LAUSR

Cement by-pass dust (CBPD) is a by-product of cement manufacturing plants, whereas the cenosphere flyash is generated by the coal based power plants. Cenosphere flyash and CBPD were used as particulate fillers to manufacture the bidirectional bamboo fiber reinforced polymer composites. In the present work two different sets of composites were fabricated using normal bidirectional bamboo fibers for one set and the alkali treated bidirectional bamboo fibers for the other set. For each set, filler materials were introduced with varying composition to fabricate the different samples. The fabricated samples are proposed to have a large number of industrial and civil engineering applications. In order to check their long term suitability, chemical resistance and water absorption properties were studied and a comparative analysis has been carried out between the different levels of fillers for both sets of composites. Composite samples with fillers were found to have good chemical resistance toward acids, solvents, and alkalis. These composites have also shown better water resistance over the corresponding neat composites (without fillers).