Study on Mechanical Properties of Basalt Fibers Superior to E-glass Fibers

Both basalt fibers and glass fibers can be used as reinforced material in fiber-reinforced polymer (FRP) composites. In this paper, the tensile strength, elastic modulus, and hardness of basalt fibers and E-glass fibers are studied by fiber tensile tester and nanoindentation. The crystalline phase and structural feature of fibers are conducted by X-ray diffraction (XRD) and Fourier transform infra-red (FTIR) spectroscopy. The results show that the mechanical properties of basalt fibers are higher than those of E-glass fibers. The density of basalt glasses is higher than that of E-glass and increases with increasing iron content. XRD patterns show that both basalt fibers and E-glass fibers are totally amorphous. Fe3+ mainly exists in the form of [FeO6] in the glass network. It indicates that iron oxide plays a key role in improving the mechanical properties of basalt fibers.