Potassium‐Based Geopolymer Composites Reinforced with Chopped Bamboo Fibers
Abstract
Bamboo is a fast‐growing, readily available natural material with tensile specific strength equivalent to that of steel (250–625 MPa/g/cm3). In the pursuit of sustainable construction materials, a composite was made with potassium polysialate siloxo geopolymer as the matrix and randomly oriented chopped bamboo fibers (Guadua angustifolia) from the Amazon region as the reinforcement. Four‐point flexural strength testing of the geopolymer composite reinforced with bamboo fibers was carried out according to ASTM standard C78/C78M‐10e1. Potassium‐based metakaolin geopolymer reinforced with 5 wt% (8 vol%) untreated bamboo fibers yielded 7.5 MPa four‐point flexural strength. Scanning electron microscopy and optical microscopy were used to investigate the microstructure. In addition, X‐ray diffraction was used to confirm the formation of geopolymer.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Pub Defense Publication
- Publication Date
- Oct 06, 2016
- Source ID
- 10.1111/jace.14542
Entities
People
- Kaushik Sankar
- Marilene G. Sá Ribeiro
- Ruy A. Sá Ribeiro
- Waltraud M. Kriven
Organizations
- Air Force Office of Scientific Research
- National Council for Scientific and Technological Development
- University of Illinois Urbana–Champaign