The Influence of Steel and Basalt Fibers on the Shear and Flexural Capacity of Reinforced Concrete Beams

To improve the shear and flexural capacity of flexural members, the steel and basalt fibers were used in model beams tested under flexure. Three series of single span free supported model beams were prepared from SFRC （steel fiber reinforced concrete） with longitudinal steel reinforcement （steel ratio of 1.2 %） and varied spacing of steel stirrups and they were tested till failure. Another three series of BFRC （basalt fiber reinforced concrete） double-span model beams with a span of 2 mm~ 1,000 mm and cross section 180 mm ~ 80 mm were tested. During the tests till to the failure the beam reactions, vertical deflections and horizontal strains in concrete were registered, to clarify the range of redistribution of bending moments and shear forces over the span of the beams. Almost all the tested model beams failed in shear, showing visible influence of steel and basalt fibers on the shear capacity of the tested beams. The tests results confirmed that steel and basalt fibers in reinforced concrete beams can partially replace （in certain cases） the traditional steel stirrups calculated for shear.

Compressive properties of glue-laminated timber circular post modified by basalt fiber reinforced polymer

Glued timber structure is one of the main forms of modern wood architecture,which has gradually developed towards mid-and high-rise buildings.Glue-laminated timber(GLT)is comprised of several laminates of parallel-to-grain dimension lumber that are bonded together with durable,moisture resistant structural adhesives.GLT can be used in horizontal applications as a beam and in vertical applications as a post.So,its compressive performance has a significant impact on structural safety.Fiber reinforced polymers(FRPs)were commonly used to improve the bearing capacity of GLT components,and the structural and process parameters largely determined the reinforcement effect.This study was aimed at investigating the influence of structural and process parameters on the axial compression performance of GLT components.Three wrapping methods(middle-part,end-part and full wrapping)and three lengths(0.6,0.8,and 1.0 m)of wood post specimens were designed in this work and the axial compression performance and ductility of GLT post specimens modified by basalt fiber reinforced polymer(BFRP)were studied.The results showed that the effect of different BFRP wrapping methods on the compressive strength and elastic modulus of laminated wood was not statistically significant(P>0.05).The compressive bearing capacity of unreinforced GLT posts decreased with the increase of aspect ratio.The GLT posts with middle-part and end-part wrapping still followed this pattern,while the compressive bearing capacity of GLT posts with full wrapping showed a pattern of first decreasing and then increasing.For GLT with low aspect ratios(4.0 or 5.3),there was no correlation between the wrapping method and the compressive bearing capacity,while the compressive bearing capacity of GLT with a high aspect ratio(6.7)for middle-part,end-part and full wrapping increased by 3.5%,7.5%and 9.7%,respectively.Compared to the unreinforced group,the ultimate axial compressive strength and modulus of elasticity(MOE)of the 6-E series specimens reinforced at both ends decreased by 2.58%and 6.70%,respectively.The ultimate axial compressive strength of the 8-E specimens reinforced at both ends increased by 8.62%and the MOE decreased by 1.91%.The compressive strength of the 10-E specimens reinforced at both ends increased by 7.51%and the MOE increased by 8.14%.The failure modes of GLT with different aspects were consistent under the same BFRP wrapping,while the failure modes of GLT with the same aspect ratio were different for different BFRP wrapping methods.The ductility performance of GLT with different aspects ratio was improved by the BFRP wrapping.

Experimental research on the microstructure and compressive and tensile properties of nano-SiO_(2) concrete containing basalt fibers

Urban underground space resources are gaining increasing attention for the sustainable development of cities.Traditional concrete cannot meet the needs of underground construction.High-performance concrete was prepared using varying dosages of nano-SiO_(2)and basalt fiber,and its compressive and tensile strength was measured.The concrete microstructure was analyzed and used to assess the mechanisms through which the nano-SiO_(2)and basalt fibers affect the strength of concrete.The cement hydration productions in concrete produced varied with the dosage of nano-SiO_(2).When the nano-SiO_(2)dosage was between 0 and 1.8%,the mass of the C-S-H gel and AFt crystals increased gradually with the nano-SiO_(2)dosage.When the nano-SiO_(2)dosage was 1.2%,optimum amounts of C-S-H gel and AFt crystals existed,and the compactness of concrete was well,which agreed with the results of the compressive strength tests.When the basalt-fiber dosage was between 3 and 4 kg/m^(3),the basalt fibers and the cement matrix were closely bonded,and the splitting tensile strength of the concrete markedly improved.When the basalt-fiber dosage exceeded 5 kg/m^(3),the basalt fibers clustered together,resulting in weak bonding between the basalt fibers and the cement matrix,consequently,the basalt fibers were easily pulled apart from the cement.When the nano-SiO_(2)and basalt fiber dosages were 1.2%and 3 kg/m^(3),respectively,the compactness of the concrete microstructure was well and the strength enhancement was the greatest;additionally,the compressive strength and splitting tensile strength were 9.04%and 17.42%,respectively,greater than those of plain concrete.The macroscopic tests on the mechanical properties of the nano-SiO_(2)concrete containing basalt fibers agreed well with the results of microstructure analysis.

Compressive Performance of Fiber Reinforced Recycled Aggregate Concrete by Basalt Fiber Reinforced Polymer-Polyvinyl Chloride Composite Jackets

The development of recycled aggregate concrete(RAC)provides a new approach to limiting the waste of natural resources.In the present study,the mechanical properties and deformability of RACs were improved by adding basalt fibers(BFs)and using external restraints,such as a fiber-reinforced polymer(FRP)jacket or a PVC pipe.Samples were tested under axial compression.The results showed that RAC(50%replacement of aggregate)containing 0.2%BFs had the best mechanical properties.Using either BFs or PVC reinforcement had a slight effect on the loadbearing capacity and mode of failure.With different levels of BFs,the compressive strengths of the specimens reinforced with 1-layer and 3-layer basalt fiber reinforced polymer(BFRP)increased by 6.7%–10.5%and 16.5%–23.7%,respectively,and the ultimate strains increased by 48.5%–80.7%and 97.1%–141.1%,respectively.The peak stress of the 3-layer BFRP-PVC increased by 42.2%,and the ultimate strain improved by 131.3%,relative to the control.This reinforcement combined the high tensile strength of BFRP,which improved the post-peak behavior,and PVC,which enhanced the structural durability.In addition,to investigate the influence of the various constraints on compressive behavior,the stress-strain response was analyzed.Based on the analysis of experimental results,a peak stress-strain model and an amended ultimate stress-strain model were proposed.The models were verified as well;the result showed that the predictions from calculations are generally consistent with the experimental data(error within 10%).The results of this study provide a theoretical basis and reference for future applications of fiber-reinforced recycled concrete.

Mechanical properties and failure behavior of 3D printed thermoplastic composites using continuous basalt fiber under high-volume fraction

Continuous basalt fiber(CBF)is an outstanding inorganic fiber produced from nature,which has a wide range of applications in the field of armor protection of national defense military.However,the mechanical response and failure mechanism of 3D printed CBF reinforced components are still not well understood.Here,the 3D printing thermoplastic composites with high volume fraction CBF have been successfully prepared by fused deposition modelling(FDM)method.The effects of fiber printing direction and polymer matrix type on the tensile and flexural properties of the 3D printed composites have been explored,and the detailed failure morphology has been characterized using scanning electron microscopy and optical microscopy.It was found that under high fiber volume fraction,3D printed CBF reinforced polyamides(PA)composites have the best ability to maintain material integrity of the composites,followed by acrylonitrile butadiene styrene(ABS)and high impact polystyrene(HIPS).Besides,the results from rule of mixtures can accurately predict the longitudinal Young’s modulus of the 3D printed specimens,but there exists a large discrepancy for the prediction of the tensile strength.The microstructure analysis shows that the failure modes of 3D printed composites mainly include fiber debonding,fiber pull-out,stress whitening and matrix cracking.

The Effect of Basalt Fiber on Concrete Performance under a Sulfate Attack Environment

To enhance the sulfate attack resistance performance of concrete,Sulfate erosion test was carried out on basalt fiber concrete with different contents,selecting a concentration of 5%sulfate solution and using a dry−wet cycle mechanism attack of basalt fiber-reinforced concrete(BFRC).Every 15 dry−wet cycles,the mass,compressive strength,splitting tensile strength,and relative dynamic elastic modulus of BFRC were tested,and the SO_(4)^(2−)con-centration was measured.This work demonstrates that the mass,relative dynamic elastic modulus,compressive and splitting tensile strength of BFRC reveal a trend of climb up and then decline with the process of the dry−wet cycle.Basalt fiber can enhance the sulfate corrosion resistance of concrete by delaying the erosion of concrete induced by SO_(4)^(2−)and increasing the bearing and anti-deformation capacities of concrete by improving its inter-nal structure.Additionally,when mixing 0.2%basalt fiber into concrete,the strength deterioration rate will be reduced when the peak values of splitting tensile and compressive strength appear at 60 and 75 times the alter-nating dry−wet cycles,respectively.Adverse effects will occur when the fiber volume fraction exceeds 0.2%.The research in this paper can provide a foundation for the engineering applications of basalt fiber concrete.

Experimental study of pavement performance of basalt fiber-modified asphalt mixture

To discuss the pavement performance of basalt fiber-modified asphalt mixtures,the optimum dosages of asphalt and fibers are studied by the Marshall test and the rutting test.The results demonstrate that the optimum dosages of asphalt and fibers are 4.63% and 0.3%,respectively.Then the pavement performances of basalt（polyester,xylogen）fiber-modified asphalt mixtures are investigated through high temperature stability tests,water stability tests and low temperature crack resistance tests.It indicates that the pavement performances of the fiber-modified asphalt mixtures such as rutting dynamic stability,freezing splitting tensile strength,low temperature crack resistance and so on are improved compared with control asphalt mixture.The results show that the pavement performances of asphalt mixtures can be improved by fiber-modifiers.Besides,the improvement effects of basalt fiber are superior to polyester fiber and xylogen fiber.

Fatigue Property of Basalt Fiber-Modified Asphalt Mixture under Complicated Environment

The fatigue property of asphalt mixtures under complicated environment （low-temperature bending performance, chloride penetration, freezing-thawing cycle and their coupling effect） and the improvement effect for relevant property of basalt fiber-reinforcing asphalt mixture under complicated environment are studied. Two grading types of asphalt mixtures, AC-16I and AC-13I, are chosen, whose optimum asphalt-aggregate ratio and optimum dosage of basalt fiber are determined by the Marshall test. The standard specimens are made firstly, and then the low temperature bending tests of asphalt mixture and basalt fiber-reinforced asphalt mixture under the coupling effect of the chloride erosion and freezing-thawing cycle have been carried out. Finally, the fatigue property tests of asphalt mixture and basalt fiber-reinforced asphalt mixture under complex environment are performed on MTS material testing system. The results indicate that the tensile strength, the maximum curving tensile stress, the curving stiffness modulus, and fatigue properties of asphalt mixture are influenced by the coupling effect of the chloride erosion and freezing-thawing cycle. The low-temperature bending performance and fatigue property of asphalt mixtures under complicated environment can be greatly improved by adding moderate basalt fiber. The dense gradation asphalt mixture possesses stronger ability to resist adverse environmental effects under the same condition.

Mechanical properties of polyvinyl alcohol-basalt hybrid fiber engineered cementitious composites with impact of elevated temperatures

In the present study,the mechanical properties of polyvinyl alcohol(PVA)-basalt hybrid fiber reinforced engineered cementitious composites(ECC)after exposure to elevated temperatures were experimentally investigated.Five temperatures of 20,50,100,200 and 400℃ were set to evaluate the residual compressive,tensile and flexural behaviors of hybrid and mono fiber ECC.It was shown that partial replacement of PVA fibers with basalt fibers endowed ECC with improved residual compressive toughness,compared to brittle failure of mono fiber ECC heated to 400℃.The tension tests indicated that the presence of basalt fibers benefited the tensile strength up to 200℃,and delayed the sharp reduction of strength to 400℃.Under flexural load,the peak deflections corresponding to flexural strengths of hybrid fiber ECC were found to be less vulnerable ranging from 20 to 100℃.Further,the scanning electron microscopy(SEM)results uncovered that the rupture of basalt fiber at moderate temperature and its pullout mechanism at high temperature was responsible for the mechanical evolution of hybrid fiber ECC.This work develops a better understanding of elevated temperature and basalt fiber impact on the residual mechanical properties and further provides guideline for tailoring ECC for improved fire resistance.

Chemical and Thermal Resistance of Basalt Fiber in Inclement Environments

To study the applicability of the basalt fiber through various experimental works in thermal and chemical environments, glass fiber and carbon fiber were compared and discussed. The tensile strength testing was used to investigate the corrosive resistance of basalt fiber, meanwhile, surface study by scanning electron microscopy and microanalysis with complementary X-ray diffraction analysis （SEM/EDS） was also used to ascertain the durability of basalt fiber. The basalt fiber showed better strength retention than the glass fiber at relatively high temperature. Its tensile strength increased when exposed at 300 ~C for several hours, and still maintain about 70% of the initial strength at 400 ~C, whereas that of the glass fiber decreased dramatically. The better stability of the basalt fiber was observed in hydrothermal and chemical environment. The tensile strength of the basalt fiber increased by 20% after the immersion in boiling water and remained well in acid solution, when it comes to glass fiber, the tensile strength decreased to some extent. Although the alkali resistance of basalt fiber was poor at the initial stage, it shows better resistance than the glass fiber after long time treatment.

Rheological Behavior of Basalt Fiber Reinforced Asphalt Mastic

The characters of basalt fiber are analyzed and compared with commonly used fibers. The rheological behaviors of the basalt fiber reinforced asphalt mastic are investigated by the dynamic shear rheological tests and the repeated creep tests. The results show that basalt fiber has excellent reinforced performances, such as high asphalt absorption ratio, low water absorption ratio, high tensile strength, high elastic modulus and high temperature stability. The rutting factor of the fiber reinforced asphalt mastic is higher than the plain asphalt mastic and the reinforced effects are more remarkable under high temperature. The rheological performances of the asphalt mastic demonstrate a good linear relationship between different temperature and loading frequency. The creep stiffness modulus of the asphalt mastic at different loading time can be expressed by power function. Improved Burgers model is used to represent the rheological behaviors of the asphalt mastic with basalt fiber and the model parameters are estimated.

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.

Mechanical Properties of Nano-CaCO_(3) and Basalt Fiber Reinforced Concrete:Experiments and Numerical Simulations

In this study,the compressive,split tensile,and flexural strengths of concrete with nano-CaCO_(3) only were compared with those of concrete with nano-CaCO_(3) and basalt fibers through field experiments,and the underlying mechanisms were analyzed by the Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM) techniques.On the mesoscale,a damage model of concrete was established based on the continuum progressive damage theory,which was used to investigate the influence of different lengths and contents of fibers on the mechanical properties of concrete.Then,the experimental and numerical simulation results were compared and analyzed to verify the feasibility of model.The results show that nano-CaCO_(3) can enhance the compressive strength of the concrete,with an optimal content of 2.0%.Adding basalt fibers into the nano-CaCO_(3) reinforced concrete may further enhance the compressive,split tensile,and flexural strengths of the concrete;however,the higher content of basalt fiber can not lead to higher performance of concrete.The optimal length and content of fiber are 6 mm and 0.20%,respectively.The SEM result shows that the aggregation of basalt fibers is detrimental to the mechanical properties of concrete.The numerical simulation results are in good agreement with the experimental results.

Mechanical Properties of Phenolic-Resin Composites Reinforced with CF/BF Interlayer Hybrid Fibers

Phenolic-resin composites reinforced with carbon fiber（CF） and basalt fiber（BF） interlayer hybrid fibers plain fabric were fabricated.The tensile strength,compressive strength and interlaminar shear strength of the prepared composites were studied.The results indicated that hybrid fibers reinforced composites possessed the advantages of both CF and BF.When resin content was 35% by volume fraction,the comprehensive mechanical performance of BF/CF reinforced phenolic resin composites reached the optimal values with the warp and weft direction tensile strength,compressive strength and interlayer shear strength being 252 MPa and 487 MPa,105 MPa and 129 MPa,21 MPa and 20 MPa,respectively.The scanning electron microscope（SEM） observations showed that the BF/CF hybrid fibers reinforced composites had better interfacial adhesion.

Preparation and Characterization of Glass-Ceramic Basalt Fiber

Basalt fiber(BF)is widely applied in the construction industry to improve the mechanical properties of construction materials.Recent studies show that BF has the potential to further enhance its performance via a crystallization approach.In this work,the glass-ceramic basalt fibers(GCBFs)were prepared through nucleation and crystallization treatments according to the crystallization kinetics calculations.Results from XRD and SEM show that GCBFs have main crystalline phases of Diopside and Augite reach crystallinity of around 46%±10%.In particular,the GCBFs sample with the largest mean crystal size maintains the lowest tensile strength of~197 MPa(compared with the pristine BFs of~737 MPa).Moreover,the weight loss and ion dissolution of GCBFs were explored in seawater environments and it was investigated that,GCBFs have better anti-seawater corrosion than the pristine BFs and have the potential to apply in the marine industry.

Shear Strength Evaluation of Concrete Beams Reinforced with BFRP Bars and Steel Fibers without Stirrups

This paper presents experimental and analytical investigations on concrete beams reinforced with basalt fiber reinforced polymer(BFRP)and steel fibers without stirrups.Independent behaviour of BFRP reinforced beams and steel fiber reinforced beams were evaluated and the effect of combining BFRP bars and steel fiber was investigated in detail.It is found that combining s teel fibers with BFRP could change the shear failure of BFRP reinforced beam to flexural failure.Further,the existing analytical models were reviewed and compared to predict the shear strength of both FRP reinforced and steel fiber reinforced beams.Based on the review,the appropriate model was chosen and modified to predict the shear strength of BFRP reinforced beam along with steel fibers.

Experimental Investigation on Fracture Performance of Short Basalt Fiber Bundle Reinforced Concrete

In this paper,a notched three-point bending test is used to study the fracture performance of the short basalt fiber bundle reinforced concrete(SBFBRC).To compare and analyze the enhancement effect of different diameters and different content of basalt fiber bundles on the fracture performance of concrete,some groups are set up,and the P-CMOD curves of each group of specimens are measured,and the fracture toughness and fracture energy of each control group are calculated.The fracture toughness and fracture energy are two important fracture performance parameters to study the effect and law of the new basalt fiber bundles on the fracture performance of concrete.The research results show that the diameter and content of the new basalt fiber bundles have a certain effect on the fracture performance of concrete.With the increase of the content of basalt fiber bundles,the peak load,crack initiation toughness,instability toughness and fracture energy of SBFBRC are greatly improved compared with the benchmark group.When the fiber bundle diameter is 0.2 mm,the peak load increases by 69.5%compared with the reference group.The instability toughness reaches its maximum value at 0.2 mm diameter,which is 59.7%higher than the benchmark.

A low-cost and high-strength basalt/carbon fiber reinforced polymer improved by imitating tree-root micro/nano aramid short fiber

The high-strength Basalt Carbon Fiber Reinforced Polymer(BCFRP)composites had been manufactured by guiding Imitating Tree-root Micro/Nano Aramid Short Fiber(ITMNASF)into the interlayer of Basalt Fiber(BF)and Carbon Fiber(CF)plies to form thin interleaving,and various mass proportions of IT-MNASF were designed to discuss the reinforcing effect on the BCFRP heterogeneous composites.The results of three points bending tests showed that flexural strength and energy absorption of 4wt%IT-MNASF reinforced BCFRP heterogeneous composites had been improved by 32.4%and 134.4%respectively compared with that of unreinforced specimens.The 4wt%IT-MNASF reinforced BCFRP specimens showed both a greater strength and a lower cost(reduced by 31%around)than that of plain CFRP composites.X-ray micro-computed tomography scanning results exhibited that the delamination-dominated failure of plain BCFRP composites was changed into multi-layer BF and CF fabrics damage.The reinforcing mechanism revealed that the introduced IT-MNASF could construct quasi-vertical fiber bridging,and it was used as"mechanical claws"to grasp adjacent fiber layers for creating a stronger mechanical interlocking,and this effectively improved resin-rich region and interfacial transition region at the interlayers.The simple and effective IT-MNASF interleaving technique was very successful in low-cost and high-strength development of BCFRP heterogeneous composites.

Strengthening effects of BFRP on reinforced concrete beams

Reinforced concrete （RC） beams externally bonded with basalt fiber reinforced polymer （BFRP） are experimentally investigated by using different numbers of bonding plies, transverse anchorages as well as the initial conditions of strengthened beams. The performances of the BFRP strengthening are compared with those of the carbon fiber reinforced polymer （CFRP） and the glass fiber reinforced polymer （GFRP） under the same experimental condition. Experimental results indicate that the strength and ductility of the strengthened beam with two plies of the BFRP are improved remarkably than those with one ply. The strengthening effects of the BFRP lie between those of the CFRP and the GFRP. The BFRP strengthening is little influenced by pre-cracks of concrete. Most failures are caused by interfaciai debonding induced by flexural cracks in the experiment. Clamping of Uwraps along the whole beam is less efficient than endpoint anchorage for increasing the ultimate load of the strengthened beam. Finally, the models suggested by the five guidelines for predicting the debonding strain of the CFRP are extended to the BFRP and the conservative estimates of the debonding strain of the BFRP are given as well.

Experimental study on the durability of BFRP bars embedded in concrete

This paper presents an experimental study on the alkali-resistant properties of basalt fiber reinforced polymers （BFRP） bars under a typical concrete environment. BFRP bars were embedded in concrete and exposed to different aggressive environments, including tap water, saline solution and ambient temperature environments, to study the effects of the type of solution and relative humidity （RH） on the durability of BFRP. Meanwhile, BFRP bars were directly immersed in an alkaline solution for comparison. The acceleration factor describing the relationship between the alkaline solution immersion and the moisture-saturated concrete was also obtained. Aging was accelerated with a temperature of 60 ℃. The results show that the chloridion in the saline solution does not have any harmful effects on the degradation of the concrete-encased BFRP bars. Contact with an alkaline （high pH） concrete pore-water solution is the primary reason for the degradation of the BFRP bars. The degradation rate of concrete-encased BFRP bars is accelerated when a high temperature and a high humidity are present simultaneously. The degradation rate of the BFRP bars is relatively quick at the initial stage and slows down with exposure time. Results show that the degradation of 2.18 years in moisture-saturated concrete at 60 ℃corresponds to that of one year when directly immersed in an alkaline solution （other conditions remaining the same） for the BFRP bars analyzed.