Carbon, Glass and Basalt Fiber Reinforced Polybenzoxazine: The Effects of Fiber Reinforcement on Mechanical, Fire, Smoke and Toxicity Properties

Nick Wolter,Marc Van Hove,Katharina Koschek,Per Blomqvist,Anna Sandinge,Bernd Mayer,Elena Jubete,Frederik Goethals,Vinicius Carrillo Beber

doi:10.3390/polym12102379

Abstract

Bisphenol F and aniline-based benzoxazine monomers were selected to fabricate basalt, glass and carbon fiber reinforced polybenzoxazine via vacuum infusion, respectively. The impacts of the type of fiber reinforcement on the resulting material properties of the fiber reinforced polymers (FRPs) were studied. FRPs exhibited a homogenous morphology with completely impregnated fibers and near-zero porosity. Carbon fiber reinforced polybenzoxazine showed the highest specific mechanical properties because of its low density and high modulus and strength. However, regarding the flammability, fire, smoke and toxicity properties, glass and basalt reinforced polybenzoxazine outperformed carbon fiber reinforced polybenzoxazine. This work offers a deeper understanding of how different types of fiber reinforcement affect polybenzoxazine-based FRPs and provides access to FRPs with inherently good fire, smoke and toxicity performance without the need for further flame retardant additives.

Highlights

Fiber-reinforced polymers (FRP) exhibit unique material properties, high stiffness-to-weight ratios and excellent corrosion resistance, compared to other materials, e.g., metals [1,2,3]
Fabrics were used in a 0° configuration forplies the 1-step vacuum infusion with
This work provides a comparative investigation of the effects of the type of fiber reinforcement on FRPs physical, mechanical, flammability and FST properties

Summary

Introduction

Fiber-reinforced polymers (FRP) exhibit unique material properties, high stiffness-to-weight ratios and excellent corrosion resistance, compared to other materials, e.g., metals [1,2,3]. Most commonly used FRPs are flammable materials that ignite and burn when exposed to fire, emitting highly dense and toxic smoke and gases [4,5,6]. Polymers 2020, 12, 2379 combustible polymers by introducing non-combustible fiber reinforcement made from, e.g., glass, Kevlar, poly(p-phenylene-2,6-benzobisoxazole), carbon or basalt [7,8,9,10]. Among these three types of fibers, carbon fibers exhibit the lowest density coupled with the highest tensile strength and modulus, but they exhibit the lowest maximal application temperature, highest costs and comparably low elongation at break [11]. Carbon fibers directly exposed to fire tend to oxidize in the presence of oxygen at temperatures exceeding 350–450 ◦ C

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