Today significant and steady growth up to 10 % of manufacture of composite materials is observed in the world. One of the basic reinforcing elements of composite materials is fibers. Besides fibrous materials are widely applied in quality of thermal, sound-proof, and filtering materials.
Now for this purpose glass fibers are widely applied, and for particularly responsible and expensive products carbon fibers are used. However these materials not completely meet the requirements of the present stage. Glass fiber has the certain restrictions under the characteristics: specific durability, temperature of application, chemical stability, especially in alkaline environments. By producing of glass fiber especially scarce component are used – oxide boron (B2O3). Carbon fibers at their high cost have no prospects of mass application.
Therefore to present time it is executed a several works on development of modern "know-how" of continuous fibers from basalt stones, the producing of continuous basalt fibers and materials on their basis are started. Thus basalt fibers and materials on their basis have the most preferable parameter a ratio of quality and the price in comparison with other types of fibers.
By industrial production of basalt fibers on the basis of new technologies their cost is equal and even less than cost of glass fiber.
Thus basalt fibers and materials on their basis have the most preferable parameter a ratio of quality and the price in comparison with glass & carbon fibers, and other types of fibers.
BASIC CHARACTERISTICS & ADVANTAGES CBF
| Capability | CBF | E-glass fiber | S-glass fiber | Carbon fiber |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Tensile strength, MPa |
3000~4840 | 3100~3800 | 4020~4650 | 3500~6000 |
Elastic modulus, gPa |
79.3~93.1 | 72.5~75.5 | 83~86 | 230~600 |
Elongation at break, % |
3.1 | 4.7 | 5.3 | 1.5~2.0 |
Diameter of filament, mµ |
6~21 | 6~21 | 6~21 | 5~15 |
tex |
60~4200 | 40~4200 | 40~4200 | 60~2400 |
Temperature of application, °Ñ |
-260~+500 | -50~+380 | -50 +300 | -50~+700 |
Price, USD/kg |
2,5 | 1,1 | 1,5 | 30 |
High durability
Strength-to-weight ratio of a basalt fiber exceeds strength of alloyed steel 2.5 times, strength of fiber glass – 1.5 times.
Continues Filaments’ diameter, µm |
5.0 | 6.0 | 8.0 | 9.0 | 11.0 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Breaking strength-to-weight ratio of elementary fibers,kg/mm² |
215 | 210 | 208 | 214 | 212 |
| Diameter of elementary fibers, µm | Tex | Breaking strength, N |
|---|---|---|
| 10 | 600 | 400 |
| 10 | 1200 | 700 |
High chemical durability to impacts of water, salts, alkalis and acids
Unlike metal, CBF is not affected by corrosion. Unlike fiber glass, CBF is not affected by acids. CBF possess high corrosion and chemical durability qualities towards corrosive mediums, such as salts & acids solutions and, especially, alkalis.
| Diameter of elementary fibers , µm | H2O | 0.5 n NaOH | 2 n NaOH | 2 n HCl |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 17 | 99.63 | 98.3 | 92.8 | 76.9 |
| 12 | 99.7 | 98.9 | 90.7 | 49.9 |
| 9 | 99.6 | 94.6 | 83.3 | 38.8 |
High thermal resistance
A range of temperatures for CBF long-time application is 200~600 C.
Short-term impact of temperatures – up to 700 C.
Single impact of temperatures – up to 1000 C.
Compatibility of CBF with other materials
High compatibility of CBF with other materials (metals, plastic, glues) during producing process
Materials made on CBF basis can be processed with application of different “cold” technologies, such as moulding, winding, pultrusion, sputtering, etc.
See article "About prospects of application of materials from basalt fibers"