Investigation of Mechanical Properties of Basalt Particle-Filled SMC Composites

Kadir Cavdar,Mahmut Bingol

doi:10.1155/2016/1231606

Abstract

Basalt particles have been investigated as a novel additive for the production of glass fibre reinforced composite using sheet moulding compound (SMC) method. Compared to the CaCO3that are widely used as filler in the SMC composite, the resulting composites exhibit improved mechanical properties. The tensile strength increased by approximately 15%, whereas the flexural strength was enhanced by 8% in SMC composites prepared by basalt particles. Examination of the surface morphology and interfacial debonding of the specimens is also performed via scanning electron microscopy. Superior strength properties are observed in the basalt particle-reinforced composites compared to those with the CaCO3fillers.

Highlights

Polymer composites are composed of an inorganic reinforcement and a polymeric matrix, providing the desired combination of mechanical, chemical, and thermal resistance features
The E-glass fibre with bundle diameters of 15 μm is provided by Cam Elyaf A.S. (SMC3-2400) and cut into 65 mm length and added into resin randomly at a concentration of 20% by weight
The specimens were produced with basalt particles instead of the commonly used CaCO3 filler and the mechanical properties of these new composite materials were investigated

Summary

Introduction

Polymer composites are composed of an inorganic reinforcement and a polymeric matrix, providing the desired combination of mechanical, chemical, and thermal resistance features. Due to its distinct advantages such as design flexibility, dimensional stability, consolidation of parts, high strength, light weight, moderate tooling and finishing costs, and corrosion resistance, sheet moulding compound (SMC) is one of the widely used composite preparation methods. The SMC method is a sheet of ready-to-mould composites containing uncured thermosetting resins and uniformly distributed short fibres and fillers. Glass fibre is used as a reinforcement material and unsaturated polyester as a matrix, along with various fillers and additives in the prepreg formulation. Due to its high surface energy, the CaCO3 reduces mechanical properties of the composite materials [1]

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