Effects of elevated temperatures on the mechanical properties of basalt fibers and BFRP plates

In this article, the effects of elevated temperature on the mechanical properties of basalt fiber roving and pultruded basalt fiber-reinforced polymer (BFRP) plates were studied. For comparison, E-glass fiber roving and pultruded glass fiber-reinforced (GFRP) plates were also tested under the same conditions. It was observed that as the temperatures increasing from room temperature to 200 °C, the tensile strength and elastic modulus were reduced by 37.5% and 31% for BFRPs, and reduced by 8.3% and 9.7% for basalt fiber roving, respectively. The deteriorated bonding strength between the basalt fiber and epoxy resin matrix at elevated temperatures is ascribed to the pronounced degradation of the BFRPs. After exposure to 120 °C and 200 °C for 4 h, negligible degradation on mechanical properties occurred in BFRP plates, while a reduction in the Weibull shape parameter (m) is found for the basalt fiber roving. Compared to the glass fiber rovings and pultruded GFRP plates, the basalt fiber roving and BFRP plates showed much better mechanical tensile properties and temperature resistance.