PSI - Issue 66

M. Totaro et al. / Procedia Structural Integrity 66 (2024) 205–211 Author name / Structural Integrity Procedia 00 (2025) 000–000

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approach also ensures minimal environmental impact due to its low emission of volatile organic compounds. The rectangular specimens were cut by a band saw. Fig. 2a,b show magnified images of Basalt and Glass specimens under the Leica M165 FC optical microscope. It is noted that Basalt Fibres are more robust, and the weave pattern is more distinct, whereas Glass Fibres are thinner and show a less pronounced weaving effect.

Fig. 1 (a) Vacuum Infusion process (b) GF panel (c) BF panel.

Fig. 2 (a) GF specimen, (b) BF specimen

2.2. Experimental test For the evaluation of failure behaviours, static tensile tests were carried out according to ASTM D 3039/D 3039M-00e1 standard. The servo-hydraulic testing machine MTS model 810, equipped with a load cell of 250kN, is used. During the tests, the composite behaviour was monitored from an infrared thermal camera (type FLIR SC640), placed approximately 250 mm in front of the specimen. All static tensile tests were performed at room temperature and under standard humidity conditions. Tests were conducted in displacement control, at 2 mm/min speed of the crosshead, using a set of samples measuring 25 x 250 mm². Experimental setup is shown in Fig. 3.

Fig. 3 Experimental Setup.