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Abstract
The demand for sustainable and eco-friendly materials in the construction and furniture industries has led to a growing interest in composite materials derived from natural fibres. Bamboo and coir fibres, in particular have shown significant potential due to their renewable nature, low cost, and good mechanical and physical properties.
Fresh bamboo culms were processed and delignified using 0.1M sodium hydroxide solution. Powdered fibre was produced from the delignified and dried bamboo. Experimental composite samples were produced from the bamboo fibre combined with coir fibre and epoxy matrix. A mixture experimental design with three variables serving as mixture components was adopted in the study to plan the experiments and optimize the operating conditions (that is factor levels
of the input variable) of the produced composite with respect to the predicted response parameters. Models were formulated to predict tensile stress, modulus of elasticity, thickness swelling and water absorption. From the results obtained, the optimum percentage mixture of the composite produced were 42.2%bamboo fibre, 35% epoxy and 22.8% coir fibre. With this mix, the values of tensile stress, modulus of elasticity, thickness swelling and water absorption for the composite
produced were obtained as 1.068MPa, 694.450MPa, 1.850% and 20.800% respectively. The composite possessed an overall desirable mechanical and physical properties and it is therefore recommended for deployment.
Fresh bamboo culms were processed and delignified using 0.1M sodium hydroxide solution. Powdered fibre was produced from the delignified and dried bamboo. Experimental composite samples were produced from the bamboo fibre combined with coir fibre and epoxy matrix. A mixture experimental design with three variables serving as mixture components was adopted in the study to plan the experiments and optimize the operating conditions (that is factor levels
of the input variable) of the produced composite with respect to the predicted response parameters. Models were formulated to predict tensile stress, modulus of elasticity, thickness swelling and water absorption. From the results obtained, the optimum percentage mixture of the composite produced were 42.2%bamboo fibre, 35% epoxy and 22.8% coir fibre. With this mix, the values of tensile stress, modulus of elasticity, thickness swelling and water absorption for the composite
produced were obtained as 1.068MPa, 694.450MPa, 1.850% and 20.800% respectively. The composite possessed an overall desirable mechanical and physical properties and it is therefore recommended for deployment.
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