Flexural and flexural-after-impact strength of basalt fiber reinforced polymer improved by ultra-thin zirconia fiber/epoxy films

This study focused on the interlaminar structure optimization and flexural performance improvement of laminated basalt fiber reinforced polymers (BFRP). Zirconia fiber (ZF) was self-prepared in laboratory by electrospinning method and used as reinforcing fiber to mix with epoxy resin form ZF/epoxy mixture, and then were introduced into interlayer of BFRP composite to build multi-directional flexible pins. The flexible ZF pins behaved as the fiber bridging to connect and grasp adjacent layers for stronger interlaminar bonding. Various areal densities (0.75 wt%, 1.5 wt%, 3 wt%, 4.5 wt%) of ZF were designed to evaluate the reinforcement effect. Three point bending results showed that BFRP composites with 3 wt% ZF exhibited the best flexural strength of 293.84 MPa and flexural strength after impact (FAI) of 23.44 MPa, enhanced by 48.67 % and 44.87 % respectively compared with the unreinforced specimens. The impact resistance was improved and the failure modes of BFRP were also changed from delamination-dominated failure to quasi-shear failure. In summary, the self-prepared ZF via electrospinning was a useful fiber to improve the flexural strength and FAI of BFRP composite, and had the potential to be an alternative in manufacturing high-performance laminated fiber-reinforced composite for civilian products.