<i>Bambusa vulgaris</i>: determination of mechanical strength as bio-composite material

Abstract

This research examined the mechanical properties of the developed bio-composite material. The manufactured bio-composite was made from combinations of two materials, which are bamboo scientifically named as Bambusa Vulgaris and a polymer named HDPE. The main objective of this paper is to expose the performance of a bio-composite material in term of its tensile strength value. This parameter is considered as the critical advantage of the developed bio-composite material to be proposed in building structure applications. The possibility of replacing conventional materials used in structure application with the proposed material was also explored in this study. The bio-composite was manufactured using WPC technique before it becomes a solid bio-composite material. The tensile strength of this bio-composite material was measured using an experiment that follows ASTM D638 standard.

Keywords: Bambusa Vulgaris; bio-composite; mechanical strength; tensile test