The Physical and Mechanical Properties of Bamboo Fibres Filled with Calcium Carbonate Powder Reinforced Epoxy Composites in Coating Treatment Process for Roofing Application

Abstract

In Malaysia\'s construction industry, reinforced concrete utilisation is not a recent development. However, the problem of overuse of construction material including steel, bricks and cement are not environmentally friendly as it will lead to greenhouse effect. On the other hand, bamboo is a natural resource which have a big population and promising material to be used in construction due to the strength, durability, and ability to replace steel in concrete. To solve the issues, bamboo fibre will be utilised as reinforcement in concrete. The research objective of this study is to determine the value of maximum and minimum force of bamboo with different arrangement of layer orientation for usefulness in roofing construction and to determine the effect of water absorption in bamboo-composite reinforcement for long term effects in roofing structure. The effect of using flame retardant materials in mechanical properties for bamboo laminate composites also has been studied. The experimental work focuses on the fabrication method which is hand layup technique. Then, the physical and mechanical test to determine workability and strength between coated and uncoated bamboo laminate composite were compared. The chemical treatment may enhance surface interaction, and at coated bamboo fibre, it alters the fibres\' capacity to compact, which improved stress distribution and resulted in minimal void formation. This study is also to encourage the usage of natural renewable material as an alternative construction material.

Introduction

I. INTRODUCTION

Nowadays, the construction sector is focusing on developing eco-friendly, green, and sustainable building materials. Construction materials including steel, bricks, cement, wood, aggregate, aluminium, cladding, and partitioning material are increasing in demand due to rapid growth of construction activities for housing and other buildings. Cement-based materials such as concrete are the major construction materials used to produce various infrastructures all over the world [1]. It has been estimated that approximately one ton of Carbon Dioxide (CO2) and Nitrogen Oxide (NO) gasses emitted (i.e., 0.87 ton of CO2 and 3 kg of NO) and to produce one ton of cement, about two tons of raw materials (i.e., limestone and shale) is consumed [2]. The production of cement can be ascribed to be responsible for about 6% of the world’s anthropogenic greenhouse gasses emission with about two billion tons of greenhouse gases emitted annually because of the production of cement [3]. The green concept is being advocated extensively by environmentalists in recent years. Reduction of Carbon Dioxide (CO2) emission and energy cut down are the examples of green concept which are always promoted to help the sustainability of our mother earth. The heat trapping of CO2 and other greenhouse gases has been demonstrated in the mid-19th century according to the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). Hence, the use of environmental-friendly construction material has been promoted to protect our earth. One of the criteria being the environmental-friendly construction material is by having the potential in reduction of CO2 emission during its production. Therefore, there is a need to begin the search for materials that are eco-efficient which will be a substitute for cement as reinforcement.

One of the newest developing materials with significant economic potential is bamboo. When compared to other naturally occurring resources, bamboo stands out due to its high productivity rate and quick harvest cycle. Additionally, it has been demonstrated that bamboo       possesses an equivalent ultimate tensile strength to mild steel [4]. Previous research has stated that bamboo fibres can be used in concrete as revolutionary fibres to enhance concrete ductility, improve concrete strength, and post-cracking load carrying ability [5]. Bamboo fibre is a suitable candidate to be used as a natural fibre in composite materials among the numerous natural fibres [6], [7], [8]. Although bamboo's characteristics are quite like those of wood, it is easier to form and bend than wood [9]. Due to its extensive availability, notably in Malaysia, the Semantan (Gigantochloa Scortechinii) kind of bamboo was chosen for use in this study. Because bamboo naturally has a lot of hydroxyl side (-OH), a lot of moisture will be absorbed into its structure. When this untreated bamboo is made into a composite construction, a difficulty occurs since there will be an incompatibility factor, notably between the bamboo surfaces and matrix. Therefore, a surface treatment is necessary to minimise this effect on the result qualities of the composite. By far, few research were conducted that use the same treatment method [10], [11] .

Meanwhile, other researchers reported that the strength of concrete increased after 7 days of curing up to 56 days which means bamboo can be used as replacement of aggregates. From this research, the potential of bamboo fibre can be improved as building material as it can used in construction industry [12]. Besides, factors such as the cost of building materials got soared and higher competitive of world exchange currencies had brought the unstable of the current world economic circumstances. This situation led to several ongoing construction projects are having trouble getting the materials at lower cost. Thus, the utilization of bamboo as reinforcement will consequently reduce the cost of construction.

II. MATERIALS AND METHODS

A. Materials

Gigantochloa Scortechinii (Semantan bamboo) were used as the reinforcement supplied by Terra Techno Sdn. Bhd. (TTE), Shah Alam, Malaysia. Figure 1 illustrates the anatomy of bamboo culm. The internode part of the bamboo culm was taken and processed into strips form with specific dimensions of 30.0 cm length, 0.3 cm thickness and 1.0 cm width by using splitting machine while the node part was removed. Properties of Gigantochloa Scortechinii bamboo was summarized in Table 1 below.

 Table 1: Properties Gigantochloa Scortechinii bamboo

Sources: Gigantochloa Scortechinii (PROSEA) [14]

As for the treatment, the epoxy resin (CP362A) and hardener (CP362B) were supplied by Vistec Technology Sdn. Bhd. The physical and chemical characteristics of epoxy resin and hardener are tabulated in Table 2. Meanwhile, the acetone (CH3O2) was supplied by Polyscientific Enterprise Sdn. Bhd.

Table 2: Physical characteristics of CP362 epoxy resin

Sources: All Purpose Epoxy [15]

Expanded Polystyrene (EPS) foam with dimensions 60cm x 90 cm supplied by Hi-Scan Wholesale Sdn. Bhd, Shah Alam, Malaysia. EPS is a white foam plastic material produced from solid beads of polystyrene. EPS foam were cut into 30.0cm length and 6.0cm width according to the size of each sample.

Calcium Carbonate in powder form were manufactured by Chemiz (M) Sdn. Bhd, Shah Alam, Malaysia. The physical and chemical properties of Calcium Carbonate powder are tabulated in Table 3.

Table 3: Physical and chemical properties of CaCO3 powder

Sources: Safety Data sheet of Calcium Carbonate [16]

B. Chemical Treatment

The chemical solution which are epoxy and hardener were prepared and mixed (within gel time) with suggested ratio by weight prior diluted using acetone with 1:5 ratio. Next, the bamboo strips were immersed into the epoxy dilution with the immersion time of 5 minutes at room temperature. During this process, all the impurities were removed and simultaneously giving a thin layer of epoxy coating to the bamboo strips thus improve the mechanical properties. The epoxy coated of bamboo strips were finally taken out and oven-dried for 24h with temperature of 80?C.

C. Sample Preparation

Both coated and uncoated bamboo laminate composite were used hand layup technique. Fibre orientation used for uncoated and coated bamboo laminate composite with Expanded Polystyrene (EPS) foam core were simplified as in the Table 4 below. PVC sheet was used as mould and the size of the mould for both samples of coated and uncoated were cut according to the thickness of the layer of bamboo samples. Table 5 showed the dimensions of the mould for each sample. EPS foam is also cut as the same shape of PVC sheet moulds. The resin, hardener, EPS foam and bamboo fibre was weighed using weighing scale before sample got fabricate based on the amount of bamboo layer. Each ratio of fibre weight to resin weight for bamboo with one, two, and three layers were 45:55, 40:60, and 35:65. A small safety factor which is 5% were added so that enough resin is mixed for the layup. Calcium Carbonate (CaCO3) powder with 20 wt.% was first added and mixed with epoxy for 5 minutes followed by mixed with hardener (within gel time). The suggested ratio used for epoxy and hardener were 2:1. Before resin was poured into the mould, the internal surfaces of the mould were sprayed with a release agent to facilitate easy removal of the bamboo. A mixture of the epoxy, hardener, and CaCO3 is applied in the form of thin layer in between bamboo strips and Expanded Polystyrene (EPS) foam to make hybrid composite. The assembly of bamboo strips and EPS foam with different orientation were illustrated in Figure 2, Figure 3, and Figure 4.

Sample with one layer of bamboo orientation were B0?/C. First, the mixture was poured inside the mould until it covered the lower surface. Then, 5 bamboo strips were placed slowly in longitudinally direction on the top of the lower surface to wet it. Afterwards, the mixture was poured on the top surface of the strips and spread in one direction by using a scraper to ensure that the resin fully enclosed the strips. EPS foams were placed slowly on top of wet bamboo strips and the mixture was poured immediately on top of it afterwards. At this stage, special care was taken to eliminate all air bubbles possible and to make sure the resin filled every corner of the mould by spread in one direction with a scraper. The HDPE plastic was placed on top of the hybrid composite to avoid the formation of air bubbles after lamination. The final step was to place a load on the composite to give pressure and stored the composite at room temperature for a period    24 hours to allow gelling and curing to progress before removal.

The second orientation with two layers of bamboo were B0?/C/B0?. First, the mixture was poured inside the mould until it covered the lower surface. Then, 5 bamboo strips were placed slowly in longitudinally direction on the top of the lower surface to wet it. Afterwards, the mixture was poured on the top surface of the strips and spread in one direction by using a scraper to ensure that the resin fully enclosed the strips. EPS foams were placed on top of wet bamboo strips and the mixture was poured immediately on top of it afterwards. Another 5 bamboo strips were placed slowly in longitudinally direction on top of wet EPS foam. A mixture was poured immediately on the top surface of the strips. A scrapper was used to eliminate all air bubbles possible and to make sure the resin filled every corner of the mould by spread the resin in one direction. The HDPE plastic was placed on top of the hybrid composite to avoid the formation of air bubbles after lamination. The final step was to place a load on the composite to give pressure and stored the composite at room temperature for a period 24 hours to allow gelling and curing to progress before removal.

There are two sample with three layer of bamboo orientation which were B0?/C/B0?/B0? and B0?/C/B0?/C/B0?. For B0?/C/B0?/B0? orientation, the mixture was poured inside the mould until it covered the lower surface. Then, 5 bamboo strips were placed slowly in longitudinally direction on the top of the lower surface to wet it. Afterwards, the mixture was poured on the top surface of the strips and spread in one direction by using a scraper to ensure that the resin fully enclosed the strips. EPS foam were placed on top of wet bamboo strips and the mixture was poured immediately on top of it afterwards. Later, 5 bamboo strips were arranged slowly in longitudinally direction on the top of wet EPS foam. A mixture was poured immediately on the top surface of the strips. Another 5 bamboo strips were placed slowly in longitudinally direction on top of wet bamboo strips and followed with the mixture was poured on top surfaces of bamboo strips to wet it. A scrapper was used to eliminate all air bubbles possible and to make sure the resin filled every corner of the mould by spread the resin in one direction. The HDPE plastic was placed on top of the hybrid composite to avoid the formation of air bubbles after lamination. The final step was to place a load on the composite to give pressure and stored the composite at room temperature for a period 24 hours to allow gelling and curing to progress before removal.

Another sample with three layer of bamboo orientation were B0?/C/B0?/C/B0?. First, the mixture was poured inside the mould until it covered the lower surface. Then, 5 bamboo strips were placed slowly in longitudinally direction on the top of the lower surface to wet it. Afterwards, the mixture was poured on the top surface of the strips and spread in one direction by using a scraper to ensure that the resin fully enclosed the strips. EPS foam were placed slowly on top of wet bamboo strips and the mixture was poured immediately on top of it afterwards. Later,5 bamboo strips were arranged slowly in longitudinally direction on the top of wet EPS foam. A mixture was poured immediately on the top surface of the strips. EPS foam were placed slowly once again on top of wet bamboo strips and the mixture was poured immediately on top of it afterwards. Another 5 bamboo strips were placed slowly in longitudinally direction on top of wet bamboo strips and followed with the mixture was poured on top surfaces of bamboo strips to wet it. A scrapper was used to          eliminate all air bubbles possible and also to make sure the resin filled every corner of the mould by spread the resin in one direction. The HDPE plastic was placed on top of the hybrid composite to avoid the formation of air bubbles after lamination. The final step was to place a load on the composite to give pressure and stored the composite at room temperature for a period 24 hours to allow gelling and curing to progress before removal.     

Conclusion

The epoxy composites of bamboo fibre reinforced with non-reinforcing filler were made to evaluate the effect of CaCO3 filler and coating treatment on physical and mechanical properties of the composite. From the results of this study, the following conclusions are drawn: 1) Incorporation of filler in bamboo fibre composites enhance the properties of the resulting composites. 2) Increasing number of bamboo layer significantly does not influence the flexural strength of laminate bamboo sequence. 3) Epoxy coating gives optimum water absorption up to (0.570%). 4) The bamboo fibres were successfully treated with epoxy to produce a thin layer of epoxy coating that will protect the fibre structure and strengthen the bond between the fibres.

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Copyright

Copyright © 2023 Nur Farhana Ahmad Suruji, Ahmad Zafir Romli. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.