Mechanical properties of laminated bamboo composite as a sustainable green material for fishing vessel: Correlation of layer configuration in various mechanical tests

With the increased emphasis on the need to use recyclable bio-based materials and a better understanding of the mechanical properties of laminated bamboo, there is currently a great deal of interest in developing a new generation of low-cost bamboo-based composites for use in fishing vessels. Laminated bamboo composites (LBCs) comprised of Apus bamboo (Gigantochloa apus) and fibreglass mats were investigated to obtain the mechanical characteristics. The LBC with 45 degrees/-45 degrees cross-fibre directions combined with chopped strand mat fibreglass was developed under different layers and mass fractions with the same composite thickness. The influence of different numbers of laminated bamboo layers (3-7 layers) on several mechanical testings, including impact tests using ASTM D256, bending tests using ASTM D7264, tensile tests using ASTM D3039, V-notched beam test using ASTM D7078, and lap shear tests using ASTM D5868 standard, were carried out. The result showed that the strategy in improving the strength properties of LBCs could be achieved by using a thinner bamboo lamina with a higher number of bamboo layers. It was found that bamboo composites with 7 layers with a higher epoxy mass matrix had superior mechanical properties than those with 3 and 5 layers at the same thickness. Another finding revealed that adding fibreglass mat to current LBCs improved mechanical properties compared to previous research, explicitly bending strength increased by about 4.02-7.56% and tensile strength in the range of 12.44-17.73%. It can be found that only specimen with 7 layers fulfils the Indonesian Bureau Classification's bending and tensile strength threshold.