The Effect of Prestressing and Temperature on Tensile Strength of Basalt Fiber-Reinforced Plywood

The reinforcement of plywood is demonstrated by laminating pretensioned basalt fibers between veneer sheets, to fabricate so-called prestressed plywood. Belt type basalt fibers bearing a specific adhesion promoting silane sizing were aligned between veneer sheets with 20 mm spacing and were pretensioned at 150 N. Three-layer plywood samples were prepared and tested for tensile strength at room temperature and at 150 degrees C. The room temperature tensile tests revealed a 35% increase in tensile strength for prestressed plywood compared to that of the conventional specimen. The reinforcement effect deteriorated at 150 degrees C but was restored upon cooling to room temperature. The deterioration is attributed to the weakening of bonding between the basalt fibers and phenolic resin matrix at elevated temperatures due to the softening of the resin.