Basalt fibers are produced from basalt rocks by melting them and converting the melt into fibers.
Basalts are rocks of igneous origin. The main energy consumption for the preparation of basalt raw materials to produce of fibers is made in natural conditions.
Basalt continuous, staple and super-thin fibers are produced and used.
Basalt continuous fibers (BCF) are used for the production of reinforcing materials and composite products, fabrics and non-woven materials. Basalt staple fibers - for the production of thermal insulation materials.
Basalt superthin fibers (BSTF) - for the production of high quality heat and sound insulating and fireproof materials.
Manufacture
The technology of production of basalt continuous fiber (BCF) is a one-stage process: melting, homogenization of basalt and extraction of fibers. Basalt is heated only once. Further processing of BCF into materials is carried out using "cold technologies" with low energy costs.
Basalt fiber is made from a single material, crushed basalt, from a carefully chosen quarry source. Basalt of high acidity (over 46% silica content) and low iron content is considered desirable for fiber production. Unlike with other composites, such as glass fiber, essentially no materials are added during its production. The basalt is simply washed and then melted.
The manufacture of basalt fiber requires the melting of the crushed and washed basalt rock at about . The molten rock is then
extruded
Extrusion is a process used to create objects of a fixed cross-sectional profile by pushing material through a die of the desired cross-section. Its two main advantages over other manufacturing processes are its ability to create very complex c ...
through small nozzles to produce continuous filaments of basalt fiber.
The basalt fibers typically have a filament diameter of between 10 and 20
μm which is far enough above the respiratory limit of 5 μm to make basalt fiber a suitable replacement for
asbestos. They also have a high
elastic modulus
An elastic modulus (also known as modulus of elasticity) is the unit of measurement of an object's or substance's resistance to being deformed elastically (i.e., non-permanently) when a stress is applied to it. The elastic modulus of an object is ...
, resulting in high
specific strength
The specific strength is a material's (or muscle's) strength (force per unit area at failure) divided by its density. It is also known as the strength-to-weight ratio or strength/weight ratio or strength-to-mass ratio. In fiber or textile applic ...
—three times that of
steel. Thin fiber is usually used for textile applications mainly for production of woven fabric. Thicker fiber is used in filament winding, for example, for production of
compressed natural gas
Compressed natural gas (CNG) is a fuel gas mainly composed of methane (CH4), compressed to less than 1% of the volume it occupies at standard atmospheric pressure. It is stored and distributed in hard containers at a pressure of , usually in cy ...
(CNG) cylinders or pipes. The thickest fiber is used for pultrusion, geogrid, unidirectional fabric, multiaxial fabric production and in form of chopped strand for concrete reinforcement. One of the most prospective applications for continuous basalt fiber and the most modern trend at the moment is production of basalt rebar that more and more substitutes traditional steel
rebar on construction market.
Properties
The table refers to the continuous basalt fiber specific producer. Data from all the manufacturers are different, the difference is sometimes very large values.
Comparison:
History
The first attempts to produce basalt fiber were made in the
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...
in 1923 by Paul Dhe who was granted . These were further developed after
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...
by researchers in the US,
Europe
Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a subcontinent of Eurasia and it is located entirel ...
and the
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...
especially for
military
A military, also known collectively as armed forces, is a heavily armed, highly organized force primarily intended for warfare. It is typically authorized and maintained by a sovereign state, with its members identifiable by their distinct ...
and aerospace applications. Since declassification in 1995 basalt fibers have been used in a wider range of civilian applications.
Schools
#RWTH Aachen University. Every two year RWTH Aachen University's Institut für Textiltechnik hosts the International Glass Fibers Symposium where basalt fiber is devoted a separate section. The university conducts regular research to study and improve basalt fiber properties. Textile concrete is also more corrosion-resistant and more malleable than conventional concrete. Replacement of carbon fibers with basalt fibers can significantly enhance the application fields of the innovative composite material that is textile concrete, says Andreas Koch.
#The Institute for Lightweight Design at the TU Berlin
#The Institute for Lightweight Design Materials Science at the University of Hannover
#The German Plastics Institute (DKI) in Darmstadt
#The Technical University of Dresden had contributed in the studying of basalt fibers. Textile reinforcements in concrete construction - basic research and applications. The Peter Offermann covers the range from the beginning of fundamental research work at the TU Dresden in the early 90s to the present. The idea that textile lattice structures made of high-performance threads for constructional reinforcement could open up completely new possibilities in construction was the starting point for today's large research network. Textile reinforcements in concrete construction - basic research and applications. As a novelty, parallel applications to the research with the required approvals in individual cases, such as the world's first textile reinforced concrete bridges and the upgrading of shell structures with the thinnest layers of textile concrete, are reported.
#University of Applied Sciences Regensburg, Department of Mechanical Engineering. Mechanical characterization of basalt fibre reinforced plastic with different fabric reinforcements – Tensile tests and FE-calculations with representative volume elements (RVEs). Marco Romano, Ingo Ehrlich.
Uses
*Heat protection
*Friction materials
*Windmill blades
*Lamp posts
*Ship hulls
*Car bodies
*Sports equipment
*Speaker cones
*Cavity wall ties
*Rebar
Neuvokas
/ref>
*Load bearing profiles
*CNG cylinders and pipes
*Absorbent for oil spills
*Chopped strand for concrete reinforcement
*High pressure vessels (e.g. tanks and gas cylinders)
*Pultruded rebar for concrete reinforcement (e.g. for bridges and buildings)
Design codes
Russia
Since October 18, 2017, JV 297.1325800.2017 "Fibreconcrete constructions with nonmetallic fiber has been put into operation. Design rules, "which eliminated the legal vacuum in the design of basalt reinforced fiber reinforced concrete. According to paragraph 1.1. the standard extends to all types of non-metallic fibers (polymers, polypropylene, glass, basalt and carbon). When comparing different fibers, it can be noted that polymer fibers are inferior to mineral strengths, but their use makes it possible to improve the characteristics of building composites.
See also
* Pele's hair
* Mineral wool
Mineral wool is any fibrous material formed by spinning or drawing molten mineral or rock materials such as slag and ceramics.
Applications of mineral wool include thermal insulation (as both structural insulation and pipe insulation), filt ...
* Glass wool
* Beta cloth
Beta cloth is a type of fireproof silica fiber cloth used in the manufacture of Apollo/Skylab A7L space suits, the Apollo Thermal Micrometeoroid Garment, the McDivitt Purse, and in other specialized applications.
Beta cloth consists of fine ...
References
Bibliography
*E. Lauterborn, Dokumentation Ultraschalluntersuchung Eingangsprüfung, Internal Report wiweb Erding, Erding,bOctober (2011).
*K. Moser, Faser-Kunststoff-Verbund – Entwurfs- und Berechnungsgrundlagen. VDI-Verlag, Düsseldorf, (1992).
*N. K. Naik, Woven Fabric Composites. Technomic Publishing Co., Lancaster (PA), (1994).
*Bericht 2004-1535 – Prüfung eines Sitzes nach BS 5852:1990 section 5 – ignition source crib 7, für die Fa. Franz Kiel gmbh&Co. KG. Siemens AG, A&D SP, Frankfurt am Main, (2004).
*DIN EN 2559 – Luft- und Raumfahrt – Kohlenstoffaser-Prepregs – Bestimmung des Harz- und Fasermasseanteils und der flächenbezogenen Fasermasse. Normenstelle Luftfahrt (NL) im DIN Deutsches Institut für Normung e.V., Beuth Verlag, Berlin, (1997).
*Epoxidharz L, Härter L – Technische Daten. Technical Data Sheet by R&G, (2011).
*Quality Certificates for Fabrics and Rovings. Incotelogy Ltd., Bonn, January (2012).
*
*
*L. Papula, Mathematische Formelsammlung für Naturwissenschaftler und Ingenieure. 10. Auflage, Vieweg+Teubner, Wiesbaden, (2009).
*
*
• Osnos S, Osnos M, «BCF: developing industrial production for reinforcement materials and composites». JEC Composites magazine / N° 139 March - April 2021, p.19 – 24.
• Osnos S., Rozhkov I. «Application of basalt rock-based materials in the automotive industry». JEC Composites magazine / N° 147, 2022, p. 33 – 36.
External links
The production of basalt fibers
Information from the Uzbekistan state scientific committee
Basalt Roving Dome
Video demonstration of concrete construction reinforced with basalt fiber
Generation 2.0 of Continuous Basalt Fiber
Comparing the technologies used in CBF production
Compressive behavior of Basalt Fiber Reinforced Composite
Product range of Basfiber products offered by Kamenny Vek
Extruded Acrylic Sheet - Excellent Thermoforming Capabilities
* ttp://basfiber.com/production Video demonstration of production of continuous basalt fiber at Kamenny Vek
{{fibers
Basalt
Composite materials
Synthetic fibers