Investigation on the Influence of Basalt Short Fiber on Thermo-Physical Properties of Aluminium Metal Matrix Composites.
The objective of this research work was to investigate 
on the influence of basalt fiber on the microstructure and thermo-physical properties of Al /basalt short fiber metal matrix composites (MMCs). The MMCs were fabricated by liquid metallurgical technique and the basalt short fiber varies from 0 to 10 wt. %. The developed MMCs were characterized for damping, coefficient of thermal expansion, specific heat and electrical resistance using dynamic mechanical analyzer, thermal mechanical analyzer, differential scanning calorimeter and four probe electrometer respectively. The results shows that the specific damping properties and specific heat increase with increasing basalt fibers addition\ but, electrical resistivity and coefficient of thermal expansion decreased.
Investigation on mechanical properties and failure mechanisms of basalt fiber reinforced aluminum matrix composites under different loading conditions
Basalt fiber reinforced aluminum matrix composites with different fiber contents (i.e. 0 wt%, 10 wt%, 30 wt% and 50 wt%) were prepared by hot-press sintering. Microstructure analysis indicates that basalt fibers are uniformly distributed in 10% basalt fiber reinforced aluminum matrix composite. The interfacial bonding between basalt fibers and aluminum matrix is good, and there is no interface reaction between basalt fiber and aluminum matrix. Quasi-static tensile, quasi-static compression and dynamic compression properties of basalt fiber reinforced aluminum composites were studied, and the influences of basalt fiber content on mechanical properties were discussed. Meanwhile, the failure mechanisms of basalt fiber reinforced aluminum matrix composites with different fiber content were analyzed.
Mechanical behaviour and durability of high volume fly ash cementitious composites
The purpose of this research is to separate different morphological particles of ASTM class F fly ash, and study their effect on mechanical behaviour and durability of high volume cementitious mixtures. In this research wet separation of raw fly ash is carried out, which resulted in three layers of different morphological particles. The first layer of particles float, comprise of about 1-5% of fly ash, is identified as cenospheres or hollow spheres. The second layer of particles is measured to be 55-60% of raw fly ash and consisting of porous spherical and rounded particles rich in Si and Al. The third layer particles is measured to be about 35-40% of raw fly ash. High volume fly ash cementitious composites containing second or third layer particles are tested under compression and bending, highlighting a higher strength and ductility in comparison to cementitious ones containing raw fly ash particles. KEYWORDS. Cementitious matrix; Raw fly ash; Second layer particles; Third layer particles.