Performance Assessment of Bamboo Bond Strength in Fly Ash Replaced Cement Mortar

Abstract

The novelty of this study is on the combined experimental and statistical methodology-based approach, which is showcased to predict and optimise bamboo-mortar bond strength, incorporating the effect of various material factors affecting it. Design of experiments was used to quantify the impact of multiple factors affecting the bond strength. Firstly, different experimental pull-out tests were conducted in the laboratory to determine the effect of various factors such as water-cement ratio, curing days, cement to sand ratio, fly ash content and bamboo treatment on bond strength development. Three failure patterns, namely bamboo failure, bond failure, and failure of mortar, were observed. Secondly, using a two-level full factorial design method, different statistical models were formulated. These models (M1- Untreated, M2 - Both treated and untreated) were developed based on bamboo surface treatment. The effect of single factors and their interactions were quantified on bond strength development. The developed models were validated to predict bond strength based on different factors. It was concluded that the developed statistical models predicted and simulated the experimental behaviour of bond strength with sufficient accuracy.