SEMINAR REPORT

On

Basalt Rock Fiber

Submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirement for the award of degree
Of

BACHELOR OF TECHNOLOGY
IN
CIVIL ENGINEERING
BY
Peerzada Muhammad Rufaid CE-14-72

DEPARTMENT OF CIVIL ENGINEERING

ISLAMIC UNIVERSITY OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY
 |
BASALT ROCK FIBER 2018

CERTIFICATE
I/We hereby certify that the work which has being carried out in this seminar entitled “Basalt Rock
Fibers”, in partial fulfilment of the requirement for the award of degree of “Bachelors of Technology in
Civil Engineering” submitted to Department of Civil Engineering, Islamic University of Science and
Technology, Awantipora is an authentic record of my/our own work.

Peerzada Muhammad Rufaid CE-14-72

This is to certify that the statements made above by the candidate is correct and true to

the best of my knowledge.

Seminar Coordinator Head of the Department

Er Mutahar Er Misbah Gul

BASALT ROCK FIBER 2018

 BASALT ROCK FIBER 2018|

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
I would like to thank my teachers for giving me this wonderful opportunity to expand my own knowledge
for my own branch and giving me guidelines to present a seminar report. It helped me a lot to realize what
we study for.

Secondly I would like to thank my parents who patiently helped me as I went through my work and
helped me to eliminate some unnecessary and irrelevant stuff from my work

Thirdly I would like to than my friends who helped me to make my own work organized and well stacked
till the end.

Next, I would like to thank Microsoft for developing a wonderful tool like MS Word which helped me a
lot to keep my work error free.

Last but clearly not the least I would thank Almighty Allah for giving me strength for completing my
work on time

Peerzada Muhammad Rufaid CE-14-72

BASALT ROCK FIBER 2018

 BASALT ROCK FIBER 2018 |

ABSTRACT

Basalt fibre which made from fibres of basalt rock is very much similar to the carbon and the fibre glass
and have better physicomechanical properties and cheaper. One Kg of basalt reinforces is equal 9.6 Kg of
the steel. They have many field applications and can replace many costly and rare materials. Its
manufacturing process is very simple and raw materials are found virtually every country. Basalt fibres
offer the potential to solve the largest problem in the cement and concrete industry.

Basalt Fibre which is also known as Basalt Fiber is a material which is made from the extremely fine
fibres of the Basalt, which composed of Pyroxene, minerals plagioclase and Olivine. This is very much
similar to the Carbon Fibre and the Fibre Glass, which is having better Physicomechanical properties than
the fibre glass, but which is being significantly cheaper that the Carbon Fiber. It is also used as the fiber
proof textile in the automotive industries and in the Aerospace and also can be used as a composite to
produce the products such as the tripods.

Basalt is well known as the rock found in the virtually every country all around the world. Basalt Rock
fibres has no toxic reaction with the air or water, are non combustible and the explosion proof. When in
contact with the other chemicals they will produce no chemical reactions that may damage health or
environment. The Basalt base composites can be replacing steel and known reinforced plastics. One Kg of
basalt reinforces is equals to 9.6 Kg of the steel. There seems to be something quite poetic in using a fibre
made from the natural rock to reinforce a material, which may quite reasonably being described as the
artificial rock. Raw material for producing basalt fiber is the rock of a volcanic origin.

BASALT ROCK FIBER 2018

 |
BASALT ROCK FIBER 2018

TABLE OF CONTENTS

1. Introduction

2. Fiber Forming Process

3. New approach: modification of basalt rock manufacturing line

4. Properties of basalt fiber

5. Chemical composition of basalt rock fiber

6. Mechanical properties of basalt rock fiber

7. Products and applications

8. Conclusion

BASALT ROCK FIBER 2018

 BASALT ROCK FIBER 2018 |

INTRODUCTION

In the recent days, the various fibers develop and used in the construction, industrial and highway
engineering. The steel is mainly used in that various application. Also fiber glass polythene fibers, carbon
fibers, polyamide fibers are now developed and also used in construction, industrial and infrastructure
development. In that list new one fiber is added, called, as basalt rock fibers.

Basalt originates from volcanic magma and flood volcanoes, a very hot fluid or semi-fluid material under
the earth crust, solidified in the open air. Basalt is the name given to a wide variety of volcanic rock,
which is gray. Brown or dark in colour, formed from volcanic lava after solidification.

The heavily thickened lavas contain olivine, clino-pyroxene (salite), plagioclase and opaque metal oxides.
Plageocene and pyroxene make up 80% of many types of basalts. Table 1.1 shows the results of the
chemical analysis of the basalt rock [2].

Because of good hardness and thermal properties, basalt has been used in the construction, industrial and
highway engineering, in the form of crushed rock. It is used as surfacing and filling in roads, the floor
tiles in the construction and as the lining material in the pipes for transporting the hot fluids. This can be
major replacement to the asbestos, which possess health hazards by damaging respiratory systems.

However, it is not commonly known that basalt can be used in manufacturing and made into fine,
superfine ultrafine fibers. Basalt is an alternative raw material for fiber forming because of its relatively
homogeneous chemical structure, its large scale availability throughout the world, its freedom from
impurities and of course, its ability to form fibers in the molten state.

Department of Civil Engineering, IUST Awantipora

1
 BASALT ROCK FIBER 2018|

Basalt fiber offer prospect of completely new range of composite materials and product. Low cost high
performance fibers offer potential to solve the largest problem in the cement and concrete industry,
cracking and structural failure of concrete. They have potential to high performance and cost effectively
replace of fiberglass, steel fiber, polyamide fiber and carbon fiber product in many applications. 1 Kg
basalt fiber replaces 9.6 Kg steel reinforcement.

Department of Civil Engineering, IUST Awantipora

2
 BASALT ROCK FIBER 2018|

FIBRE FORMING PROCESS

Basalt fiber is made from crushed lava rocks with specific chemical compositions mined from chosen
quarries. Unlike glass fiber no other materials are added and the basalt rock is simply cleaned and then
melted down to around 1,450 °C. The molten rock is then extruded through small orifices at different
speeds to produce continuous filaments of basalt fiber. The fibers typically have a filament diameter of
between 9 and 20 µm. Conversion of Rock to Fiber As crushed basalt enters the furnace, the material is
liquefied at a temperature of 1500°C/2732°F (glass melt point varies between 1400°C and 1600°C).
Unlike glass, which is transparent, the opaque basalt absorbs rather than transmits infrared energy.
Therefore, it is more difficult for the overhead gas burners used in conventional glass furnaces to
uniformly heat the entire basalt mix. With overhead gas, the melting basalt must be held in the reservoir
for extended periods of time — up to several hours — to ensure a homogenous temperature. Basalt
producers have employed several strategies to promote uniform heating, including the immersion of
electrodes in the bath. Normally, a two-stage heating scheme is employed, featuring separate zones
equipped with independently controlled heating systems. Only the temperature control system in the
furnace outlet zone, which feeds the extrusion bushings, requires great precision, so a less sophisticated
control system may be used in the initial heating zone. Like glass filaments, basalt filaments are formed
by platinum-rhodium bushings. As they cool, a sizing agent is applied and the filaments are moved to
speed-controlled fiber stretching equipment and then on winding equipment, where the fiber is spooled.
Because the basalt filament is more abrasive than glass, the expensive bushings once needed more
frequent refurbishing. As bushings wear, their cylindrical holes wear unevenly, degrading process control.
Without timely maintenance, the out-of-round apertures form filaments with an unacceptably wide
diameter range, producing a roving with unpredictable breaking loads, explains Nolf. While glass fiber
bushings last six months or more before they need to be melted, reformed and redrilled, a bushing used
for basalt fiber production previously lasted anywhere from three to five months Figure 1: Production
process of ballast fiber

Department of Civil Engineering, IUST Awantipora

3
 |
BASALT ROCK FIBER 2018

Department of Civil Engineering, IUST Awantipora

4
 |
BASALT ROCK FIBER 2018

NEW APPROACH: MODIFICATION OF BASALT FIBER

MANUFACTURING LINE

It is reported that basalt fibers can be used as reinforcing materials in a polypropylene (PP) matrix.
Fracture toughness of composite increases as a result of reinforcing due to brittle character of basalt fiber.
The toughness of the composite increased compared to the matrix due to the gravels appeared at the end
of basalt fibers. It has been pointed out that the gravels are results of the Junkers production technology.
The observations have also been proven by electron microscopic images.

SEM picture of the presence of fiber heads (gravels) in the composite

Department of Civil Engineering, IUST Awantipora

5
 BASALT ROCK FIBER 2018 |

a) b)

(a) Fiber pullout from the matrix without fiber head, (b) model of the toughness increase caused by fiber head during fiber pullout

The production of basalt fibers with more or less gravels was attempted by the further examination of
gravels and the optimization of the technology (further modification of the e.g. temperature of the melt,
disk speed, air flow rate etc.). A model has been outlined for investigation of influence of change of
technological parameters on basalt fiber production. The model aims at providing guidelines how the
parameters of the Junkers technology (i.e. basalt melt temperature, r.p.m. of fiberization disks, velocity of
air jets etc.) influence the geometry of basalt fibers produced. The formation of basalt fibers is a very
complex process. The basalt melt originated from the gas-heated furnace operating at melting temperature
of approx. 1580℃ is lead to a fiberization equipment comprising three rotating disks of horizontal axis
(Fig. 13a). First the melt is run to an accelerating disk of smaller diameter and higher speed. The
accelerating disk forwards the melt to two consecutive fiberization disks (Fig. 13b). A melt layer develops
on the surface of the fiberization disks. The fiber formation process shows certain analogy with the
operation of rotary disk atomizers. Due to the centrifugal forces, droplets protrude from the melt layer.
When reaching a critical size, the droplets are detached from the disks, hauling fibers along.

Department of Civil Engineering, IUST Awantipora

6
 BASALT ROCK FIBER 2018 |

a) b)

a) the process of fiber spinning, the accelerating disk is above, the centrifugal disks are below, b) formation of a melt film

A model has been presented for formation of a droplet from a motionless liquid layer. It has been
pointed out that the size of initial basalt droplets is inversely proportional to the r.p.m. of the
fiberization disks. Therefore, the alteration of disk speed is concluded to be an effectual way of fiber
and gravel geometry

Department of Civil Engineering, IUST Awantipora

7
 BASALT ROCK FIBER 2018 |

PROPERTIES OF BASALT ROCK FIBRE

 Thermal Resistance

Basalt fiber has excellent thermal properties to that of glass fibers. It can easily withstand the temperature
of 12000C to13000C for hours continuously, without any physical change, which is similar to S2 glass
fibers and carbon fibers.Unstressed basalt fibers and fabrics can maintain their integrity even up to
12500C, which makes them superior compared to glass and carbon fiber.

 Mechanical Strength

Basalt fiber has tensile strength 3000-4840 M Pa, which is higher than E-glass fiber. It has higher
stiffness and strength than E-glass fiber. Basalt fiber has slightly higher specific gravity, 2.6 – 2.8 g/cc,
than other fibers.

 Chemical Resistance

Basalt fibers have very good resistance against alkaline environment, with the capability to withstand pH
up to 13-14. It also has good acid and salt resistance.

 Corrosion and Fungi Resistance

Basalt fiber has better corrosion resistance. It does not undergo any toxic reaction with water and air or
gases also. Moisture regain and moisture content of basalt fibers exist in the range of less than 1%. Basalt
materials have strong resistance against the action of fungi and micro-organisms.

 Abrasion Property

Department of Civil Engineering, IUST Awantipora

8
 BASALT ROCK FIBER 2018 |
Basalt material is extremely hard and has hardness values between 5 to 9 on Mohr’s scale, which results
in better abrasion property. Even continuous abrasion of the basalt fiber-woven fabrics over the propeller
type abraders do not result in the splitting of fiber by fracture and results only in breaking of individual
fibers from woven structure which eliminates possibility of causing hazards.

Department of Civil Engineering, IUST Awantipora

9
 BASALT ROCK FIBER 2018 |

CHEMICAL COMPOSITION OF BASALT ROCK FIBER

Not all basalt rocks can be good to make continuous filament fibers. The typical chemical
constituents are SiO2, Al2O3, CaO, MgO, Na2O, K2O, TiO2, Fe2O3, and FeO. For instance, the
following form shows the typical range of various constituents in basalt rock that would be
suitable to make continuous filament fibers.

Al2O3 increases the viscosity of the melt and chemical stability effects of the constituents on the
properties of the fiber have been studied in the past, based on existing literature survey that can be
generally summarized as below although there might be somedifferent views amongst researchers:

1) SiO2 and Al2O3 affect tensile properties.

2) Fe2O3 and FeO alter the melting parameters by increasing the homogenization period, crystallization
temperature and thermal conductivity, high-temp performance of the final products.

3) CaO, TiO2, MgO increase water resistance and resistance to aggressive media.

4) Na2O and K2O mainly increase the corrosion resistance in alkali.

5) Ballast rock fiber proves to be an excellent material in construction due to its extraordinary properties.

Department of Civil Engineering, IUST Awantipora

10
 BASALT ROCK FIBER 2018 |

MECHANICAL PROPERTIES OF BASALT ROCK FIBER

Basalt as a fiber used in FRPs and structural composites has high potential and is getting a lot of attention
due to its high temperature and abrasion resistance. Compared to FRPs made from glass, aramid and
carbon fiber, its use in the civil infrastructure market is very low. Basalt fibers are characterized by a good
resistance against low and high temperatures and are superior to other fibers in terms of thermal stability,
heat and sound insulation properties, ablation resistance, vibration resistance and durability. Basalt fiber is
raised, from a performance standpoint, between the carbon fiber and the glass fiber, even if among others,
it has a great advantage: it is well-compatible with carbon fiber. The consequence is that high efficient
hybrid materials can be manufactured by adding small (pre-determined) amount of carbon fibers to basalt
fibers. The obtained thread, differing insignificantly in cost (owing to small content of expensive carbon
fiber) will demonstrate considerably better elastic properties compared with basalt fiber (notice that
elastic modulus of basalt fiber is around 11 kg/mm2 , whereas that of carbon fiber is between 22 to 56
kg/mm2 ). However, from a properties point of view, glass fiber, in its various form and chemical
composition, can be considered as the reference material for a better understanding of basalt fiber
properties. Both are inorganic but they are manufactured by different processes. Glass fibers are produced
from melted charge (composed of quartz sand, soda, limestone, fluxing agents, etc.) to obtain glass, from
which fibers are obtained by blow with steam, air or at centrifuge. Although current research shows that
the structural behavior, including long-term deflections due to creep and cyclical loading is similar to
glass fiber, internationally recognized code authorities have yet to acknowledge basalt in their codes. This
puts the use of basalt at a disadvantage until the American Concrete Institute, Canadian Standards
Association, Fédération Internationale du Béton (International Federation for Structural Concrete), and
others provide specific design guidance for its use. Recognition and engineering design of basalt
composites should continue to climb as research substantiates current knowledge and code authorities
adopt its strength characteristics.

Department of Civil Engineering, IUST Awantipora

11
 |
BASALT ROCK FIBER 2018

Department of Civil Engineering, IUST Awantipora

12
 |
BASALT ROCK FIBER 2018

Department of Civil Engineering, IUST Awantipora

13
 BASALT ROCK FIBER 2018|

PRODUCTS AND APPLICATIONS

Figure 5.1 to figure 5.9 shows various products of basalt fibers. Continuous basalt filaments have
following primary products such as Continuous basalt fibers, chopped fibers, CBF roving, CBF yarns

By using these primary products, the secondary products are produced such as Basalt rebar, Basalt geo-
textile, Basalt mesh, Basalt fiber pipes, and Basalt laminates.

Department of Civil Engineering, IUST Awantipora

14
 BASALT ROCK FIBER 2018 |
 CONCRETE REINFORCEMENT
Requirement of the moderate strengthening in the civil structures & high fire resistance can be met with
basalt fibers. Basalt filaments incorporated unidirectional rods are used as the reinforcement of concrete
slabs in hydraulic engineering and construction in seismically hazardous regions. It is also used in
reinforcement for bridges, tunnels, railway sleepers etc.

The basalt rebar consisting of 80% of basalt fiber with on epoxy binder offer better mechanical property
to the reinforced concrete & are less expensive. Basalt rebar have same coefficient of thermal expansion
(8 ppm/0C) as that of concrete, which increases the compatibility & performance in adverse conditions.

In the accelerated weathering tests, basalt fiber shows better results as compared to glass fibers. Exposed
to 6000C for 2 hours also results in almost retention of 90% of normal strength while carbon fiber and
glass fibers loss their volumetric integrity.

Chopped fibers are used in cement concrete which increases crack resistance and fracture toughness of
concrete. It does not give any adverse effect in concrete mixing.

 BUILDING MATERIAL
Basalt fibers can also be used in the interiors, partitioning of buildings, fire proof doors, and sound
insulations for the building. They have better sound insulation property. It can act as a barrier in the
frequency range up to 1800Hz to the extent of 80% to 95% [5]. It is also used as and warmed panels for
construction of prefabricated houses such as roofing. Basalt fibers have better thermal insulating
properties, almost three times than the asbestos. Basalt fabrics are used as fire blocking material in the
public transport systems. Both woven as well as knitted fabrics are used for these applications.

It is used in port construction and sea platforms because of better chemical and salt resistance property
and also for environment safety.

 NUCLEAR POWER ENGINEERING

Basalt materials do not absorb the radioactive radiations, which makes them to consider as the potential
material in production and transformation of radioactive materials, in nuclear power plants. Protective cap
using geo-composites in the waste disposal sites, incorporating basalt materials, can offer the best
protection for the human health and environment against the radioactive wastes

Department of Civil Engineering, IUST Awantipora

15
 BASALT ROCK FIBER 2018 |

 ELECTRO-TECHNICAL APPLICATION

Basalt fabrics for electro-technical purposes are used as a base for the production of insulation materials,
have superior properties to conventional fiber glass material. Preliminary metallization of the fabrics
result in shielding properties of electromagnetic radiations. Basalt can be used over a wide temperature
range from about -260℃/-200℃ to 650℃/ 800 ℃ compared to E-glass which can be used from - 6℃ to
450℃/600℃. It can replace asbestos in almost all applications because of its heat insulating properties.
Because of its good insulating properties, it can replace glass materials. Tapes made from the basalt
material can be used in the electrical cables as the insulation material against fire hazards during power
transmission. Even at very low temperatures, the basalt fibers attain their properties, which make this
material suitable for low temperature insulations. In power industries the basalt fiber is used in following
cases: fire resistant cable construction components as fillers, braiding, tapes etc. In transformer stations:
screens, protection, and insulation; motor insulation: tapes etc.

 INDUSTRIAL APPLICATIONS

Basalt fibers, as a sewing thread, attract major attention in the high temperature application for stitching
of filter bags for hot media, filter bags intended for highly aggressive chemical environment.
Incombustible basalt fabrics inserts in industrial ventilators increase their fire safety. Automobile, aircraft,
ship and household appliances using basalt are made with incorporating thermosetting resins such as
epoxy and phenolic resins in the form of prepegs, laying out. Lubricated, chopped fibers are used in car
brakes etc. the ability to recycle the basalt fibers to different forms solves the problem of disposal of the
scraps, and different degraded components obtained from various applications. Basalt fibers reinforced
cardboard with suitable binders like PVA can be used for cryogenic applications that are required for
storing biological materials in liquid nitrogen atmosphere. Basalt fibers can also be used in the various
agricultural applications like, land drainage pipes, pipes for irrigation and hosing, raising vegetable and
seeding, and agricultural machine construction

 HOT GAS FILTRATION

The development of new high-temperature synthetic fibers like basalt has led to increased use of hot gas
filtration for industrial applications. Glass fiber materials can be operated at 30℃-260℃, but they have
certain shortcomings.

Department of Civil Engineering, IUST Awantipora

16
 BASALT ROCK FIBER 2018|

Polyimide fibers possess good performance characteristics but are inclined to severe shrinkage at 260℃.
Membrane filters made from glass fabrics covered with porous fluoropolymer have low permeability,
which results in higher operating costs for filtration. Fabrics made from polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE)
fibers demonstrate excellent performance they are expensive and also shrink at elevated temperatures.
Basalt composite filter fabrics can be successfully used for cleaning corrosive hot gases, or waste air
containing hot particles having temperatures over 800℃ and also long lasting

Department of Civil Engineering, IUST Awantipora

17
 BASALT ROCK FIBER 2018 |

CONCLUSION

Due to the wide application of basalt fibers in markets such as building & construction, automotive, wind
energy, electronics, marine, and others, the global basalt fiber market is expected to reach $200 million by
2020, growing at a rate of 13.1% from 2012 to 2020. Continuous basalt fiber is more efficient and eco-
friendly than most glass & carbon fibers. Continuous basalt fibers can be processed to have higher tensile
strength than steel and are rust free as they are chemically inert. Basalt as a fiber used in FRPs and
structural composites has high potential and is expected to grow at a significant rate due to its high
temperature resistance, abrasion resistance, ultraviolet resistance and high-energy electromagnetic
radiation Basalt fibers are ideally suited for demanding applications requiring high temperatures,
chemical resistance, durability, mechanical strength and low water absorption. Such structures combine
the best properties of each component to possess enhanced mechanical & superconducting properties for
advanced applications. Growing demand of basalt fiber from new application markets of the world is also
expected to contribute to the growth of the basalt fiber market.

Department of Civil Engineering, IUST Awantipora

18
 BASALT ROCK FIBER 2018|

REFERENCES

 Kunal Singha, ‘A Short Review on Basalt Fiber’ Department of Textile Engineering, Panipat
Institute of Engineering & Technology, Harayana, India
 Piyush Sharma, An Introduction to Basalt Rock Fiber and Comparative Analysis of Engineering
Properties of BRF and Other Natural Composites Department of Civil Engineering, Amity School
of Engineering & Technology, Amity University, Haryana, India
 Dr. Patnaik Anil, “Applications of Basalt Fibers Reinforced Polymer (BFRP) Reinforcement for
Transportation Infrastructure”, Developing a Research Agenda for Transportation Infrastructure –
TRB, November 2009, 1-5.
 Dr. Sergey Osnos, “Basalt continuous fiber: development of technologies and equipment from the
past to the present”, Basalt Fiber & Composite Materials Technology Development Company,
China.
 Murray Allan D.,” Basalt Fibers for high-performance composites”, Allied composite
Technologies LLC, 1-4.
 Saravanan D., “Spinning of rocks – Basalt fibers”, Institute of Engineers (India) Journal, volume
82, February 2006, 39-45.
 Sheldon G. L., “Forming fibers from basalt rock”, platinum metal review, 1977, 18-24.

Department of Civil Engineering, IUST Awantipora

19