Mohammad Ali Mohtadi Bonab

The effects of intra-ply hybridization on mechanical and thermal properties of carbon/basalt fibers reinforced epoxy composites were experimentally investigated. Combination of superior mechanical properties of carbon fiber, good thermal stability and basalt fiber toughness is the main purpose of designing of these composites. Three types of homogeneous carbon fiber reinforced polymer (CFRP), basalt fiber reinforced polymer (BFRP) and intra-ply hybrid of carbon/basalt reinforced polymer (CBFRP) composites were fabricated by using vacuum assisted resin infusion molding (VARIM) method. All fabricated composite plates were cut according to ASTM standard. The effect of incorporation of basalt fiber with carbon fiber on mechanical properties, such as modulus of elasticity, tensile strength, flexural modulus, flexural strength and inter laminar shear strength (ILSS) were studied by bending, tensile and short beam shear (SBS) experiments. Measurement of thermal conductivity, dynamic mechanic analyze (DMA), thermogravimetric analyze (TGA) tests were also carried out for thermal characterization of fabricated homogeneous and hybrid composites. Furthermore, dynamic drop test (DDT) was used to evaluate hybridization effect on hydrophobicity of composites. The results indicated that the CBFP hybrid composites perform a moderate mechanical performance between homogeneous CFRP and BFRP composites. On the other hand, incorporation of basalt fiber in the structure of carbon fiber composite not only enhances the thermal stability of composites but also moderates the fabrication price by alternating cheaper basalt fiber with expensive carbon fiber.