Basalt fibres: Mechanical properties and applications for concrete structures

Abstract

The use of advanced materials such as Fibre Reinforced Polymer (FRP), for reinforcing (internal reinforcement), prestressing (pre- or post-tensioning) or strengthening (externally bonded, near surface, textile reinforced mortar) of structures, have been gaining increasing interest worldwide. The effectiveness of the FRP techniques have been clearly confirmed by numerous experimental and field applications. This study focuses on the possible use of basalt fibres for FRP rebars or laminates. Basalt is a volcanic igneous rock that because of its high performance in terms of strength, corrosion resistance, temperature range, fire resistance and durability as well as lower potential, cost may effectively replace steel, glass and carbon fibres in many applications. The paper discusses, based on a literature review and some feasibility tests, the possible use of basalt fibres in relation to reinforcing and strengthening of concrete. Herewith, reference is made to (1) basalt fibre composite bars or rods for internal reinforcement, (2) the possibility to use short basalt fibres, and (3) strengthening of concrete members by means of externally bonded reinforcement (EBR), near surface mounted reinforcement (NSM) or textile reinforced mortar reinforcement (TRM). In this paper, the test results in terms of tensile properties of BFRP (basalt FRP) bars and laminates, as well as confinement of plain concrete cylinders with BFRP are presented. This experimental work compares specimens made with BFRP versus GFRP (glass FRP).