JEC COMPOSITES MAGAZINE - Issue #68 Special JEC Asia - October 2011 - 24

basalt

interview
RENAULD MONTULET TECHNICAL MANAGER ISOMATEX

specifications for each and every delivery. For this, it is essential to have compliance certificates and sample analysis for each batch before delivery, in order to check that each shipment does comply with the specifications. JCM: Do your compensate by adding SiO2, Fe203, TiO2 or other oxides to obtain a constant composition for your raw material, as is done for glass-fibre production? R.M. : Starting with the raw-material composition, we use a proprietary recipe to add other mineral components to each batch to ensure the processability of the basalt glass and the mechanical performance of the fibre at the end of the production line. This is a tricky and crucial step. Quality control on the supply source plus stringent control over the batching process allow reaching the best mechanical, thermal and chemical values, thereby keeping Isomatex’s FilavaTM fibres at the leading edge in mineral fibre reinforcement and in

competition with high-end glass fibres. JCM: The gas-furnace melting process is rather an old one. Do you use other, more effective techniques? R.M. : Gas-furnace melting techniques for basalt are not the most appropriate ones because, as basalt is very opaque, it is a poor conductor for infra-red radiation. So we opted for electromagnetic induction melting techniques. Electrical induction that uses induced electromagnetic fields also has the advantage that the electromagnetic fields agitate the molten mass, which promotes homogenization of the melt. Otherwise, it would be difficult to stir using mechanical mixers, due to the natural abrasiveness of basalt and the high melting point. As an energy source, electricity also has the advantage that it is consistent with long-term environmental goals, because it minimizes emissions at the production site and offers the long-term prospect of entirely “green” energy supplies.

JEC Composites Magazine: Basalt rock, your raw material, is a natural material. How do you organize your production to ensure quality and reproducibility? RENAULD MONTULET : The first step consists in identifying the deposits that match our tolerance range for ore characteristics. Then you have to negotiate with the quarries to reach a service level agreement on the quality-control and acceptance procedures for the merchandise, to ensure compliance with the mineralogical and particle size

interview
NICOLAS PUGET RD MANAGER ROSSIGNOL

JCM: Which technical characteristic offered by basalt fibre are you more particularly interested in? N.P. : All the mechanical characteristics are superior to E-glass fibre. It is precisely the balance between performance and The fibres produced from this volcanic stability obtained when rock have turned out to be highly developing our skis that complementary to glass fibre, with higher retained our attention performance in laboratory conditions about this fibre, and which (modulus of elasticity, breaking stresses), also surpassed the and damping properties that impressed experiments we had our testers right from the first tests on carried out on various Zenith 76 Aramid Basalt glass fibres. snow. JEC Composites Magazine: What role in your composite applications do you give basalt fibre with respect to traditional fibres like glass and carbon? N ICOLAS P UGET: The Rossignol group’s R&D teams studied basalt fibre and started introducing it into our ski structures in 2006, especially in our racing skis.

jec composites magazine / No68 October 2011

The stresses and impacts that downhill skis are subjected to on snow and ice are conditions for which basalt improves performance, which is why we have pushed this research so that standard skis can also benefit from these properties.

is estimated about 13,000 metric tons, of which 15-20% go to composites applications.

Conclusion
From the technological and economic points of view, basalt fibres are in direct competition with glass fibres (E/S2). Their production has undergone a lot of progress in terms of quality and reproducibility, and the fact that they are environment friendly and easy to recycle should help their penetration in the composite market.
More information: www.jeccomposites.com
Acknowledgement 1. Basalt fibre reinforcements for composites: JEC Composites No.28, October 2006 2. Past, present and future of continuous basalt fibre: JEC Composites Magazine No.35, September 2007 3. Volcanic-rock continuous fibre: a growing demand: JEC Composites Magazine No.36, October 2007 4. Advanced basalt fibre in high-tech applications: JEC Composites Magazine No.44, October 2008 5. Kamenny Vek: the Russian basalt-fibre specialist: JEC Composites Magazine No.51, September 2009

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JEC COMPOSITES MAGAZINE - Issue #68 Special JEC Asia - October 2011

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of JEC COMPOSITES MAGAZINE - Issue #68 Special JEC Asia - October 2011