Glass-basalt/epoxy hybrid composites for marine applications

The aim of this work is to evaluate the influence of uniaxial basalt fabric layers on the mechanical performances of a glass mat/epoxy composite used for marine applications. Polymer composites, reinforced by glass mat (GFRP), and hybrid ones, reinforced by glass mat and unidirectional basalt fabric, have been produced by vacuum bagging technique. Three points bending and tensile tests have been carried out in order to evaluate the effect of number and position of basalt layers on the mechanical properties of the investigated structures. The experimental tests have showed that the presence of two external layers of basalt involves the highest increase in mechanical properties of hybrid laminates compared to those of GFRP laminates. In addition, a simplified numerical model has been proposed to better understand the influence of unidirectional basalt on the specific mechanical properties of the laminates. The correspondence between the predicted numerical results and the experiments proves the accuracy of this model, which has also been applied to a real ship component. (C) 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.