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Effect Of Heat Treatment On The Mechanical Properties In Natural Bamboo, Austin Levy, Mackenzie Kirkpatrick

Materials Engineering

Previous studies have shown that heat treatments have the ability to improve mechanical strength and stiffness in hardwood species. Compared to structural hardwoods, bamboo is a more sustainable and globally viable renewable resource. Therefore, Bambusoides vivax (timber bamboo) culms were fabricated into flat, rectangular cross-section samples with varying cellulose content to be heat treated and tested for mechanical properties. All samples were heat treated (HT) twice. The first HT was a normalization of all samples at 103 +/- 3 °C. The second HT was performed at various times and temperatures ranging from 130°C to 170°C for 0.5 to 3 hours. …