Project: Development of basalt/furan based composites for fire resistant applications
The aim of this project is the development of highly fire-resistant, light weight composites based basalt fibres and furan resin. Additionally, cellulose ‘interlayers’ may be used to further reduce weight and costs while maintaining the fire resistance by char formation. Apart from the new composite material, a new and faster curing method with reduced energy costs is aimed at. The developed method will allow both small and large scale curing of basalt/(cellulose)/furan prepregs. The objectives of this project include the development of basalt/cellulose/furan layered prepregs combined with a convenient curing method. Therefore, microwave curing, compression moulding and vacuum bagging will be evaluated and the most promising method identified. The focus will be on convenience, form-freedom, curing time, energy consumption and composite properties. The mechanical properties should meet at least the current standards for targeted applications (see full proposal). From preliminary testing, it has become clear that the envisioned composite has large potential in high-fire resistance materials while reducing the weight by approximately 33% and reducing the energy consumption by another 33%. An additional benefit is the use of renewable materials like the furan resin and optionally cellulose based fabrics. This way, a reduced carbon footprint of 33% is considered feasible. If technology is successful and is adopted by industry, the growth of (bio)composites in terms of market size is estimated to be in excess of 10% per annum. More importantly, rapid composites production will allow EU companies keep production in the region, thereby avoiding the need to import components from lower-cost economies. A detailed prospect is given in the full proposal.In order to achieve the goals, a 2 step approach is considered with close collaboration among the partners. In a first step lab scale samples will be produced according to the three methods. Both non destructive and destructive analysis will provide insight in both the mechanical properties (e.g. shear) and the fire resistance mechanism of layered basalt/cellulose/furan composites. Additionally, these tests will allow a comparison of the performance characteristics of the samples between the new microwave method and conventional techniques. In a second step, the most promising samples, combined with the optimised microwave curing will be evaluated to demonstrate the "scale-up-ability" of the microwave technology.
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Acronym
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RESCUE
(Reference Number: MFM-1936)
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Project Topic
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Multi-functional materials
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Network
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MATERA+
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Call
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Matera+ Call
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Project partner
