A performance study on composites made from bamboo fabric and poly(lactic acid)

Abstract

The objective of this study is to investigate the performance of bamboo fabric–poly(lactic acid) composites manufactured by compression moulding. The effects of compression moulding parameters on the mechanical properties of the bamboo fabric–poly(lactic acid) composite sheets were evaluated. Optimum compression moulding parameters to achieve the “best” mechanical properties of the composites was determined using the Taguchi method of experimental design. A rheology test was also conducted to measure the viscosity of the poly(lactic acid) at different temperatures. The processing parameters were found to affect the consolidation and quality of the composites. It appeared that the impact strength of the bamboo fabric–poly(lactic acid) composites in warp direction was enhanced by 240% in comparison to pure poly(lactic acid), whereas the improvements of tensile and flexural properties were lower than expected. When compared with theoretical predictions, the measured values of warp and weft tensile modulus show good agreement than those predicted by rules of mixture. On the other hand, the experimental values of tensile strength were lower than theoretical values due to poor fibre matrix adhesion.