An investigation on anti-impact and penetration performance of basalt fiber composites with different weave and lay-up modes

The woven basalt fiber composites (WBFC) and the unidirectional [0°/90°/45°/-45°]_s basalt fiber composites (UBFC) were prepared by hot-pressing. Three-point bending test, low velocity impact test, and ballistic test were performed to the prepared composites. After the tests, the specimens were recovered and analyzed for micromorphology. Three-point bending tests show that both the bending strength and stiffness of the WBFC surpass those of the UBFC. Low velocity impact test results show that the low velocity impact resistance to hemispherical impactor of the UBFC is higher than that of the WBFC, but the low velocity impact resistance to sharp impactor of the UBFC is lower than that of the WBFC. For the ballistic test, it can be found that the ballistic property of the UBFC is higher than that of the WBFC. After the tests, microscopic analysis of the specimens was applied, and their failure mechanism was discussed. The main failure modes of the UBFC are delamination and fibers breakage under the above loading conditions while the main failure mode of the WBFC is fibers breakage. Although delamination damage can be found in the WBFC under the above loading conditions, the degree of delamination is far less than that of the UBFC.     

Effects of jute fibre content on the mechanical and dynamic mechanical properties of the composites in structural applications

Due to notable characteristics, sustainability concept and environmental issues, hybridisation natural with synthetic fibres to fabricate composites have been rapidly gaining market share in different applications (structural, military, aerospace and automotive vehicles). Compression, tension and fatigue tests of various stacking sequences of plain jute/carbon reinforced (PVB) polyvinyl butyral by hot hydraulic press technique were experimentally conducted. Six types of fabricated composites with various constituents (jute, carbon and their hybrids) were fabricated and tested. Notably, fatigue lifetime of hybrids increases with increasing the carbon content relative to the jute fibre content. On the other hand, Jute composites possess high strain compared to pure carbon composite, which gives an overall improvement in mechanical behaviours. Interestingly, H1 hybrid with Carbon/Jute/Carbon sequences offers similar fatigue stiffness behaviour of H3 hybrid with Carbon/Jute/Carbon/Jute sequences when subjected to cyclic loading. Carbon composite (C) exhibited the highest fatigue resistance, whiles jute composite (J) possessed the highest strain and semi brittle trends in both mechanical and fatigue performance. Results concluded that plain jute fibres could partially replace high-cost synthetic carbon fibres to produce more eco-friendly hybrids to be utilised in different composites industries.