Physical and mechanical properties of the cement composite with makino bamboo fibers disintegrated by alkali treatment

In this study, disintegrated bamboo fibers (DBFs) were extracted from alkali-treated makino bamboo sticks (BSs). The chemical compositions and tensile properties of DBFs were investigated using Fourier transform infrared (FTIR), X-ray diffraction (XRD), thermogravimetric (TG) analysis, and tensile tests. The results indicated that a change in functional groups, a reduction in the crystallinity index, and better thermal stability were observed for DBFs than for BSs. Regardless of the collapse of parenchyma cells and separation and twist of the fibers on the surface of the DBF, its average tensile strength and tensile modulus were 204 MPa, and 13 GPa, respectively. Additionally, DBFs were added into a cement matrix to fabricate bamboo fiber/cementitious composites (BCCs). The apparent density and most of the mechanical properties of BCCs decreased when the addition of the DBFs increased above 1 wt%. However, the BCC with 1 wt% of DBFs showed the lowest drying shrinkage and a slight increase in the specific energy under tensile testing. Accordingly, the results showed that 1 wt% DBFs as an adequate content is proposed to be added into the cement.