The influence of using cement on the residual properties of fly ash geopolymer concrete (FAGC) after exposure to high temperature of up to 800 °C was studied in terms of mass loss, residual compressive strength and microstructure. The mass loss was found to increase with the increase of exposure temperature, which is attributed to vaporization of water and dehydroxylation of sodium aluminosilicate hydrate (N-A-S-H) gels. The dehydroxylation of calcium silicate hydrate (C-S-H) gels and the disintegration of portlandite were responsible for higher mass loss ratio of FAGCs containing cement. The results showed that cement could increase compressive strength of FAGCs up to 200 °C, after which a significant reduction in residual strength was observed. It was found that FAGCs without cement yielded higher residual strength than the original strength after heating up to 600 °C. The observed increase of compressive strength up to 200 °C was attributed to the secondary geopolymerization which was evidenced in the scanning electronic microscopy (SEM) images.

Bamboo is known as a typical kind of functional gradient natural composite. In this paper, fiber bundles were extracted manually from various parts of the stem in the radial direction, namely the outer, middle, and inner parts. After heat treatment, the mechanical properties of the fiber bundles were studied, including the tensile strength, elastic modulus, and fracture modes. The micromechanical properties of the fiber cell walls were also analyzed. The results showed that the mean tensile strength of the bamboo fiber bundles decreased from 423.29 to 191.61 MPa and the modulus of elasticity increased from 21.29 GPa to 27.43 GPa with the increase in temperature. The elastic modulus and hardness of the fiber cell walls showed a positive correlation with temperature, with the modulus of elasticity and the hardness increasing from 15.96 to 18.70 GPa and 0.36 to 0.47 GPa, respectively. From the outside to the inside of the bamboo stems, the tensile strength and elastic modulus showed a slight decrease. The fracture behavior of the fiber bundles near the outside approximates ductile fracture, while that of the bundles near to the inside tend to be a brittle fracture. The fracture surfaces of the bamboo bundles and the single fibers became smoother after heat treatment. The results show that bamboo fiber bundles distributed near the outside are most suitable for industrial development under heat treatment at 180 °C. Therefore, this study can provide a reasonable scientific basis for the selective utilization, functional optimization, and bionic utilization of bamboo materials, which has very important theoretical and practical significance.