2011 Fourth International Conference on Intelligent Computation Technology and Automation

Study on bamboo conditions for processing bamboo fiber

Wei Zhang 1,a Wenbin Yao 1,b
1
School of Engineering, Zhejiang A&F University, Linan 311300, China
a
fany_88@sina.cn
b
teryugr@sohu.com

Abstrct The plasticity and strength of bamboo
were required in processing bamboo fiber by
machine. The aim of this work is to explore
changes of mechanical properties lengthways
tensile properties of bamboo after alkali
treatment and focuses on a relation between
lengthways tensile properties of alkali treated
bamboo and the moisture content. Experiment
shows that: above fibre saturation point, the
lengthways tensile strength of bamboo
increased with decrease of the moisture content
with NaOH 2.5% soaking for 24h and bamboo
plastic is good where the moisture content is
between 40% ~ 90%. Mechanism of plastic
deformation of bamboo was initially revealed in
this paper. Thus, moisture content of bamboo
was should controlled in 40 ~ 90% in
processing thick bamboo fiber.
Keywords: bamboo fiber; lengthways tensile
properties; moisture content; bamboo
Intreduce
Bamboo is a ideal material used in
composite material and structure material owing
to its fast growing, wide distribution, excellent
performance and renewable capability. In recent
years, the bamboo fiber gets more and more
people's attention [1~2].
According to the preparation process of
bamboo fiber, bamboo pretreatment is required
generally. Purpose of pretreatment is to improve
plasticity and retain enough strength of bamboo.
The practice of making bamboo fiber showed
that the quality of fiber is closely related to
bamboo conditions and main factor is humidity
for alkali treated bamboo. In the previous study,
above fibre saturation point, mechanical
properties of bamboo are basic unchanged.
After alkali treatment, relation between
mechanical properties of bamboo and moisture
content is not been reported. Natural bamboo
can be taken as unidirectional fibre reinforced
composite, macro is anisotropic [3].Bamboo is
under tensile state parallel to the grain mostly in
processing bamboo fibre by rolling method and
combing method.Therefore, lengthways tensile
properties of bamboo were studies in the paper.
According to pretreatment process of
bamboo with 2.5% NaOH solution for 24h,the
properties was compared betweend untreated
bamboo and softening treated bamboo under
stretching parallel to the grain a relation
between the mechanical strength and moisture
content under stretching parallel to the grain
was discussed.In bamboo,the green bamboo is
a ideal for making fiber [4] and moso bamboo
is yield large and wide distribution , moso
bamboo and greed bamboo were selected in this
work.
Experements materal and method
The specimen used in this experiment was
harvested at 1 years of age that moso bamboo
from Linan city in Zhejiang province and the
green bamboo from Wenzhou city in Zhejiang
province. The specimens for the contrast
experiment of alkali treatment were made by
upper bamboo and the specimens for moisture
content experiment were made by mid-height of
bamboo. The size of bamboo specimen
according to GB/T 15780-1995 bamboo

978-0-7695-4353-6/11 $26.00 2011 IEEE 213

198
DOI 10.1109/ICICTA.2011.340
physical and mechanical properties test method,
Specimens were softened with 2.5% NaOH
solution for 24h. The test of bamboo specimens
was performed on WDW-500 universal material
testing machine with microcomputer-controlled,
the load speed was selected 3mm/min.loading
experiment curve was automatic painted by
computer.
The tensile testing curve of virgin and alkali
treated bamboo is shown in figure 1 , tensile
testing curve of moso bamboo and green
bamboo after alkali treatment under different
moisture content is shown in figure 2 and in
figure 3 respectively.



1 2
Stress/MPa







          
Strain

1-untreated bamboo 2-alkali treated bamboo

Fig.1 Stress-strain curve of untreated bamboo and softening treated bamboo
with alkali under stretching parallel to the grain




03D

5

Stress/MPa

 4
3

1 2

          

Strain
Moisture content     

Fig. 2 Stress-strain curve of moso bamboo under stretching parallel to the

grain with different moisture content

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214
 


5
4
Stress/MP
03D

3

2

1

      

Strain

Moisture content
Fig. 3 Stress-strain curve of green bamboo under stretching parallel to the grain
with different moisture content

Results and discussions Bamboo specimen after alkali treatment,

through elastic , yield , plastic stage, last testing
Bamboo is a natural biomaterial and are
machine automatically unloaded where strain or
composed of fibres and matrix. bamboo fiber
elongation is 10% and fiber bundle were
strength far outweigh the matrix strength [5].
fractured. Elongation of bamboo without soft
Based on the theory of composite material [6],
treatment is 4% and plastic elongation of
bamboo strength under stretching parallel to
bamboo increased to 10% after alkali treatment.
the grain depends on bamboo fiber strength. A
Because the evaluation standard for plastic of
bamboo fibre contains many fibrils which are
bamboo is not been reported and according to
together by colloid.Therefore, we could think
the standard of metal material for plastic or
that tensile strength of bamboo depends on
brittle character, virgin bamboo is brittle
single fibril and their bonding strength and
material and bamboo after alkali treatment
bamboo plastic elongation depends on slip
changes as plastic material,which provide a
deformation between single fiber mainly.
theoretical basis to build mechanical model in
1) Mechanical property of untreatment and
bamboo fiber making.
alkali treatment bamboo under stretching
Change of bamboo characters owing to the
parallel to the grain
colloid between single fibers and in matrix were
Figure 1 shows stress-strain curve of
extracted partly with alkaline soaking. Colloid
untreated and softening treated moso bamboo
strength increased between single fibers with
under stretching parallel to the grain (moisture
bamboo drying and decrease of moisture
content is 18%), 1 is untreated bamboo and 2 is
content and single fiber become more closely.
alkali treated bamboo in figure 1. Tensile
Therefore, Tensile strength of alkali treated
strength of bamboo not change and but plastic
bamboo not change or increased slightly .
of bamboo increased significantly after alkali
2 Relation between lengthways
treatment. Bamboo without soft treatment in the
mechanical properties of alkali treated bamboo
tensile process ,first elastic stage ,then yield and
and moisture content
small plastic deformation stage, last brittle
According to the fig.2 and fig.3, The curve
fracture was occurred on cross-section in
of a relation between the lengthways tensile
specimen where strain or elongation is 4%.

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215
strength and moisture content is shown in fig. 4.

Tensile strength MPa

 moso bamboo
 green bamboo





    
M oisture content(%)

Fig.4 Change of the tensile strength parallel to the grain of

alkali treated bamboo with moisture content

Figure 4 shows the lengthways tensile increased with bamboo became drying or
strength of bamboo increased with decrease of decrease of moisture content. Their relation was
moisture content. The strength of bamboo linear regressed, regression equation and
increased is owing to strength of colloid correlation coefficient were entered table 1.

Tab.1 Lengthways tensile strength and moisture content regression of bamboo

bomboo regression equation correlation coefficientR2

moso bomboo y = -48.7x + 259.1 0.9878

green bomboo y = -24.1x + 137.1 0.9941

y- tensile strength x- moisture content

Table 1 illustrates linear regression is good, regression equation.

so change of the lengthways tensile strength According to the fig.2 and fig.3, change of
of alkali treated bamboo with the moisture elongation along the grain of bamboo with
content could were estimated according to moisture content is shown in figure 5.
moso bamboo
 green bamboo
Elongation rate


%






    
Moisture content %
Fig.5 Change of elongation of alkali treated bamboo with
moisture content

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 Figure 5 shows that the elongation of
bamboo was affected by moisture content.
Above fibre saturation point, elongation
increased with increase of moisture content and
moso bamboo and green bamboo reach
maximum valve respectively where moisture
content is 50% and 70%, elongation dropped
significantly with moisture content of bamboo
more than 90% and elongation is only 4% in
110%. Elongation of bamboo more than 10%
and plastic is better where moisture content is
between 40% ~ 90% .
Sliding move between single fiber were
occured with load increase in the plastic
deformation stage of alkali soaking bamboo,
sliding length depends on the bonding strength
between single fibers. Strength of the colloid
between single fibers increased with decrease of
the moisture content. The colloid between
single fibers is low intensity where moisture
content is 110% and degumming was occurred
soon at stretching, Slippage between single fiber
is maximum with moisture content in 50-70%.
Colloid strength increased and ductility
decreased with the decrease of moisture content
continual and lead to decrease of elongation and
reduce of plastic for bamboo.
Conclutions
1) The virgin bamboo is brittle material, alkali
treated bamboo with NaOH 2.5% soaking for
24h could was modified to plastic
material(moisture content 18% ).
2) After soaking bamboo by NaOH 2.5% for
24h, lengthways mechanical properties were
closely related with moisture content. Tensile
strength increased with decrease of the moisture
content and fitting linear. Elongation of bamboo
is more than 10% where moisture content is
40% ~ 90%. Therefore, moisture content of
bamboo should was controlled between 40 ~
90% in processing thick bamboo fiber by
machine.
3) Lengthways tensile strength of bamboo after
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217
alkali treatment depends on bonding strength in
single fibers and plastic elongation of bamboo
depending on the slip deformation between
single fibers.
Reference
1 Yao Wenbin: 'how to extract bamboo fibers from raw
bamboo and their applications', 2007 the Japanese
bamboo fiber seminars, the subject of academic
reports. Kyoto Japan, (2007)
2 Zhang Wei, Yao Wenbin, Li Wenbin:Transactions of
the CSAE.Vol. 24 (2008), p.308 (In Chinese)
3 Zhang Wei, Li Wenbin,Yao Wenbin:Journal of
Beijing Forestry University. Vol.29(2007), p.63 (In
Chinese)
4 Zhang Wei: Theoretical and Experimental Research
of Mechanical Method for Processing Bamboo
Fiber. chapter,4,Beijing Forestry University,(2009).
(In Chinese)
5 A. K. RAY, S. MONDAL, S. K. DAS: Journal of
Materials Science.Vol. 40(2005), p.5249
6 Shen Guanlin, Hu Gengkai: Mechanics of Composite
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Press ,(2006). (In Chinese)
Acknowledgements
This research was supported by Natural Science
Foundation of Zhejiang Province [Y3090261] and
Major Projects of Zhejiang Province[2007C12066].
The authors would like to express our special
appreciation for Fund Committee and Science and
Technology Department of Zhejiang Province.