Feasibility study of using basalt fibers in sheet molding compounds (SMC)
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Copyright 2017. Used by the Society of the Advancement of Material and Process Engineering with permission. The focus of this study is to explore the feasibility of using Basalt fibers (BF) in sheet molding compounds (SMC) as an alternative to glass fibers (GF). Basalt fibers are made from basalt rock and their high strength and modulus, thermal insulation, low environmental and economical cost make them a potential alternative to traditionally used reinforcements such as glass and carbon fibers in polymer composites. The interfacial fiber/matrix interactions, mechanical properties, i.e. tensile, flexural and impact, as wells thermomechanical properties of both short GF/epoxy and BF/epoxy composites made by compression molding of the corresponding SMC were investigated. It was found that the interfacial shear strength determined from single fiber fragmentation tests was similar for both fiber types. The storage modulus of the BF/epoxy composites was higher than that of GF/epoxy in glassy state. Also, the average tensile and flexural properties (both absolute and specific values) of the BF/epoxy SMC composites were higher or at least equal to those of GF/epoxy SMC composites. Furthermore, there was no significant difference in the impact strength of two composite types considering the statistical variation associated with the testing. In general, BF/epoxy SMC composites showed better or equal mechanical performance compared to GF/epoxy SMC composites suggesting a cost effective alternative reinforcement for industrial applications.
