I've been working with several industrial material like fiberglass and stone based insulation and came across this material while searching for an alternative to fiberglass tape. Basalt has a lot of useful properties like high impact resistance, high tensile strength, low heat conductivity, outstanding electrical insulating characteristics, chemical resistance and corrosion resistance.... it can be fully recyclable. I have seen this material starting to replace steel and fiberglass and certain carbon fiber application. Thanks for sharing your analysis.

I've never heard of basalt fabric. Thanks for a very informative option. Great video.

I've been wondering if there is a "basalt foam" as a core material and as insulation. Theoretically I think it should be possible, there is some volcanic basalt rock with large bubbles. Then you could recycle a basalt fiber / basalt foam by simply melting it down again. That might be the ideal building material, lightweight, insulating and highly fire resistant. Thanks for the video!

@ExploreComposites

2 жыл бұрын

I haven't heard of it but that doesn't mean anything! Autoclaved aerated concrete is pretty neat stuff - maybe one could use a similar process with basalt? I just don't know much about the process...

@dejayrezme8617

2 жыл бұрын

@@ExploreComposites Only thing I know is that you only need to melt basalt once to create the fibers without consuming oil or producing CO2. Which is great. So the process should be possible but might not have been developed yet.

@xlbbman

Жыл бұрын

RockWool insulation is blown basalt fiber, not as stiff as a foam like your talking about though.

@MonstroLab

2 ай бұрын

Not a foam but Maybe theres a Basalt honeycomb instead of Nomex? Fascinating topic!

Have you ever done pink styrofoam panel sandwich construction laminates? I think the Owens Corning product has very good compressive strength and is very inexpensive.

@ExploreComposites

3 жыл бұрын

I haven't but it might be worth looking into. What thickness do you think would be useful? Owens Corning Foamular 250 XPS is 1.5lb/cu ft. and has a compressive strength of 25psi. For reference a 2.5lb PVC foam has a compressive strength of about 75psi. So the XPS isn't great but it might be useful for something - and it's cheap!

@GrantOakes

3 жыл бұрын

@@ExploreComposites Wow, I had no idea the PVC foam was so much higher on compressive strength! I have used the "pink" foam as ribs for my tunnel hull boat and glassed them in place. I was thinking of 1/2' and 1"

I’m curious how it would perform with the same core thickness in LW-PLA. Obviously I would use the foam core for strictly flat panel layups, but LW-PLA might work great for curved surfaces in aviation. Maybe this idea could be done in episode 49/50?? This idea could work great for having replaceable panels, kinda like fenders, hoods, or doors, on aircraft to make repairs easier.

@ExploreComposites

4 ай бұрын

Thanks for the suggestion! I have been wanting to try LW-PLA for a while but hadn't considered it for a core. Next time I order filament I'll try to get some. Could probably be printed as a skinned honeycomb and just get laminated over with a light layer of fiber on each side...

@OffGridOverLander

4 ай бұрын

@@ExploreComposites For an outside skin on aircraft or cars I don’t think the comb would be necessary. For stringers and ribs I would use 3D formed reinforcement, like half a circle to hopefully match up with some carbon tube. I haven’t drawn it on F360 yet but that’s how I’m imagining it in my head. I’m thinking carbon tube for transferring loads between 3d printed panels and along the fuselage.

5:56 inHg ? what do you have against PSI or kPa ? Great video by the way. Thanks.

@annakquinn7084

2 жыл бұрын

What do you have against conversions?

@ExploreComposites

2 жыл бұрын

Thats the most common way vacuum in described where I'm from - or bar or Torr. I just read what it says on the tag on the pump - and on the gauge! Do people us PSI for vacuum?

Hey... You need to look at the resin chart... Usually you have a first time for vacuum. Eg 20min for using the epoxy and 24h befor demold and 3h Fist vacuum. That is the reason why you pulled out to much resin. If you use a microscope you can see the different seturation on the fibers. I know it always depends on the job you wanna do if you stick to it. I have done this as well and no one is complaining but it's something to have in mind of you want a better quality Thanks for doing those videos! Arne

@ExploreComposites

3 жыл бұрын

I’m not sure I follow but I want to! Do you mean that I should wait to put on the vacuum until an amount of time (20min) has passed and then pull one level for a while (3hr) before changing it again. The Proset chart doesn’t seem to mention vacuum levels but I will look a their other material. This sounds like other things I have heard so I am very interested! Do you have an example of a resin chart where they describe this?

@carbonarne675

3 жыл бұрын

@@ExploreComposites give me a second my friend

@ExploreComposites

3 жыл бұрын

Thank you for teaching me something new! If you’re scrolling the comments check out Arne’s video here with details about this: kzread.info/dash/bejne/qH2my5KbmbLSj5c.html Going to try this!

Sorry to be pedantic but your weight per square meter in your opening spreadsheet is off by a few decimal places.

@ExploreComposites

3 жыл бұрын

You’re totally right! Thanks for pointing this out. I changed the units for the previous sample but forgot to change it back. I sure wish editing videos was an option!

Hi Chris thanks for the awesome videos! I have a few questions but didn't find the answer on the internet, maybe you can put the info on your site :) Im working on a project and looking for the best material / cost combo 1. I need it to be flexible (for the hinge part) 2. high tensile strength as minimal elongation as possible 3. itchiness is a problem, dogs can run on it with sharp fingernails, so if you have an idea for a coat that will eliminate the problem that works also so I saw this video and thought maybe basalt will do it? until now I thought of kevlar, but its expansive and broke on the hinge Will be happy too hear your thoughts :)

@slimanus8m

3 жыл бұрын

Also, weight is not an issue, but thickness is (because it need to flex 25 degrees)

@ExploreComposites

3 жыл бұрын

Basalt is not really flexible like Kevlar is - and it is itchy! Most of the composite hinges I have seen are Kevlar or some similar thermoplastic fiber. Could you just use a plastic sheet material for the hinge. Many thermoplastics can be glued with methacrylate or epoxy adhesives.

@slimanus8m

3 жыл бұрын

​@@ExploreComposites Thanks brother! Are you talking about fabrics like dyneema / Diolen ? Can you list other fabrics that you know? And if you know where to source them because it is extremally hard for me to find... (with international shipping is preferable)

@1.30 Here how does steel rebar compaire ?

@ExploreComposites

2 жыл бұрын

I’m not sure strength-wise - probably just an engineering issue. Corrosion resistance is probably more of a selling point for basalt.

Did you come across www.basalt-fabric.com in your research? I've been curious if they'd be a good place to source fabric from?

@ExploreComposites

3 жыл бұрын

I bought this material from Smarter Building Systems - so yes! Learned a lot about basalt talking with Nick.

Ichy?

@ExploreComposites

2 жыл бұрын

I hear it is more itchy than glass but this is the only basalt I've ever used so don't have a good feel for it...

I think your estimate of 200 gm/m2 for foam coating is too high. I'd use 100 gm/m2 each side at most.

@ExploreComposites

3 жыл бұрын

It looks like you were right based on the actual panel weight... but I also mis-handled my vacuum and removed too much resin. Do you find that higher density foam takes less resin to bond?

I can see why it's not that widespread. It doesn't provide compelling advantages over fiberglass and it's nowhere near carbon. It strong points, that is the heat insulation / fire retardant properties and the wide availability of raw material seem not enough to compensate for the higher production cost caused by the higher temperature needed to melt it.

@ExploreComposites

2 жыл бұрын

You make good points - I am not well informed yet but tend to agree given what I know at this point...

I need job please i have 10 years experience on this field. Fiberglass