Impact resistance of short bamboo fibre reinforced polyester concretes

• Main Authors: Wong, K. J., Low, K. O., Israr, H. A.
• Format: Article
• Published: SAGE Publications Ltd 2017
• Subjects: TJ Mechanical engineering and machinery
• Online Access: http://eprints.utm.my/id/eprint/75699/; https://www.scopus.com/inward/record.uri?eid=2-s2.0-85034428020&doi=10.1177%2f1464420715609789&partnerID=40&md5=d0f682861eff1af93c97809056e3da19

Bamboo fibre is becoming more important as reinforcement in polymer composites owing to its environment sustainability and cost effectiveness. This study examines the performance of bamboo/polyester concretes under impact loading. Specimens at fibre volume fractions of 40 vol.%, 50 vol.% and 60 vol.% and 3 mm, 7 mm and 10 mm fibre lengths were fabricated. Results showed that the optimum impact resistance was attained at 50 vol.%/10 mm, with 16.6 times higher compared to neat polyester. Scanning electron micrographs revealed that the failure mechanisms include matrix cracking, fibre/matrix debonding, fibre pull-out, fibre end damage, fibre splitting and sand particles debonding. In addition, by relating the experimental results to a theoretical model, the damage zone size was found to increase with the fibre length except at 60 vol.%/10 mm, which could be due to fibre–fibre interaction. Results suggest that bamboo fibre is a good candidate to enhance the impact resistance of polyester concrete.