CONSIDERATION OF BAMBOO AS A NATURAL COMPOSITE MATERIAL

The microstructure of bamboo was investigated and correlated with the mechanical properties of this material under tensile and flexural stresses. The netural structure of bamboo was found to contain characteristics similar to fibre-reinforced composites; thick-walled fibrous cells of the filamentous}unidirectionally aligned vascular bundles were embedded within a matrix of soft and thin-walled parenchymatous cells.The fibre content was non-uniformly distributed within the wall thickness and found to accentuate from the interior to the exterior surface. Test bamboo strips were prepared from internodal sections by cutting into sectors and further splitting circumferentially into specimens of about 1 mm thick, the fibre contents of which were determined by inspection under a microscope.Under tensile stress, Young's modulus was linearly related to fibre content as well as tensile strength.When bending stress was applied, a linear relationship was again found between the bending modulus and fibre density.