Effect of Interfacial Bonding Characteristics on Physical, Mechanical and Fire Performance of Bamboo Fibre Reinforced Composites

This chapter reviewed the influence of interfacial bonding characteristics of bamboo fiber on the composites’ mechanical, physical, thermal, and fire performance. Because of their complete biodegradability and renewability, being economical, non-toxic, non-abrasive and environmentally friendly, having high aspect ratio, socio-economical advantage and strong mechanical performances, bamboo fibers are considered promising reinforcements for polymer composites. As an alternative to petroleum-based or synthetic materials, bamboo also has the potential to be used in biopolymer composites, which can be utilized as construction, building, architectural and other advanced materials. However, strong and substantial interfacial bonding of the bamboo fibers with the polymer matrix is required to create high-end load bearing composites. Therefore, it is critical to achieve a good fiber-matrix interaction, resulting in lesser voids and better adhesion and mechanical properties. Thus, most bamboo fibers are treated, hybridized, laminated, and coupled using chemical agents to enhance the fiber-matrix bonding, which in turn enhances the performance. The detailed understanding of the aspects of fiber-matrix interaction and their respective influences on the various properties of the bamboo composites are given in this chapter, along with the superiority of the bamboo fibers in being used as the polymer reinforcement.