The Experimental Study on the Structural Performance of Laminated Beams Made from Sago Palm Stem Waste (Metroxylon sp) Based on Compressive Strength

Abstract

Sago is potential food resources in Indonesia, with an estimated area of 6.5 million hectares. The sago bark is a by-product waste generated from processing the sago trunk. After further study and analysis, it was found that sago bark waste has potential to be utilized as a construction material. One method is to laminate the sago bark.

The method in this study processing the sago bark waste into thin wood sheets, which are then laminated using polyvinyl acetate (PVAc) adhesive as the bonding agent. The laminated sheets were then pressed with varying pressures of 0.4 MPa, 0.6 MPa, and 0.8 MPa.For test the flexural strength of the laminated beams was tested using single  load method.

The results show the laminated sago bark sheets have the potential to be used for construction material. The modulus of elasticity (MoE) obtained from the flexural test was 4701.88 MPa for 0.4 MPa compressive, 5571.79 MPa for 0.6 MPa compressive, and 2765.07 MPa for 0.8 MPa compressive. The optimal compressive strength was found to be 0.6 MPa. In the classification, the laminated sago bark is categorized as Class V material.