19-10-2017, 11:40 AM
Basalt fiber is a material made from extremely fine fibers of basalt, which is composed of the minerals plagioclase, pyroxene and olivine. It is similar to fiberglass, has better physico-mechanical properties than fiberglass, but is significantly cheaper than carbon fiber. It is used as a flame retardant textile in the aerospace and automotive industries and can also be used as a composite to produce products such as camera tripods.
The basalt fiber is made of a single material, crushed basalt, from a carefully chosen quarry source. Basalt high acidity (more than 46% silica content) and low iron content is considered desirable for fiber production. Unlike other materials, such as fiberglass, essentially no materials are added. Basalt is simply washed and then melted.
The manufacture of basalt fiber requires the melting of extracted basalt rock at approximately 1,400 ° C (2,550 ° F). The molten rock is extruded through small nozzles to produce continuous filaments of basalt fiber. There are three main manufacturing techniques, which are centrifugal: centrifugal blowing, multiroll and blowing. Typically, the fibers have a filament diameter of between 9 and 13 μm which is sufficiently above the respiratory limit of 5 μm to make the basalt fiber a suitable replacement for asbestos. They also have a high modulus of elasticity, resulting in an excellent specific resistance, three times greater than that of steel.