Quasi-static and dynamic tensile properties of basalt fibre reinforced polymer

Basalt Fibre Reinforced Polymer (BFRP) has been becoming more and more popularly used in structural strengthening and rehabilitation due to its advantages of high strength to weight ratio, easy to install, and anti-corrosion. During the service life, BFRP strengthened structures might be subjected to dynamic loadings such as blast and impact loads. It is essential to understand the material mechanical properties, especially the dynamic material properties of BFRP for reliable predictions of the performances of BFRP strengthened structures subjected to dynamic loads. Very limited study on the static and dynamic tensile properties of BFRP material is available in the literature. In this study, quasi-static and dynamic tests of the unidirectional BFRP with a unit weight of 300 g/m2 were conducted to examine the material properties of tensile strength, modulus and failure strain at various strain rates. The strain rate sensitivity on the material properties of BFRP was analyzed and discussed. Empirical formulae for the strength, elastic modulus and failure strain of BFRP material were proposed to estimate the dynamic enhancement at different strain rates.