Evaluation of the Effect of Different Operating Environments on the Mechanical Properties of Basalt Plastics Based on Epoxy Binder

The results of assessing the tensile strength and interlayer shear strength of basalt plastics manufactured by vacuum infusion technology using an epoxy binder with an anhydride hardener are presented. After the manufacture of basalt plastics, they were kept for 60 days in ordinary and sea water, in an alkali solution, under ultraviolet irradiation, as well as under thermal cycling. As a result of the research, it was found that alkaline environments have the greatest influence of all the studied working factors (tensile strength is reduced by 32%). In the work, two batches of samples were made: ordinary and with an artificial defect. As a result of long-term tests, it was found that the presence of a defect on the surface of basalt plastics leads to a decrease in tensile strength only after holding the samples in liquid media. For example, the aging of defective samples in distilled and seawater, as well as in alkali solutions, leads to a decrease in tensile strength by 17, 19, and 20%, respectively, but if the defective samples are exposed to UV irradiation or thermal cycling, then the loss of strength does not exceed 1.5%.