Basalt Frp Composite as Reinforcements in Infrastructure

Basalt continuous fibers are regarded as an inert and naturally occurring material that is produced from basalt rock by using single component raw material and drawing and winding fibers from the melt. Basalt based materials are environmentally friendly and nonhazardous. Basalt FRP (BFRP) composites as a reinforcement not only display a higher strength and modulus, but also a similar cost, and more chemical stability compared to E-glass FRP composites. Moreover, BFRP can work in a wide range of temperatures (-269-650 C). Basalt FRP is a new FRP composites compared with carbon, glass and aramid FRP. Although the studies of BFRP composites are far from sufficient, some fundamental studies on a different type of BFRP reinforcement and its related applications have demonstrated the advantages and high performance of BFRP in structural strengthening and innovative new constructions. In this paper, some major studies on BFRP reinforcements and the related applications based on the works of the authors’ research group are summarized.