Enhancing mechanical strength of bamboo parring (Gigantochloa Atter) fiber with alkaline treatment for flame-retardant composite

Abstract

Abstract Parring bamboo fiber ( Gigantochloa Atter ), or PaBFeR, has the potential to be a composite reinforcing with mechanical properties that can be improved through alkali/ Sodium Hydroxide (NaOH) and flame retardant (FR) treatment. This study evaluated the effect of NaOH treatment with concentration variations of 3%, 5%, 7%, and 11% and immersion times of 45, 90, and 135 min on the mechanical properties of PaBFeR. Mechanical testing involves a single fiber tensile test, PaBFeR (S-PaBFeR-TST), with ASTM D3779 standard, and PaBFeR single fiber pull-out test (S-PaBFeR-POT). The test results showed that excessive NaOH treatment (NaOH 7% to 11%) reduced the mechanical strength of PaBFeR. Optimal results obtained at 5% NaOH for 45 resulted in a fiber tensile strength of 249.54 ± 0.11 MPa, tensile strain of 3.35 ± 0.01%, and shear strength of 14.47 ± 0.69 MPa without fiber pulled out from the matrix (0% pull-out). This value was validated by the significant difference in values from other samples with ANOVA (P Value < 0.05) and the Tukey HSD comparison showing differences in all sample groups during NaOH treatment. Furthermore, the fibers with this optimal treatment (NaOH5%45) were treated with flame retardant (FR) for 30, 45, and 60 min. The test results showed that excessive FR inhibitor treatment duration (45 min to 60 min) decreased the mechanical performance and adhesion of the matrix and PaBFeR. The 30-min FR treatment showed the best performance with an increase in tensile strain up to 4.59 ± 0.23%, while the tensile strength of the fiber decreased slightly to 245.81 ± 0.14 MPa, and the shear strength to 12.82 ± 0.07 MPa. These results validated the significant difference in values from other samples with ANOVA (P Value < 0.05) and the Tukey HSD comparison showing differences in all sample groups during FR inhibitor treatment. These findings contribute to developing PaBFeR-based natural fiber-based composite materials for applications in environments requiring high mechanical and thermal resistance.

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