Basalt/Glass Fiber Polypropylene Hybrid Composites: Mechanical Properties at Different Temperatures and under Cyclic Loading and Micromechanical Modelling

Abstract

Basalt/glass fiber polypropylene hybrid composites were developed as subjects of investigation, with the aim to characterize their properties. An injection molding machine was used to produce the test samples. The following three different tests, at various specimen temperatures, were conducted: tensile test, three-point flexural test, and Charpy impact test. To determine fatigue behavior, the samples were uniaxially loaded and unloaded. Mechanical hysteresis loops were recorded and the dissipation energy of each loop was calculated. To determine the adhesion and dispersion between the fibers and the matrix, the fractured surfaces of the various specimens, after the tensile test, were investigated using a scanning electron microscope. The results show that the production of a composite with both basalt and glass fibers, in a polypropylene matrix with maleic anhydride-grafted polypropylene, can be successfully achieved. The addition of the two types of fibers increased the tensile strength by 306% and the tensile modulus by 333% for a composition, with 20% by weight, of fibers. The material properties were estimated with the help of a simulation software, and validated with a FEA. A satisfactory correlation between the simulation and measurement data was achieved. The error lays in a range of 2% between the maximum stress values. At a lower strain (up to 0.02), the stress values are very well matched.

Quantitative and Qualitative Aspects of Composite Action of Concrete and Dispersion-Reinforcing Fiber

“…A brittle fracture most often occurs along certain crystallographic planes inside grains. This so-called intragranular fracture can be realized by cleavage and shearing, which differ in the type of fracture surfaces [1][2][3][4][5].…”

Theoretical and Experimental Substantiation of the Efficiency of Combined-Reinforced Glass Fiber Polymer Composite Concrete Elements in Bending

“…Using various types of fibers in concrete, the parameters of the distribution of fibers in the body of concrete and the recipe factors for obtaining fiber-reinforced concretes with improved characteristics have been studied in many works [9,[17][18][19][20][21][22][23][24][25][26][27]. The effect of fiber on the structure and characteristics of concrete products and structures was studied under the influence of high temperatures [17,21].…”

Processing and Mechanical Properties of Basalt Fibre-Reinforced Thermoplastic Composites

“…Basalt fibre is a bio-derived mineral fibre from volcanic rocks and has several advantages, such as good chemical resistance and mechanical properties [ 1 , 2 , 3 , 4 , 5 , 6 ]. Basalt fibre has similar tensile properties as glass fibres and has a higher maximum service temperature than glass and carbon fibres, as shown in Table 1 .…”

“…However, the research for thermoplastic composites is less established than that for thermoset composites due to issues such as fibre-matrix compatibility, high processing temperatures, and processing difficulty [ 13 , 14 , 15 , 16 ]. Regarding basalt fibre reinforced thermoplastics BFRTP), most of studies have been focused on short basalt fibre composites with thermoplastic matrices including polypropylene (PP), polypropylene/poly(butylene terephthalate) and poly(vinylidene fluoride)/poly(methyl methacrylate) blends for manufacturing with injection moulding process [ 2 , 3 , 4 , 16 , 17 , 18 ]. The mechanical properties of the short-fibre composites were limited by the loading of the fibres, in which the fibre loading was recommended at lower than 20% wt.…”