Proceedings of the 5

th
Manufacturing Engineering Society International Conference Zaragoza
June 2013
Manufacturing of a Basalt Fibre Reinforced
Bio-polymer composite sandwich longboard
J.A. Garca anri!ue
"1#
$ %. &oto
"2#
$ J.P. 'orres
"3#
"1#
(nstituto de )ise*o y +a,ricaci-n$ .ni/ersidad Polit0cnica de 1alencia$ 23ain.
4ugarcia56c6.u3/.es
"2#
(nstituto de )ise*o y +a,ricaci-n$ .ni/ersidad Polit0cnica de 1alencia$ 23ain.
reho5doctor.u3/.es
"3#
(nstituto de 7iencia y 'ecnologa de ateriales$ .ni/ersidad 8ac. de ar del
Plata$ Argentina. 43torres59.6d3.edu.ar
ABSRAC
8o:adays$ there is a gro:ing interest for the use and de/elo36ent
of 6aterials synthesized fro6 rene:a,le sources in the 3oly6er
co63osites 6anufacturing industry; this a33lies for ,oth 6atri< and
reinforce6ent co63onents. (n the 3resent in/estigation$ a ,asalt
9,re reinforced "=+%# ,io>,ased e3o<y syste6 together :ith a cor?
core is 3ro3osed for its use in co63osite sand:ich structures.
echanical characterization of tensile and @e<ural 3ro3erties :as
carried out. (n addition$ 3er6ea,ility 6easure6ents of the 9,er
reinforce6ent :ere 3erfor6ed. A case study$ na6ely the fa,rication
of a long,oard using the hand lay>u3 techni!ue :as carried out. A
detailed descri3tion of the 6anufacturing 3rocess is 3resented along
:ith 9nite ele6ent si6ulations of the 6echanical res3onse of the
9nal 3iece.
!eywords" ,io3oly6er co63osites$ co63osite sand:ich$ cor?$
hand lay>u3$ +A analysis
#$ Introduction
Bong,oarding is a relati/ely 6odern s3ort ,orn in the1C50s :hich :as 9rst
de/elo3ed ,y s?ate,oarders :ho :anted to go faster and recreate the feeling of
sur9ng on a hard surface. 'he necessary e!ui36ent consist of ,oard :ith t:o truc?s
6ounted :heels 9<ed to the ,oard. (n order to ?ee3 the :eight as lo: as 3ossi,le$
,oards are usually 6ade of 6a3le o ,a6,oo sheets ,onded together. 'he 6ain
disad/antage of using 6a3le or ,a6,oo is that it har/esting in an unsustaina,le
:ays can lead to 6any socials 3ro,le6s such as hu6an health issues$ as :ell as
loss of recreational areas and other ,ene9ts that forest 3roduce.
8o:adays$ there is a gro:ing need for the 3roduction and de/elo36ent of 6aterials
synthesized fro6 rene:a,le sources and to decrease the :orldDs de3endence on
3etroleu6. (n the 9,re reinforced 3oly6er co63osites "+%P7s# 6anufacturing
industry$ these tendencies ha/e recently led to the in/estigation of 3ossi,le
su,stitutes$ ,oth for 6atri< and reinforce6ent co63onents. %ecently$ ,io>,ased
6atri< 6aterials ha/e recei/ed considera,le attention 6ainly for ,eing non
3etroleu6>de3endent E1F. 'hese syste6s can ,e o,tained fro6 sustaina,le sources
such as /egeta,le oil$ cellulose and soy 3rotein$ a6ong others. (n the case of ,io>
,ased ther6osetting resins$ 6uch research is still 3ending as 6echanical 3ro3erties
co63ara,le :ith those of 3etroleu6>,ased counter3arts are /ery diGcult to achie/e
E2F.
Hith res3ect to 9,er reinforce6ents$ ,asalt 9,ers "=+s# ha/e ,een recently studied
as sustaina,le alternati/e for 9,er reinforce6ent as E3F the earth has 3ractically
unli6ited ,asalt reser/es and they can ,e recycled. =+s are 3roduced fro6 ,asalt
roc?$ the 6ost co66on roc? found in the earth crust. Also$ ,asalt is ,iologically
inert and its :eathering increases the 6ineral content of soil. 'he 9,res are
6anufactured ,y 6elting at 1300>1I00 J7 and su,se!uent s3inning. 'his
Proceedings of the 5
th
Manufacturing Engineering Society International Conference Zaragoza
June 2013
6anufacturing 3rocess re!uires no 3recursor or additi/es decreasing its
en/iron6ental i63act and 3roduction costs EKF. %egarding 6echanical 3erfor6ance$
it has ,een re3orted that =+ has higher 6odulus and strength than G+ E5F. (n
addition$ ,asalt has 6uch higher che6ical resistance than glassL it can ,e used for
the trans3ortation and storage of corrosi/e li!uids and gases. (t also has 6uch
,etter electrical insulating 3ro3erties and ther6al>sta,ility than glass E3F. Mther
ad/antages are high .1 radiation and sea:ater resistance. +inally$ reduction of ris?
of en/iron6ental 3ollution li?e high>to<ic 6etals and o<ides can ,e achie/ed ,y
re3lacing glass 9,er :ith ,asalt 9,er. All of these features 6a?e =+s a suita,le
su,stitute for G+s. oreo/er$ :hen co63aring =+s against 7+s$ des3ite ha/ing
lo:er strength and stiNness$ =+s are 6ore attracti/e fro6 an en/iron6ental
3rotection 3ers3ecti/e since they oNer sustaina,ility and inde3endence fro6
3etroleu6 at signi9cantly lo:er costs. (t is i63ortant to re6ar? that ,asalt 9,er
interface interaction :ith 3oly6eric resins is not co63letely understood EKF and a
su,4ect of further in/estigation in order to gain a 3recise ?no:ledge of its eNect on
6echanical 3ro3erties.
+%P7s can ,e co6,ined :ith a lo:>density core 6aterial to 3roduce co63osite
sand:ich structures. 'hese structures are intended to ,e used in light:eight
a33lications re!uiring high ,ending stiNness and strength EOF. A 9,er co63osite
sand:ich 6aterial consists of 9,er co63osite to3 and ,otto6 s?ins$ :hich carry
6ost of the in>3lane and ,ending loads$ and a core that ,ears the trans/erse shear
and nor6al loads :hile 3ro/iding a light:eight structure. 'hese 6aterials ha/e
,een 6ainly used in the 6arine and aircraft industries$ ,ut no:adays their use in
ci/il a33lications such as s3orts e!ui36ent is under constant de/elo36ent. 7ore
6aterials ty3ically used in sand:ich structures are honeyco6,s$ foa6s and ,alsa. A
sustaina,le alternati/e for use as core 6aterial is cor?$ a natural 3roduct o,tained
fro6 the outer ,ar? of the cor? oa?. 7or? is a ,ar? that is har/ested e/ery nine
years oN cor? oa?s trees :ithout har6. (t has ,een used for thousands of years as
a /alua,le rene:a,le resource. Cork is an amazing insulator that dampens road vibration. (t
also has e<cellent energy>a,sor,ing ca3acity.
'he o/erall o,4ecti/e of this :or? is to in/estigate the a33lica,ility of a no/el =+%
,io>,ased e3o<y syste6 co6,ined :ith cor? as core 6aterial for the fa,rication of
9,re co63osite sand:ich s3orts e!ui36ent. +or this$ 6echanical 3ro3erties of ,oth
s?in and core 6aterials :ere assessed through @e<ural and tensile tests. A case
study :as 3erfor6ed for the 6anufacturing of a long,oard. Per6ea,ility
6easure6ents :ere 3erfor6ed and 6ould>9lling si6ulations :ere carried on PA>
%' and contrasted to actual o,ser/ations.
%$ E&perimental
2.1 echanical characterization
(n order to deter6ine the 6echanical 3ro3erties of the ,asalt 9,re ,io>e3o<y
co63osites$ tensile and @e<ural cou3ons :ere o,tained ,y :ater4et cutting of
1A%' 6anufactured @at 3anels. 7or? co63ression sa63les :ere o,tained fro6
cor? 3anels using a 3uncher. 2and:ich sa63les :ere cut fro6 re6aining 6aterial in
the long,oard fa,rication stage. All 6echanical tests :ere 3erfor6ed on an
(82'%M8 33O5 testing 6achine "+ig.1#. 'a,le 1 sho:s s3eci6en di6ensions
e63loyed in all cases.
Proceedings of the 5
th
Manufacturing Engineering Society International Conference Zaragoza
June 2013

Figure 1. a) set-up for compression testing of cork. b) Specimen confguration for
fexural testing of the composite sandwich.
Table 1: Configuration for mechanical tests
est type thic'ness
(mm)
width (mm) length (mm)
7o63ression
"cor?#
5.0 20 "dia6eter# >
'ensile "=+P7# 2.0 25 1P0
+le<ural "=+P7# 2.0 22 O0 "su33ort
s3an#
+le<ural
"sand:ich#
I.0 22 O0 "su33ort
s3an#
Proceedings of the 5
th
Manufacturing Engineering Society International Conference Zaragoza
June 2013
Figure 2. Finite
element mesh used
for the
simulation of the 3
point-bending
fexural test.
2.2 +inite
ele6ent
si6ulations
(n order to assess
the stress states de/elo3ed in the sand:ich 6aterial under @e<ural loads$ 9nite
ele6ent si6ulations of the @e<ural test :ere carried out in A=AQ.2R(63licit O.10.
'his study :ill later ser/e as a /alidation stage in the design 3rocess for the
o3ti6ization of 3art geo6etry and sand:ich con9guration for an actual 3art in the
case study section. 'he @e<ural test :as 6odeled using 27P%P>node !uadrilateral
continuu6 shell ele6ents for the ,asalt 9,er s?in and 73)P% P>node linear ,ric?
ele6ent for the cor? core. 'he su33orts and loading ti3 :ere 6odeled as analytical
solids. 7ontact interaction 3ro3erties :ere si63li9ed assu6ing frictionless ,eha/ior
and ShardT contact nor6al ,eha/ior. +ig. 2 sho:s the 3art geo6etry and 6esh
distri,ution e63loyed. 'he cor? 6aterial :as 6odeled as an isotro3ic hy3erelastic
6aterial using the hy3erfoa6 o3tion in A=AQ.2. 'he ,asalt reinforced s?in :as
6odeled as a linear orthotro3ic solid. aterial 3ara6eters such as 3oisson ratio and
shear 6odulus$ that :ere not deter6ined e<3eri6entally$ :ere o,tained fro6 the
literature E5F.
*$ Results + ,iscussion
3.2 echanical characterization
echanical 3ro3erties for each 6aterial are 3resented in ta,le 2. +or the =+P7$
linear elastic res3onse :ith ,rittle ru3ture :as o,ser/ed as e<3ected "+ig. 3a#.
+le<ural testing on =+P7 sho:ed a linear res3onse u3 to a 3oint :ere stress starts to
3resent s6all and continuous dro3s "+ig. 3,#. (t :as o,ser/ed that these dro3s
corres3onded to 6aterial failure occurring in the u33er face of the test cou3on
:hich is under a co63ressi/e stress state "+ig. K#.
Proceedings of the 5
th
Manufacturing Engineering Society International Conference Zaragoza
June 2013
0$000 0$025 0$050 0$0I5
0
100
200
300
K00
500
O00
2
t
r
e
s
s

"

P
a
#
no6inal strain "66R66#
0$00 0$01 0$02 0$03
0
100
200
300
K00
500
2
t
r
e
s
s

"

P
a
#
+le<ural strain "66R66#
Figure 3. Stress-strain curves for F!". a) tensile test# b) fexural test

Figure 4. Successive stages of F!" compressive failure in fexural tests.
+le<ural testing of the co63osite sand:ich sho:ed a non>linear stress>strain
e/olution u3 to a 3oint :here there is a signi9cant stress dro3 follo:ed ,y an
a33ro<i6ately constant stress region. 'his 3oint corres3onds to 6aterial failure
associated :ith shear failure of the cor? core 6aterial as can ,e seen in +ig. O. +ig.
Ia sho:s the 9nite ele6ent results for the si6ulation of the test along :ith a
re3resentation of the corres3onding nor6al stress 3ro9le along the sy66etry 3lane
of the sa63le "3lane $%$ :here z is the loading a<is#. 2hear stresses in in the cor?
core are a33ro<i6ately ho6ogeneous in the thic?ness :hile is assu6ed negligi,le
in the s?in 6aterial since they are 6odeled as shells. +ig.I, sho:s the e/olution of
shear stresses in the cor? 6aterial as a function of distance fro6 the a<is of
sy66etry. (ts /alue is 0 along the sy66etry 3lane and increases to a 6a<i6u6
/alue located at a33ro<i6ately the 6iddle 3oint ,et:een the loading ti3 and the
su33ort. 'his fact is also con9r6ed in the o,ser/ations of tested sa63les "+ig.O#.
=oth +igs. Ia and I, are /ery useful for understanding ho: stress and defor6ation
distri,ution occurs in co63osite sand:ich under @e<ural loads. +ro6 +or the
3ur3ose of 6echanical design$ a 6a<i6u6 allo:a,le shear stress "
max
# assu63tion
:as 6ade. 'his si63li9cation arises fro6 the fact that the e<3ected a33lication of
the sand:ich 3art :ill carry 3redo6inantly @e<ural loads. 'he critical /alue for the
shear stress in the cor? core :as o,tained fro6 the 9nite ele6ent si6ulation shear
stress 3ro9le.
able %$ echanical 3ro3erties o,tained for sand:ich co63onents
est type -oung modulus
(M.a)
Strength (M.a)
7o63ression
"cor?#
K.5 >
'ensile "=+P7# 5K$IIO 513
+le<ural "=+P7# 5O$K55 KO2
Proceedings of the 5
th
Manufacturing Engineering Society International Conference Zaragoza
June 2013
0$000 0$025 0$050 0$0I5 0$100
0
10
20
30
K0
2
t
r
e
s
s

"

P
a
#
+le<ural strain "66R66#
Figure 5. Stress-strain results for the composite sandwich fexural test.
Figure 6.: "ritical failure of the sandwich sample b$ shear cavitation in the cork
core.
>K50 >300 >150 0 150 300
0$0
0$2
0$K
0$O
0$P
1$0
8
o
r
6
a
l
i
z
e
d

d
i
s
t
a
n
c
e

a
l
o
n
g

z

a
<
i
s
8or6al stress alongyz 3lane "Pa#
0 10 20 30 K0 50 O0
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
35
K0
2
h
e
a
r

s
t
r
e
s
s

a
l
o
n
g

<
z

3
l
a
n
e

"

P
a
#
'rue distance along< a<is "66#
Figure 7. a) &ormal stress profle along the s$mmetr$ plane. b) shear stress
evolution along the x axis in the cork core.
/$ Case Study" Manufacturing of a longboard
Proceedings of the 5
th
Manufacturing Engineering Society International Conference Zaragoza
June 2013
'he 3ro3osed 6aterial syste6 :as e/aluated for its use in ur,an long,oards. 'he
long,oard :as 6anufactured using the hand lay>u3 techni!ue. +irst$ 2 layers of
,asalt :o/en fa,ric :ere 3laced in o3en 6old. 'hen$ the ,ioe3o<y resin :as
6anually 3oured and a33lied o/er the ,asalt 3lies. +ollo:ing this$ a cor? 3anel :as
3laced a,o/e the i63regnated 9,ers. Another 2 layer of ,asalt fa,ric :ere
i63regnated a,o/e the cor? 3anel. +inal 3art :as consolidated 3lacing the 6old
inside a ,ag and a33lying a /acuu6. A ,leeder 6aterial layer :as 3laced 3rior to
the /acuu6 in order to re6o/e the e<cess of resin "+ig. 10#. +ig. 11 sho:s the 9nal
3art o,tained after curing for 2K hs at a6,ient te63erature.
Proceedings of the 5
th
Manufacturing Engineering Society International Conference Zaragoza
June 2013
'he stress analysis for the long,oard under loading conditions :as 3erfor6ed ,y
running 9nite ele6ent si6ulations on A=AQ.2RA<3licit O.10. 'he failure criteria
3resented in the 3re/ious section :as used to e/aluate the 6echanical sta,ility of
the long,oard. An e<tre6e loading situation :as 6odeled considering the fall of a
C0 ?g :eight 3erson fro6 a 1 6eter height o/er the ,oard. 'his :as si63li9ed ,y
a33lying t:o loads$ o/er an area a33ro<i6ately e!ual to the size of a shoe$ in the
t:o 3oints 6id:ay ,et:een the center and the end of the 3art. 'he resulting stress
distri,ution is sho:n in +ig. 12. 'he stress analysis allo:s for the deter6ination of
the s?in thic?ness ,y 3ro/iding a lo:er ,ound ,elo: :hich de@ections are so large
that the cor? core fails ,y shear ca/itation. +or the 3resent design$ a 1 66. s?in
thic?ness resulted 3er6issi,le.

Figure 9: Simulation results for the longboard under normal service
loads. a) principal stress value b) shear stress distribution.
/$ Conclusions
An eco>friendly 6aterial syste6 for sand:ich structures$ na6ely ,asalt 9,er
reinforced ,ioe3o<y co63osite s?in and cor? core sand:ich$ 6ade fro6 rene:a,le
resources$ :as 3ro3osed. echanical 3erfor6ance under tensile and @e<ural loads
of the sand:ich and its se3arate constituents :as assessed on an (82'%M8
6achine. (t :as found that critical 6aterial failure is associated :ith cor? shear
ru3ture and a 6a<i6u6 allo:a,le shear stress :as deter6ined for the 6aterial for
its later use on design of sand:ich 3arts.
As a case study for the 6anufacturing and 3erfor6ance of the 6aterial under
ser/ice conditions$ a long,oard 3art :as 6anufactured using the hand lay>u3
techni!ue. 'he stress analysis and load ,earing ca3acity of the ,oard :as studied
Proceedings of the 5
th
Manufacturing Engineering Society International Conference Zaragoza
June 2013
,y 6eans of 9nite ele6ent si6ulations and the 3resented design 3ro/ed to ,e
acce3ta,le for ser/ice.
0$ Ac'nowledgements
'his research is s3onsored ,y the Generalitat 1alenciana$ under the 3rogra66e
P%MA'AM.
1$ Referencies
E1F U.Q. Biu$ H. &uang. Pre3aration of a ,io>,ased e3o<y :ith co63ara,le 3ro3erties
to those of 3etroleu6>,ased counter3arts. <UP%A22 Poly6er Betters$ 1ol. O$ 8o. K
"2012# 2C3>2CP.
E2F & iyaga:a$ A. ohanty$ %. =urgue*o$ B. )rzal$ . isra. 8o/el =io,ased %esins
fro6 =lends of +unctionalized 2oy,ean Mil and .nsaturated Polyester %esin. Journal
of Poly6er 2cienceL Part =$ "K5# "200I# OCP>I0K.
E3F 7. 7olo6,o$ B. 1ergani$ . =ur6an. 2tatic and fatigue characterisation of ne:
,asalt 9,re reinforced co63osites. 7o63osite 2tructures$ CK "2012# 11O5>11IK.
EKF 1. Bo3resto$ 7. Beone$ (. )e (orio. echanical characterisation of ,asalt 9,re
reinforced 3lastic. 7o63ositesL Part =$ K2 "2011# I1I>I23.
E5F Q. Biu. =asalt +i,er %einforced Poly6er 7o63osites Processing and Pro3erties.
Ph.) 'hesis. .ni/ersity of 7onnecticut$ 200O.
EOF A.7. analo. =eha/iour of 9,re co63osite sand:ich structures under short and
asy66etrical ,ea6 shear tests. 7o63osite 2tructures$ CC "2013# 33C>3KC.