Kiran Kumar M,
K.Chandra Sekhar,
Jasira Banu.A,
Prasadaraju Kantheti,
P. M. Karandikar,
R. Shivashankar,
- Associate Professor, Department of Mechanical Engineering, Sir M. Visvesvaraya Institute of Technology, Bengaluru, Karnataka, India
- Associate Professor, Department of Mechanical Engineering, QIS College of Engineering and Technology, Ongole, Andhra Pradesh, India
- Assistant Professor, Department of Garment Designing, PSGR Krishnammal College for Women, Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu, India
- Assistant Professor, Department of Mechanical Engineering, S.R.K.R Engineering College, Bhimavaram, Andhra Pradesh, India
- Assistant Professor, Department of Mechanical Engineering, Pravara Rural Engineering College, Loni, Maharashtra, India
- Assistant Professor, Department of Mechanical Engineering, Sree Sakthi Engineering College, Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu, India
Abstract
Fiber-reinforced polymer composites have been identified to possess excellent properties that render them very suitable in the aerospace, automotive, marine and renewable energy sectors. However, for the industrially scalable vacuum-assisted resin transfer molding (VARTM) process, optimization of mechanical properties of basalt epoxy composites must be achieved systematically, which means that the effect of the fiber volume fraction (VF) on the mechanical properties of the composite needs to be quantified for different fabrics with similar or different fiber types, with fiber VFR ranging from 30% to 60% and then panels were fabricated and subjected to comprehensive tensile and flexural tests according to ASTM standards, accompanied by a detailed microstructural analysis of the tested samples by FESEM and a void fraction measurement based on the density measurement. Basalt-epoxy composites were observed to have tensile and flexural strengths of 238 MPa and 295 MPa, respectively, which are 22% and 20% higher than the base line glass-epoxy properties, respectively, with an exceptionally low void fraction of 1.1%. The improvements are because of the improved interfacial bonding and reduced porosity. The results set a processing guideline for manufacturing high performance, defect minimized basalt-epoxy laminates and make VARTM basalt composites as a viable alternative sustainable material to traditional glass-fiber material in the future for lightweight structural application.
Keywords: Basalt fiber, fiber volume fraction, mechanical performance, mechanical properties, void fraction
[This article belongs to Special Issue under section in Journal of Polymer & Composites (jopc)]
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Journal of Polymer & Composites
| Volume | 14 | |
| Special Issue | 04 | |
| Received | 02/07/2026 | |
| Accepted | 16/07/2026 | |
| Published | 24/07/2026 | |
| Publication Time | 22 Days |