CaCO3 in situ treated bamboo pulp fiber reinforced composites obtained by vacuum-assisted resin infusion

The aim of this study is to investigate the properties of CaCO3 in situ treated bamboo pulp fiber (BPF) composites that have been filled with epoxy resin by means of vacuum-assisted resin infusion (VARI). Un-treated and treated BPF were processed at a pressure of 0.24 MPa into BPF preforms. VARI was used to infuse epoxy resin through the BPF preforms to make BPF composites. The flexural properties, impact property, and thermal properties of the BPF composites were analyzed. CaCO3 with the loading of 30 wt% affects the performance of the composites. The flexural strength did not decrease and modulus of the treated BPF composites increased by 9.38%, while the impact strength decreased by 50.98%, compared to the control sample. Dynamic mechanical analysis revealed the maximum elastic moduli of the treated specimens increased by 1.19 times in the temperature range of −20 to 120 °C. The thermal decomposition temperature of the composites was influenced by the effect of the crystal field and size effect of CaCO3.