Bamboo-Inspired Renewable, Lightweight, and Vibration-Damping Laminated Structural Materials for the Floor of a Railroad Car

It is important for the floor of railroad cars to be fitted with vibration- and noise-reducing, fire-resistant, and durable materials. In this study, inspired by a delicate and ordered bamboo gradient structure and excellent multilevel interfaces, we fabricated a laminated composite with characteristics similar to those of the bamboo structure using a simple and effective "top-down" method by laminating fast-growing wood, waste rubber, and bamboo charcoal plastic sheets made of bamboo processing residues. This composite material combines the unique advantages of a laminated structure design and composite interface bionics. The low density (0.73 g/cm3) of the laminated composite results in a specific modulus of 13.03 GPa cm3/g, a vibration damping ratio of 6.61%, and an impact toughness of 14.16 J/cm2, which is significantly higher than that of other wood-based composites used for high-speed rail floors, such as Birch plywood (BP). In addition, we also investigated the laminated composite bonding property, fire resistance, and fatigue performance. This biomimetic bamboo–wood composite material has great potential for application in fitting the floor of eco-friendly railway cars.