A low-cost and high-strength basalt/carbon fiber reinforced polymer improved by imitating tree-root micro/nano aramid short fiber

The high-strength Basalt Carbon Fiber Reinforced Polymer (BCFRP) composites had been manufactured by guiding Imitating Tree-root Micro/Nano Aramid Short Fiber (IT-MNASF) into the interlayer of Basalt Fiber (BF) and Carbon Fiber (CF) plies to form thin interleaving, and various mass proportions of IT-MNASF were designed to discuss the reinforcing effect on the BCFRP heterogeneous composites. The results of three points bending tests showed that flexural strength and energy absorption of 4wt% IT-MNASF reinforced BCFRP heterogeneous composites had been improved by 32.4% and 134.4% respectively compared with that of unreinforced specimens. The 4wt% IT-MNASF reinforced BCFRP specimens showed both a greater strength and a lower cost (reduced by 31% around) than that of plain CFRP composites. X-ray micro-computed tomography scanning results exhibited that the delamination-dominated failure of plain BCFRP composites was changed into multi-layer BF and CF fabrics damage. The reinforcing mechanism revealed that the introduced IT-MNASF could construct quasi-vertical fiber bridging, and it was used as “mechanical claws” to grasp adjacent fiber layers for creating a stronger mechanical interlocking, and this effectively improved resin-rich region and interfacial transition region at the interlayers. The simple and effective IT-MNASF interleaving technique was very successful in low-cost and high-strength development of BCFRP heterogeneous composites.