07-04-2009, 11:02 PM
Basalt is well known as a rock found in virtually every country round the world. Basalt Rock fibres have no toxic reaction with air or water, are non-combustible and explosion proof. When in contact with other chemicals they produce no chemical reactions that may damage health or the environment. Basalt base composites can replace steel and known reinforced plastics (1 kg of basalt reinforces equals 9.6 kg of steel). There seemed to be something quite poetic in using a fibre made from natural rock to reinforce a material, which might quite reasonably be described as artificial rock. Raw material for producing basalt fibre is a rock of the volcanic origin. Fibres are received by melting basalt stones down at the temperature of 1400ºC. Melted basalt mass passes through the platinum bushing and is extended into fibres. Basalt Rock fibre special properties reduce the cost of products whilst improving their performance. Scope: Low cost, high performance basalt fibres offer the potential to solve the largest problem in the cement and concrete industry, cracking and structural failure of concrete.Basalt fibre reinforced concrete could become the leading reinforcement system in the world for minimizing cracking, reducing road wear, improving concrete product life, lowering maintenance and replacement costs, and minimizing concrete industry law suits. It was therefore with considerable interest that use of basalt fibres as a reinforcing material for concrete. We propose here to investigate the usage of Basalt fibers in low cost composites for civil infrastructure applications requiring excellent mechanical support properties and long lifetimes. Because of the higher performance (strength, temperature range, and durability) and lower potential cost predicted for basalt fibers, they have the potential to cost effectively replace fiberglass, steel fiber, polypropylene, polyethylene, polyester, aramid and carbon fiber products in many applications.
