<![CDATA[This study aims to analyze the effect of adding montmorillonite (MMT) filler on the impact toughness, fire resistance, and fracture morphology of Petung bamboo fiber-oriented epoxy composites intended for boat hull applications. The bamboo fibers underwent a 20% Na₂CO₃ concentration soaking treatment for 48 hours. Composites were fabricated using the hand lay-up method with a 60% epoxy matrix and three variations of MMT filler-to-bamboo fiber volume fractions: 1%:39%, 2%:38%, and 3%:37%. Impact testing followed the ASTM E23 standard, while burning rate testing adhered to ASTM D635. The results indicate that increasing the MMT percentage reduced the composite's impact toughness due to particle agglomeration. The highest impact toughness was achieved by the 1% MMT variation (2.156 J; 0.022 J/mm²), characterized by ductile fiber pull-out fractures, whereas the 3% MMT variation yielded the lowest toughness (1.474 J; 0.015 J/mm²) with a brittle fracture pattern. Conversely, the addition of MMT significantly improved the composite's fire resistance through the formation of a char layer. The best (slowest) burning rate was obtained with the 3% MMT variation (2.6 mm/min), followed by 2% MMT (3.3 mm/min) and 1% MMT (5.31 mm/min).]]>
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