Comparison between the mechanical behavior of woven basalt and glass epoxy composites at high strain rates

Abstract

Basalt fiber reinforced composites are a new class of composites which have a great potential as high performance composites. This is mainly due to their favorable mechanical properties, energy absorption capacity, and their relatively low cost. Basalt fibers are generally compared to glass fibers due to their similar production technique and comparable properties. Consequently, basalt fiber composites can be considered as an alternative to conventional glass fiber composites. This, in turn, can elevate this class of materials to be used in aeronautical and automotive applications, where impact loads are expected. It is thus important to study the behavior of such materials at high strain rates. The aim of this paper is to study and compare the tensile behavior of basalt and glass fiber reinforced composites at high strain rates. High strain rate experiments were carried out using a split Hopkinson tensile bar facility. Additionally, reference quasi-static experiments were carried out to compare the behavior at different strain rates. Full strain fields were measured using stereo digital image correlation technique. The effect of strain rate on the tensile behavior of both materials was studied. A comparison between the tensile behavior of both basalt and glass fiber reinforced composites at different strain rates was presented and assessed. Results showed that basalt composites do have promising properties for applications requiring impact resistance.