Investigation of basalt fiber composite mechanical properties for applications in transportation

New materials offer the promise of innovative applications in transportation. One such new material is basalt fiber, which is used in other industries because of documented strengths [Ramakrishnan et al., Performance Evaluation of 3-D Basalt Fiber Reinforced Concrete and Basalt Rod Reinforced Concrete, NCHRP-IDEA Program Project Final Report, Transportation Research Board, Washington, DC, 1998]. Use in transportation, however, requires a better knowledge of many properties. This article discusses initial work with basalt-reinforced polymer composites. Polymer composites reinforced by basalt fabric and glass fabrics were produced for these tests. Void content below 3% were measured for all the composites produced for the testing program. No significant differences in Young's modulus, tensile strength, flexure strength, shear strength, and compression strength were found between basalt composites and glass composites. Environmental durability testing of basalt composites is ongoing.