Investigation on Interleaving Effect of CaCO3 Particulates in Sequential Layered Basalt Polymeric Laminates

A boom in the use of fibres as reinforcements in the fabrication of composites due to growing design and structural application concerns can be seen globally. One such economically viable and environment friendly material is basalt fibre. In this present work a comparative study of basalt fibre reinforced vinyl ester interleaved with different levels of CaCO3 as particulate filler is performed on mechanical and vibration characteristics. Interleaved particulate composite sample was fabricated by a hand layup process followed hydraulic compression pressing. Test results of tensile, flexural, and vibration on basalt /CaCO3 interleaved composite were reported. The fractured surface of the interleaved particulate composite samples has been evaluated using Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM). Maximum tensile and bending strength are shown by the BC10 composite having 10% CaCO3 of 286 MPa and 355.4 MPa. The result revealed that inclusion of CaCO3 enhanced the composites’ natural frequency.