Tensile Behavior of Hybrid epoxy composite laminate containing carbon and Basalt Fibers.
DOI 10.1515/secm-2013-0003 Sci Eng Compos Mater 2014; 21(2): 211–217
I.D.G. Ary Subagia and Yonjig Kim*
Tensile behavior of hybrid epoxy composite
laminate containing carbon and basalt fibers
Abstract: This paper investigated the effect of the incorporation of basalt fibers on the tensile properties of carbon fiber-reinforced epoxy laminates manufactured by
vacuum-assisted resin transfer molding. The purpose of
this research was to design a carbon-basalt/epoxy hybrid
composite material that is of low cost in production, is
lightweight, and has good strength and stiffness. The tensile strength and stiffness of the hybrid laminates demonstrated a steady, linear decrease with an increase in basalt
fiber content, but the fracture strain gradually increased
together with the increase in the basalt layer content. In
this study, the incorporation of basalt fibers into the carbon fiber-reinforced polymer (CFRP) showed lower tensile
strength than CFRP but has higher tensile strain. Furthermore, we found that the arrangement and enhancement
of basalt fiber into the CFRP significantly influence the
mechanical properties of interply hybrid composites.
Keywords: bonding; carbon fiber-reinforced plastic;
composites; tensile test; vacuum-assisted resin transfer
molding (VARTM).
*Corresponding author: Yonjig Kim, Division of Mechanical Design
Engineering, College of Engineering, Chonbuk National University,
567 Baekje-daero, Deokjin-gu, Jeonju, 561-756 South Korea,
e-mail: yonjig@jbnu.ac.kr; and Advanced Wind Power System
Research Center, Chonbuk National University, Korea
I.D.G. Ary Subagia: Division of Mechanical Design Engineering,
College of Engineering, Chonbuk National University, 567 Baekjedaero, Deokjin-gu, Jeonju, Korea; and Mechanical Engineering,
Faculty of Udayana University, Denpasar, Bali, Indonesia
1 Introduction
In recent years, hybrid composites have been increasingly
developed to improve the drawbacks of single-fiber composites. Hybrid composites are materials consisting of two
or more different fiber types, which act as reinforcement,
and a polymer resin as matrix, which holds the fibers [1].
Recently, composite material has been applied to many
technological products like automotive and aerospace
products [2], marine parts, sports equipment [3], windmill
blades [4, 5], and lightweight construction materials [6].
This is largely because of the good mechanical properties
and light structure of composite materials [7, 8]. Carbon
fiber as reinforcement of polymeric matrix composite
presents several advantages such as high modulus, high
strength and stiffness, good creep resistance, low density,
heat and flame resistance, and good compatibility with
the epoxy matrix [9]. However, carbon fibers are relatively
brittle and very expensive [10]. Recently, glass fibers have
been recommended as one of the most popular reinforcements that can hybridize carbon fiber-reinforced polymer
(CFRP). The principal advantages of glass fibers are low
cost, high tensile strength, high chemical resistance, and
excellent insulating properties [11]. However, glass fibers
also have several disadvantages, which include a relatively low tensile modulus and high density, relatively low
fatigue resistance, and high hardness, which causes excessive wear on molding dies and cutting tools, although it
has a low price. In addition, glass fiber is toxic [12].
In the past few years, with the increase in interest
regarding ecofriendly material, several types of fibers
like organic and inorganic fibers were introduced to compounds with carbon fiber [13]. Recently, basalt fiber was
introduced as a new type of reinforcing fiber [14, 15] that
is more competitive than glass fibers [16]. Basically, basalt
fibers are natural fibers that are produced from basalt
volcanic rock by melting [10]. Good mechanical properties, noncombustibility, high resistance to temperature,
nontoxicity, and good chemical stability are the main
advantages of basalt fiber. It is also economically and
environmentally viable [4, 14]. Several studies have shown
the potential of basalt fibers as reinforcement materials
to improve the properties of fiber-reinforced composites.
The effect of temperature, adhesion time, and surface
treatment on the mechanical properties of thermoplastic basalt plastics were studied by Bashtannik et al. [17].
Czigany et al. [18] studied the characteristics of basalt
fiber-reinforced hybrid polypropylene. Wei et al. [19]
studied the tensile strength of basalt fiber with nano-SiO2epoxy coating. In their work, the incorporation of nanoSiO2 coating increased the tensile properties of basalt fiber
compared to pure epoxy coating. Manikandan et al. [20]
reported that basalt fiber-reinforced polymer (BFRP) has
better mechanical properties compared with glass fiberreinforced polymer. Other studies have reported on the
Brought to you by | Chonbuk National University
Authenticated | yonjig@jbnu.ac.kr author's copy
Download Date | 3/7/14 1:57 AM
212 I.D.G. Ary Subagia and Y. Kim: Tensile behavior of hybrid epoxy composite laminate containing carbon
effect of nanoparticle addition to the mechanical properties of composites from carbon and basalt fiber [21] and
different filler fibers [22–25]. However, very few studies
have been carried out on the combination of carbon and
basalt fiber laminates.
In this work, we investigated the tensile properties of
carbon- and basalt fiber-laminated composites, specifically focusing on the effect of the number of basalt fiber
layers and arrangement position on the carbon fiber composite laminates. The aim of this work was to assess the
suitability of basalt fiber as an effective competitor of glass
fiber for the reinforcement of composites. Tensile tests
were carried out. The failure surfaces of the composites
were analyzed by scanning electron microscopy (SEM).
2 Experimental
Figure 1 Schematic layout of VARTM: (1) bronze plate, (2) laminate
fiber, (3) release films, (4) breather net, (5) vacuum tube, (6) plastic
bag, and (7) sealant tape.
injected into the impregnated preform at a pressure of -80
kPa using a vacuum pump (Airtech Ulvac G-100D, ULVAC
Kiko Incorporated, Japan). The panel was then dried inside
an oven at 65oC for at least 2 h. In this work, we laminated
10 layers of fibers in every panel, constituting about 62 wt%
of the hybrid composite. The thickness of panels manufactured through VARTM was approximately 2 mm. The details
of the combination of the fibers are shown in Table 1.
2.1 Materials
2.3 Tensile test and characterization
In the present study, we used plain woven carbon
fiber (C120-3K; fabric weight = 200 ± 10 g/m2; fabric
thickness = 0.25 ± 0.02 mm) purchased from Hyun Dai
Fiber Co. Ltd. (Korea), and plain woven basalt fiber
(EcoB4 F210; fabric weight = 210 ± 10 g/m2; fabric thickness = 0.19 ± 0.20 mm) provided by Secotech (Korea).
The resin matrix used was a modified bisphenol
A epoxy resin (HTC-667C; specific gravity = 1.16 ± 0.02;
viscosity = 1.2 ± 0.5 kg/m.s) with a modified aliphatic amine
hardener and was supplied by Jet Korea Co. (Korea).
2.2 Composite fabrication
The panels of laminates were manufactured by a vacuumassisted resin transfer molding (VARTM) process. VARTM is
an adaptation of the resin transfer molding (RTM) process
that exploits vacuum pressure of
I.D.G. Ary Subagia and Yonjig Kim*
Tensile behavior of hybrid epoxy composite
laminate containing carbon and basalt fibers
Abstract: This paper investigated the effect of the incorporation of basalt fibers on the tensile properties of carbon fiber-reinforced epoxy laminates manufactured by
vacuum-assisted resin transfer molding. The purpose of
this research was to design a carbon-basalt/epoxy hybrid
composite material that is of low cost in production, is
lightweight, and has good strength and stiffness. The tensile strength and stiffness of the hybrid laminates demonstrated a steady, linear decrease with an increase in basalt
fiber content, but the fracture strain gradually increased
together with the increase in the basalt layer content. In
this study, the incorporation of basalt fibers into the carbon fiber-reinforced polymer (CFRP) showed lower tensile
strength than CFRP but has higher tensile strain. Furthermore, we found that the arrangement and enhancement
of basalt fiber into the CFRP significantly influence the
mechanical properties of interply hybrid composites.
Keywords: bonding; carbon fiber-reinforced plastic;
composites; tensile test; vacuum-assisted resin transfer
molding (VARTM).
*Corresponding author: Yonjig Kim, Division of Mechanical Design
Engineering, College of Engineering, Chonbuk National University,
567 Baekje-daero, Deokjin-gu, Jeonju, 561-756 South Korea,
e-mail: yonjig@jbnu.ac.kr; and Advanced Wind Power System
Research Center, Chonbuk National University, Korea
I.D.G. Ary Subagia: Division of Mechanical Design Engineering,
College of Engineering, Chonbuk National University, 567 Baekjedaero, Deokjin-gu, Jeonju, Korea; and Mechanical Engineering,
Faculty of Udayana University, Denpasar, Bali, Indonesia
1 Introduction
In recent years, hybrid composites have been increasingly
developed to improve the drawbacks of single-fiber composites. Hybrid composites are materials consisting of two
or more different fiber types, which act as reinforcement,
and a polymer resin as matrix, which holds the fibers [1].
Recently, composite material has been applied to many
technological products like automotive and aerospace
products [2], marine parts, sports equipment [3], windmill
blades [4, 5], and lightweight construction materials [6].
This is largely because of the good mechanical properties
and light structure of composite materials [7, 8]. Carbon
fiber as reinforcement of polymeric matrix composite
presents several advantages such as high modulus, high
strength and stiffness, good creep resistance, low density,
heat and flame resistance, and good compatibility with
the epoxy matrix [9]. However, carbon fibers are relatively
brittle and very expensive [10]. Recently, glass fibers have
been recommended as one of the most popular reinforcements that can hybridize carbon fiber-reinforced polymer
(CFRP). The principal advantages of glass fibers are low
cost, high tensile strength, high chemical resistance, and
excellent insulating properties [11]. However, glass fibers
also have several disadvantages, which include a relatively low tensile modulus and high density, relatively low
fatigue resistance, and high hardness, which causes excessive wear on molding dies and cutting tools, although it
has a low price. In addition, glass fiber is toxic [12].
In the past few years, with the increase in interest
regarding ecofriendly material, several types of fibers
like organic and inorganic fibers were introduced to compounds with carbon fiber [13]. Recently, basalt fiber was
introduced as a new type of reinforcing fiber [14, 15] that
is more competitive than glass fibers [16]. Basically, basalt
fibers are natural fibers that are produced from basalt
volcanic rock by melting [10]. Good mechanical properties, noncombustibility, high resistance to temperature,
nontoxicity, and good chemical stability are the main
advantages of basalt fiber. It is also economically and
environmentally viable [4, 14]. Several studies have shown
the potential of basalt fibers as reinforcement materials
to improve the properties of fiber-reinforced composites.
The effect of temperature, adhesion time, and surface
treatment on the mechanical properties of thermoplastic basalt plastics were studied by Bashtannik et al. [17].
Czigany et al. [18] studied the characteristics of basalt
fiber-reinforced hybrid polypropylene. Wei et al. [19]
studied the tensile strength of basalt fiber with nano-SiO2epoxy coating. In their work, the incorporation of nanoSiO2 coating increased the tensile properties of basalt fiber
compared to pure epoxy coating. Manikandan et al. [20]
reported that basalt fiber-reinforced polymer (BFRP) has
better mechanical properties compared with glass fiberreinforced polymer. Other studies have reported on the
Brought to you by | Chonbuk National University
Authenticated | yonjig@jbnu.ac.kr author's copy
Download Date | 3/7/14 1:57 AM
212 I.D.G. Ary Subagia and Y. Kim: Tensile behavior of hybrid epoxy composite laminate containing carbon
effect of nanoparticle addition to the mechanical properties of composites from carbon and basalt fiber [21] and
different filler fibers [22–25]. However, very few studies
have been carried out on the combination of carbon and
basalt fiber laminates.
In this work, we investigated the tensile properties of
carbon- and basalt fiber-laminated composites, specifically focusing on the effect of the number of basalt fiber
layers and arrangement position on the carbon fiber composite laminates. The aim of this work was to assess the
suitability of basalt fiber as an effective competitor of glass
fiber for the reinforcement of composites. Tensile tests
were carried out. The failure surfaces of the composites
were analyzed by scanning electron microscopy (SEM).
2 Experimental
Figure 1 Schematic layout of VARTM: (1) bronze plate, (2) laminate
fiber, (3) release films, (4) breather net, (5) vacuum tube, (6) plastic
bag, and (7) sealant tape.
injected into the impregnated preform at a pressure of -80
kPa using a vacuum pump (Airtech Ulvac G-100D, ULVAC
Kiko Incorporated, Japan). The panel was then dried inside
an oven at 65oC for at least 2 h. In this work, we laminated
10 layers of fibers in every panel, constituting about 62 wt%
of the hybrid composite. The thickness of panels manufactured through VARTM was approximately 2 mm. The details
of the combination of the fibers are shown in Table 1.
2.1 Materials
2.3 Tensile test and characterization
In the present study, we used plain woven carbon
fiber (C120-3K; fabric weight = 200 ± 10 g/m2; fabric
thickness = 0.25 ± 0.02 mm) purchased from Hyun Dai
Fiber Co. Ltd. (Korea), and plain woven basalt fiber
(EcoB4 F210; fabric weight = 210 ± 10 g/m2; fabric thickness = 0.19 ± 0.20 mm) provided by Secotech (Korea).
The resin matrix used was a modified bisphenol
A epoxy resin (HTC-667C; specific gravity = 1.16 ± 0.02;
viscosity = 1.2 ± 0.5 kg/m.s) with a modified aliphatic amine
hardener and was supplied by Jet Korea Co. (Korea).
2.2 Composite fabrication
The panels of laminates were manufactured by a vacuumassisted resin transfer molding (VARTM) process. VARTM is
an adaptation of the resin transfer molding (RTM) process
that exploits vacuum pressure of