Tensile behavior of woven basalt fiber reinforced composites at high strain rates

Basalt fiber reinforced composites have a great potential to be used for high performance automotive and aeronautical components. Since these components might be subjected to impact loads, studying the behavior of basalt fiber composites at high strain rates is, therefore, important. The aim of this paper is to study the tensile behavior of woven basalt fiber reinforced epoxy composites at high strain rates in both warp and fill directions. Experiments were carried out using a split Hopkinson tensile bar facility. During the tests, full-field strain measurements were performed using high speed stereo digital image correlation. Reference quasi-static experiments were also performed. As such, the strain rates covered in this study ranged from 0.0006 s(-1) to approx. 150 s(-1). Results showed that the woven basalt epoxy composite was strain rate sensitive in both warp and fill directions. An increase in stiffness, Poisson's ratio, ultimate tensile strength, and ultimate tensile strain was observed with the increase of strain rate. Post mortem analysis of the fractured specimens using scanning electron microscopy revealed that the failure morphology was independent of the strain rate. Delaminations were present at all strain rates, however, a more homogeneous distribution of delaminations over the gauge section was observed with the increase of strain rate. Compared to conventional composites, the tested woven basalt epoxy composite showed excellent energy absorption capabilities at high strain rates, which can make this material a good candidate for impact resistant components.