its Vertical Position on the Technological Properties of Bamboo Fibers: A Case of Bambusa vulgaris Species from Cameroonian Culture
AUTHORS:
Joseph Loic Souck, Theodore Tchotang, Bienvenu Kenmeugne
KEYWORDS:
Fiber, Bamboo Culm, Characterization, Elaboration, Extraction
JOURNAL NAME:
Open Journal of Composite Materials,
Vol.12 No.3,
June
30,
2022
ABSTRACT: Due to their interesting properties, bamboo fibers are more and more used as reinforcements in polymer matrices as a substitute for synthetic fibers. For their future service life, it is important to understand their physical and mechanical behavior over time in order to control the aging phenomenon within this fiber. The paper analyzed the influence of the age of the bamboo thatch and the vertical position of the Bambusa vulgaris species cultivated in Cameroon on the physicomechanical properties of the fibers extracted from the thatch. Fibers were mechanically extracted from three bamboo culms aged respectively 3 years (BV3), 4 years (BV4) and 5 years (BV5). The culms were thus identified according to their number of ramifications, and were felled no abated for a total of three culms. A section of about one meter on each of the parts (lower part, middle part, upper part) of these three culms was made for the opposite technological studies. Each age was therefore represented by three portions of thatch, one from the upper part, one from the middle part and the last from the lower part of the thatch, all giving a total number of nine samples taken and marked BV3inf, BV3moy, BV3sup, BV4inf, BV4moy, BV4sup, BV5inf, BV5moy, BV5sup before handling in the laboratory. Physical (density, moisture absorption rate) and mechanical (tensile tests according to DIN EN ISO 13934-1, natural durability) characterizations were used to better understand the mechanisms of this influence. In view of all the results obtained, the fiber from the upper part of the 3-year-old thatch (BV3sup) is the one with the best characteristics and is recommended for a better elaboration of bamboo fiber composites: (Density: 0.83; Absorption rate 11.7%; Young’s modulus: 7.4 GPa; Maximal stress: 64.3 MPa; Elongation at rupture: 1.1; Loss of mass natural durability: 7.63%).