Quasi-Static Compression Properties of Bamboo and PVC Tube Reinforced Polymer Foam Structures

In recent years, there has been a growing interest for composite materials due to the superior capability to absorb energy and lightweight factor. These properties are compatible to be utilized in the development for transportation system as it can reduce the fuel consumption and also minimize the effect of crash to the passenger. Therefore, the aim for this project is to study the compression strength and energy absorbing capability for Polyvinyl chloride (PVC) and bamboo tubes reinforced with foam. Several parameters are being considered, these being the effect of single and multiple tube reinforced foam structure, foam density, diameter of the tube as well as effect of different crosshead speed. The results showed that increasing the relative foam density will led to an increase in the compression strength and specific energy absorption (SEA) values. Furthermore, a significant increase of compression strength can be seen when several tubes are introduced into the foam while SEA remained almost the same. Finally, the influence of crosshead below 20 mm/min did not vary significantly for both compression strength and SEA.