J. Bamboo and Rattan, Vol. 4, No. 4, pp.

343– 352 (2005)

 VSP 2005.
Also available online - www.vsppub.com

Strength properties and potential uses of rattan–cement

composites

A. O. OLORUNNISOLA 1,∗ , A. PITMAN 2 and H. MANSFIELD-WILLIAM 2

1 Department of Agricultural and Environmental Engineering, University of Ibadan, Nigeria
2 Forest Products Research Centre, Buckinghamshire Chilterns University College,
High Wycombe, UK

Abstract—Wood–cement particleboard (WCP) was produced from rattan (Laccosperma secundiflo-

rum) particles. Contrary to conventional practice, the boards were fabricated in the laboratory without
pressure application. The effects of rattan particle size and content on the density and bending and
compressive strength properties of the boards were investigated. The boards were produced using two
rattan particle sizes, i.e., those passing through a 0.85 mm sieve but retained on 0.6 mm sieve, and a
50 : 50 mixture (by weight) of particles retained on 1.2 mm and 0.85 mm sieves, three cement–rattan
mixing ratios (by weight of cement) of 1 : 0.11, 1 : 0.19 and 1 : 0.25 respectively, i.e., rattan contents
of 10, 15 and 20%. Board density ranged between 764 and 1340 kg/m3 , indicating that the composite
is a lightweight concrete. The mean modulus of elasticity (MOE = 130.2–2830.7 N/mm2 ) and mod-
ulus of rupture (MOR = 0.8 and 5.2 N/mm2 ) of the boards decreased with increasing rattan particle
size and content. The mean compressive strength of boards (1.3–22.0 N/mm2 ) also decreased with
decreasing board density. Cement–rattan mixing ratio, rattan particle size and the interaction of both
variables had significant effects on the density, modulus of rupture and the compressive strength of the
composites. The density and the compressive strength properties of the composites suggest that they
could find suitable application in the production of insulation boards and bricks (with the addition of
sand), for erection of bearing walls in low-rise buildings.

Key words: Rattan–cement composite; bending strength; compressive strength.

INTRODUCTION
Rattans, a group of spiny climbing palms, are numbered among the important
commercial non-timber forest products in many parts of the tropics. They are
reputed to be the second-most important source of export earnings (after timber)
from tropical forests, accounting for about US$ 7000 million annually [1]. Although
most of the 600 identified rattan species are native to South and Southeast Asia,

∗ To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: abelolorunnisola@yahoo.com

344 A. O. Olorunnisola et al.

a few also grow in many parts of West Africa, including Nigeria. The most
commercially exploited part of rattans in Nigeria is their flexible stem, used mainly
for making cane furniture and other cane products [2].
Liese [3] reported that the loss due to waste during rattan cane processing into
furniture products is about 30%. Also, only between 8 and 20% of the 600 identified
rattan species are of any commercial value due to factors, such as relatively high
variability in the structural composition of the stem (within and between species),
inflexibility, susceptibility to breakage and poor mechanical properties [3, 4].
There is a need to explore alternative uses for rattans that will address the issues
of a relatively high level of waste during furniture production and under-utilization
of numerous species due to unacceptable quality attributes. One such alternative
use, yet to be fully explored, is in the production of cement-bonded particleboard.
Cement-bonded particleboard, a lightweight concrete produced from a mixture of
wood particles and cement, is used primarily for exterior and interior non-structural
applications such as cladding, ceiling and floor panels, as well as fire-resistant
partitions. These panels are environmentally friendly as they do not emit gasses
or leak harmful chemicals [5 –7].
A major advantage of the use of rattan in cement-bonded particleboard production
is the possibility of complete material utilisation, since there would be no need
for pre-sorting and discarding of canes, as is done in rattan furniture manufacture.
Even canes discoloured by staining fungi that are often discarded during furniture
manufacturing could be used for the manufacture of rattan-cement boards. This is
because, through their activities, these fungi (usually blue staining fungi) reduce
the quantities of low-molecular-weight sugars that tend to retard the hydration of
wood–cement mixtures [8 –10].
Few studies have been reported on the production of cement-bonded particleboard
using rattan. Olorunnisola and Adefisan [2] produced cement-bonded particleboard
using rattan furniture waste (in the form of strands), while Olorunnisola et al. [11]
investigated the hydration behaviour of rattan converted into particles and mixed
with Portland cement. However, currently there is a dearth of information on the
strength properties of rattan–cement particleboard products.
This work examines the strength properties of wood–cement particleboard (WCP)
manufactured using the rattan cane particles.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Material collection and preparation

Mature, freshly harvested rattan canes, sourced from the wild, were obtained
from harvesters at Sapele, Delta State, Nigeria. The canes, properly identified
anatomically as Laccosperma secundiflorum, were manually scraped (deglazed) to
remove the silicified epidermis (skin), air-dried for 4 weeks and hammer-milled.
The particles obtained after hammer-milling were sieved using a set comprising
 Strength properties and potential uses of rattan–cement composites 345

2.4 mm, 1.2 mm, 0.85 mm and 0.6 mm sieves. Thereafter, particles retained on
1.2 mm, 0.6 mm and 0.85 mm sieves, respectively, were kept for experimental
purposes. Portland cement of class strength 32.5 R grade (graded in accordance
with BS EN 197-1: 2000) [12], was procured for use.

Experimental design
Two variables used for composite production were rattan–cement mixing ratio (by
weight) and rattan particle size. The three cement/air-dry rattan mixing ratios used
were 1 : 0.11, 1 : 0.19, and 1 : 0.25, i.e., 10, 15 and 20% rattan contents, respectively,
while the two rattan particle sizes used were (a) rattan particles that passed through
the 0.85 mm sieve but retained on the 0.6 mm and (b) 50 : 50 mixture (by weight)
of rattan particles that passed through the 2.4 mm sieve but were retained on the
1.2 mm sieve, and those that passed through the 1.2 mm sieve but that were retained
on the 0.85 mm sieve.

Composite production and testing

For each composite, the rattan cane particles were dry-mixed manually in a
container with cement. Preliminary tests indicated that water-cement-aggregate
mixing ratio of 0.25 ml/g cement + 2.7 ml/g rattan, in accordance with Moslemi and
Lim [9], was adequate for producing a workable concrete. To minimize possible
contamination, distilled water was used for mixing. Mixing continued until the
particles were thoroughly coated with the cement paste. The blend was then poured
into a plastic mould and compacted with a tamping bar. The mould size for the
test specimens was 50 mm (length) × 50 mm (breadth) × 50 mm (height) for axial
compression strength test samples, and 250 mm (length)×50 mm (breadth)×50 mm
(height) for static bending strength test samples. The boards were kept in the mould
under wet cloth for 24 h.
After de-moulding, the composites were left under wet towels at normal room
temperature (20 ± 2◦ C) for another 6 days to prevent moisture loss through
evaporation. They were then transferred to a conditioning room maintained at a
constant temperature of 20 ± 2◦ C and a relative humidity of 65 ± 5% for another
21 days before testing. Prior to testing, each composite was weighed and its
dimensions measured. The green (wet) density of each specimen was calculated
by dividing the weight by its volume and the mean of three replicates was obtained.
Dry density was obtained by making corrections for the average moisture content
obtained from the fragments of the tested specimens.
The composites were tested for stiffness in bending, i.e., modulus of elasticity
(MOE), modulus of rupture (MOR) and compressive strength. The three-point
test approach was adopted for the bending tests. The specimens were loaded
perpendicular to the direction of casting on a 100 kN capacity servo-hydraulic
universal testing machine (UTM) and tested at cross-head speed of 0.5 mm/min.
The compression tests were conducted on the UTM at a crosshead speed of
346 A. O. Olorunnisola et al.

1 mm/min. The test results were subjected to statistical analysis involving analysis
of variance (ANOVA) and comparison of means using Student’s t-test.

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

Dry density of the composites
The densities of the rattan–cement composites produced using the two particle
sizes are shown in Table 1. The values obtained ranged between 764 kg/m3 (for
composites produced using a cement–rattan mixing ratio of 1 : 0.19, i.e., 20% rattan
content, and a mixture of 0.85 mm and 1.2 mm rattan particles) and 1340 kg/m3
(for composites produced using a cement–rattan mixing ratio of 1 : 0.11, i.e., 10%
rattan content and 0.6 mm rattan particles). Generally, the higher the rattan content,
the lower the composite density. This is a common phenomenon in wood–cement
composites since wood particles generally tend to have lower bulk densities always
than cement.
As shown in Fig. 1, the 0.6 mm rattan cane particles produced relatively denser
composites than the 0.85/1.2 mm particles. A possible reason for this is that smaller
Table 1.
Dry density of the rattan–cement composite boards

Board Rattan particle Rattan content in board Mean board density

code No. size (mm) (%) (kg/m3 )
1 0.6 10 1340 ± 27.4
2 0.6 15 1081 ± 40.9
3 0.6 20 937 ± 79.9
4 0.85 and 1.2 10 1272 ± 52.0
5 0.85 and 1.2 15 896 ± 33.1
6 0.85 and 1.2 20 764 ± 54.5

Figure 1. Effects of rattan content and particle size on board density.

 Strength properties and potential uses of rattan–cement composites 347

Table 2.
Analysis of variance on the effects of mixing ratio and particle size on properties of the composites

Source of Degrees Mean squares

variation of Density MOE MOR Compressive
freedom strength
Replication 2 1363.96 225 794.50 0.015 1.217
Treatment 5 150 517.99* 3 124 695.0* 8.87* 186.10*
Particle size (PS) 1 89 509.42* 71 472.24 5.41* 82.35*
Mixing ratio (MR) 2 32 536 473.0* 6 903 960.0* 16.17* 382.15*
PS × MR 2 6175.53 872 041.6* 3.30 41.92*
Error 10 1922.91 147 699.4 0.30 1.93
Coefficient of variation (%) 4.18 30.56 16.44 16.06
* Significant at 5% level.

particles are likely to be better bonded with the Portland cement (with a closer
particle size) than with bigger particles, thereby minimising the presence of air
voids. Analysis of variance (Table 2) showed that particle size and cement : rattan
mixing ratio both had significant effects on the density of the composites at 5%
level of significance. The interaction of both variable was, however, not significant,
suggesting that the effect of mixing ratio did not vary with the change in rattan
particle size.
The density of the rattan–cement composites fall within the density range for low
to moderate density categories of lightweight concrete, which is between 300 and
1350 kg/m3 [13]. The uses of such lightweight concrete range from the production
of non-structural thermal insulation materials to the fabrication masonry blocks
which requires the inclusion of sand in the mix.

Bending properties of the composites

The MOE and MOR values for the composites are shown in Table 3. MOE ranged
between 130 and 2830 N/mm2 , while MOR ranged between 0.8 and 5.2 N/mm2 .
For the rattan particle sizes used the MOE and MOR of the composites decreased
with increasing rattan particle size and content (Figs 2 and 3), with those produced
with 0.6 mm particles and 10% rattan content having the highest values.
The inverse relationship observed between bending properties and rattan particle
size conforms with the findings of Huang and Cooper [14] who noted that the
geometry of the furnish material, in terms of the particle length and the aspect ratio,
tends to influence the bending properties of wood- cement composites. MOE and
MOR tend to increase as the particle size decreases due to increase in adhesion
between cement and furnish. As shown in Table 2, the cement–rattan mixing ratio
had a significant effect (at 5% level of significance) on the MOE and the MOR of
the composites, while the rattan particle size had a significant effect only on the
MOR of the composites. The interaction of both variables also had a significant
348 A. O. Olorunnisola et al.

Table 3.
Mean strength properties of the rattan–cement composite boards

Board Rattan particle Rattan content in MOE MOR Compressive

code No. size (mm) board (%) (N/mm2 ) (N/mm2 ) strength
(N/mm2 )
1 0.6 10 2078 ± 1067 4.5 ± 0.6 22.0 ± 0.98
2 0.6 15 1243 ± 415 4.6 ± 0.3 9.0 ± 1.0
3 0.6 20 639 ± 139 2.5 ± 0.1 1.3 ± 0.96
4 0.85 and 1.2 10 2830 ± 391 5.2 ± 0.7 13.0 ± 0.85
5 0.85 and 1.2 15 620 ± 372 2.5 ± 1.2 3.8 ± 2.6
6 0.85 and 1.2 20 130 ± 27 0.8 ± 0.2 2.7 ± 0.4

Figure 2. Effects of rattan content and particle size on modulus of elasticity.

Figure 3. Effects of rattan content and particle size on modulus of rupture.

 Strength properties and potential uses of rattan–cement composites 349

effect only on the MOE of the composites. A comparison of means (at 5% level of
significance) between the two rattan particle sizes at the same mixing ratio however
showed that only the mean MOE values at 1 : 0.11 mixing ratio, i.e., 10% rattan
content, were significantly different from each other.
The flexural strength of the rattan–cement composites is relatively low compared
with that of composites made with wood/vegetable fibre-reinforced cement com-
posites [15]. The reason is that cement is weak in tension and hence requires some
kind of reinforcement to resist tensile stresses. In the present study, rattan particles
could not provide much reinforcement, as the aspect ratio and tensile strength were
relatively low. A possible means of increasing the stiffness of rattan–cement com-
posites is the use of additives such as aluminium sulphate, water glass and calcium
chloride (CaCl2 ). Olorunnisola and Adefisan [2] reported a general increase in the
MOE and MOR of rattan–cement composites treated with 2.5–3% (by weight of
cement) CaCl2 .

Compressive strength of the composites

The compressive strengths of the composites (Table 3) ranged from 1.3 to
22.0 N/mm2 . For the rattan particle sizes used, the compressive strength of the
composites decreased with decreasing composite density and increasing rattan par-
ticle size and content (Fig. 4). The compressive strength values fall within the range
of values reported by Karade [16] for cork–cement composites with 10–30% cork
incorporation, i.e., 1.05 to 26.18 MPa.
The cement–rattan mixing ratio, the rattan particle size and the combination of
both variables had significant effects on the compressive strength of the composites
(Table 2). A comparison of mean values of compressive strength (at 5% level
of significance) between the two rattan particle sizes at the same mixing ratio
however showed that the values obtained at 1 : 0.11 and 1 : 0.19 mixing ratios,
i.e., 10% and 20% rattan contents, respectively, were significantly different from
each other. Also, as shown in Fig. 5, there was a strong correlation (R 2 = 0.84)
between dry density and the mean compressive strength of the composites. This

Figure 4. Effects of rattan content and particle size on compressive strength.

350 A. O. Olorunnisola et al.

Figure 5. Correlation between density and compressive strength.

relationship again closely matches that of lightweight concrete produced from

cork waste by Karade [16], who used similar specimen sizes and test conditions.
He also reported an inverse relationship between cork granule particle size and
density/compressive strength of the cork–cement composites tested. A plausible
explanation for this phenomenon was provided by Li [17], who described the
effects of the presence of various fibres on the compressive strength of cementitious
materials. The strength properties of cement-based materials are influenced by
porosity (i.e., volume of voids). At low levels (0.5–1.0% by volume) of inclusion,
fibres enhance compressive strength by resisting the growth of cracks. However,
higher fibre content increases porosity of the composite material and results in
loss of compressive strength. Other possible reasons for an increase in porosity
at higher levels of rattan addition include the higher amount of water input and poor
compaction [16].
Even with the exclusion of sand in the mix, the compressive strength values
of all the composites, except those produced using 0.6 mm rattan particles and
1 : 0.19 cement–rattan mixing ratio, were higher than 1.4 N/mm2 , the recommended
compressive strength of for bricks for use as bearing walls for bungalows and
single-storey buildings in Nigeria [18]. Hence, the possibility of using rattan–
cement composite for wall construction in residential buildings in the country may
be explored.

CONCLUSIONS

Composites were produced from rattan (Laccosperma secundiflorum) using differ-

ent cement–rattan mixing ratios and rattan particle sizes. When tested for static
bending and axial compressive strength, composites with the lowest cement–rattan
 Strength properties and potential uses of rattan–cement composites 351

mixing ratio (1 : 0.11) and the smallest rattan particles (0.6 mm) gave the highest
density, bending and compressive strengths. Cement–rattan mixing ratio, rattan par-
ticle size and the interaction of both variables had significant effects on the density,
modulus of rupture and the compressive strength of the composites. The overall
compressive strength results indicated that using rattan particles as a lightweight
aggregate, even with the exclusion of sand in the mix, low to moderate strength (1.3
to 22 N/mm2 ) concrete, the type used in producing insulation boards and bricks for
erection of bearing walls in low-rise buildings could be made.

RECOMMENDATIONS

Based on the findings of this study the following areas of further research are
recommended:
1. Evaluation of the effects of incorporating various rattan particle sizes on the
density and strength properties of rattan–cement composites.
2. Investigations on the effects of compaction and chemical pre-treatment, e.g.,
CaCl2 addition, on the density and strength properties of rattan–cement com-
posites.
3. Experimental investigations on the thermal and acoustic properties of rattan–
cement composites.
4. Fabrication and field evaluation of actual rattan–cement composites for durabil-
ity and wider application.
5. Evaluation of other rattan species for rattan–cement composite production.

Acknowledgements
This study was conducted with a grant received from the John D. and Catherine T.
MacArthur Foundation through the University of Ibadan, Nigeria. The support is
hereby acknowledged with thanks.

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