Basalt Chopped Fiber

1. Basalt Chopped Fiber New brand TURBOBUILD-24-300 in concrete reinforcement segment Basalt Fibers LTD. www.basalt-fibers.com

2. About the company’sHistory – The world's first experimental steady basalt continuous fiber was obtained in the laboratory of the Institute of Building Materials, in Georgia, in the 60-th of the last century, and in 1985, In Belich (Ukraine) the first production was lunched. – “Basalt Fibers” LTD. Produces textile basalt fiber with its own technology since 1998.In the world exist three types of textile basalt fiber production technologies (one of them is Georgian) and are functioning only 7 manufactures. Currently the whole capacity of the textile basalt fiber manufacturers doesn’t exceed three thousand tones per year.

3. Process Textile basalt fiber is derived from Basalt stone melting and melted mass stretching. www.basalt-fibers.com

4. “Basalt Fibers” LTD presents Textile basalt fiber for the following applications in Construction sector. • Basalt Mat for thermal and noise insulation, which company produces by high-technological German equipment (www.truetzschler.eu)without any binders, is ecologically clean product. • Basalt Chopped Fiber • – Accelerates the timeline for the concrete strengthening • – Suppresses the formation of cracks on the concrete surface • – Allows to reduce amount of fittings in concrete • – Company with the leading research institute in Germany (www.ibu-trier.de) has accomplished tests on the produced products in different type of concrete reinforcement and has accordingly created recommendations for its optimal usage. www.basalt-fibers.com

5. Why is it desirable and necessary to use the chopped fiber in concrete reinforcement process? • Plain concrete Traditional construction using plain concrete is of course the cheapest, but slow process. This Type of constructions have high compressive strength, but they lack proper bending and elasticity parameters and can’t resist to impact. They tend to plastic shrinkage, Therefore causing surface cracks as well as some deep ones, That is prerequisite for quick collapse of the construction, especially in severe climate conditions. • Steel fittings reinforced concrete To improve drawbacks of the plain concrete steel fittings were used, but it eliminated only part of the problems, at the same time adding some negative characteristics to construction, because of incompatibility of particular physical and chemical parameters. For example thermal conductivity in steel is higher (27 – 63 w/mK), than in concrete (0,17 – 2,33 w/mK). www.basalt-fibers.com

6. Properties of the plain concrete Positive: • Cheap construction material; • High compressive strength. Negative: • Slow strengthening process; • Lack of bending and elasticity parameters; • Can’t endure impact. • Inclined to plastic shrinkage while strengthening process, that causes formation of cracks. That is prerequisite for the future damage of the construction, especially in severe climate conditions. www.basalt-fibers.com

7. Properties of steel reinforced concrete Positive: • High compressive strength; • Improved bending and elasticity parameters; • Improved impact resistance in compare to plain concrete. Negative: • Expensive construction material; • Slow strengthening process; • Generally, Surface cracks are formed, their deepening process is enhanced by intensive changes of environmental temperature, as thermal expansion coefficient in concrete and steel are different; •  1m3construction is becoming heavier; • To reduce hardness parameters, amount of intersections is raised, therefore element is becoming more heavy; • To reduce the negative effect of temperature fluctuations, it is prohibited to use fittings near the surface of the element, therefore it becomes more heavy. www.basalt-fibers.com

8. Chopped fibers reinforced concrete (Fiber-concrete) Main determinant of economic efficiency of modern construction projects is time of their accomplishment.In this case, the traditional steel - concrete construction system is quite slow process and does not allow to create light, spatial elements. So the weight of steel-concrete elements and slow and time consuming process of their creation has negative effect on economic characteristics of the construction process. Chopped fiber concrete reinforcement is the most effective way to improve negative characteristics of plain concrete elements in modern construction, that was actively accomplished in the world, especially during the last decade. Chopper fiber reinforced concretes have sharply improving parameters of strength, stability, impact resistance, freeze resistance and waterproofing. www.basalt-fibers.com

9. Chopped fiber reinforced concrete parameters • Negative: • Don’t have • Positive: • Because of better strength parameters amount of intersections is reduced, therefore construction materials are becoming cheaper; • High compressive strength; • High, steel concerted, bending and elasticity parameters; • Impact resistance; • Surface crack resistance; • Enhanced concrete strengthening process, not less than 2 times; • As doesn’t have surface cracks is stable to temperature fluctuations; • Improved product hardness parameter; • Improved stretching parameters of concrete; • Concrete plastic shrinkage effect disappears, while strengthening process; • Freeze resistance is raised; • Increased working life time of the element; • Improved parameter of waterproofing. www.basalt-fibers.com

10. Preferential areas for fiber-concrete (Chopped fiber reinforced concrete) usage 4.1. On the floors, ground plates and thin self straightening concretes for crack prevention. Also for the reduction of amount of fittings and the thickness of the concrete. 4.2.For improvement of strength parameters in steel-concrete constructions and other structural elements, also may be used in steel-concrete sills and in supportive elements, instead of traditional steel frame. 4.3. On warehouse floors and road construction for increasing surface viability. www.basalt-fibers.com

11. 4.4. In tunnels and relief constructions, while shotcreting process, to reduce the effect of concrete fall out. 4.5. In hydroelectric power station dikes for speeding up massive concrete pouring process. 4.6. For creation of relief, thin and wide surface concrete elements, where usage of steel for reinforcement is unavailable. www.basalt-fibers.com

12. 4.7. In bank protection elements for increasing viability against aggressive sea waters. 4.8. In breeding complexes in the floor tiles, to create protection against exceptionally aggressive environmental conditions. 4.9.For speeding up steaming process and for overcoming shock impact effect on the derived element. 4.10. In concretes used for oil well completion. www.basalt-fibers.com

13. Types of chopped fibers used in concrete reinforcement Fibers used in fibrous concrete are divided into the following groups: • Metal fibers • Chemical fibers (polypropylene, polyacrylonitrile, polyethylene and etc.) • Mineral fibers (AR glass and Basalt fiber) • Carbon fibers • Natural fibers To represent clearly the differences between above listed fiber’s and their effectiveness for use they should be defined by their physical and chemical parameters (comparison and compatibility). Also defining concrete resistance facilitating factors towards external conditions could improve concrete technical parameters. www.basalt-fibers.com

14. Comparative table of physical and chemical parameters of fibers used for concrete reinforcement Table1 www.basalt-fibers.com

15. In comparison with matrix, the metal fibers sharply high thermal conductivity coefficient and elongation percentage (in terms of large amplitude changes in temperature) create internal destructive forces, which contribute to superficial decay process of reinforced concrete. That is why, it is recommended to place reinforcement deep below the surface of the construction element. • In order to get fibrous concrete characteristics - 15kg metal fibers need to be added to 1m³ concrete due to the high unit weight of metal and large diameter of elementary fiber, which finally causes the price increase of concrete. This obvious disadvantage of metal fiber makes it less preferred in comparison to other reinforcement fibers and eliminates its indicator of high modulus of elasticity. • For having high elongation percentage and low unit weight chemical fibers are prone to concentrate mostly on the concrete surface, which doesn’t further to improvement of elasticity parameters in concrete. Therefore, this type of fibers are used only for surface cracks elimination. www.basalt-fibers.com

16. Specific points • Mineral fibers and carbons show the best results when obtaining techno-economic impacts of fibrous concrete, but carbon fibers show up the negative indicator of adhesiveness and high thermal conductivity coefficient (due to which concrete heats-up in depth) in comparison with concrete. Moreover, the carbon filament has a notably high sell price. Therefore, despite having the highest elasticity modulus and the best chemical stability in concrete it has the most expensive price for fibrous concrete production (constriction elements designed on the basis of carbon fiber show the best bending strength parameters). • Having good adhesive properties in concrete, mineral fibers reduce the effect of concrete elastic shrinkage. Usually, special organic additives are used to reduce elastic shrinkage effect of concrete, but this causes worsening of concrete strength parameters by 10-20%! www.basalt-fibers.com

17. Metal fibers effect on concrete parameters Positive effect: Negative effect: Thermal conductivity; Unit weight; Large diameter of fiber; Adhesiveness. • Thermal expansion coefficient (good); • Chemical stability (medium); • High rate of elasticity module. www.basalt-fibers.com

18. Chemical fiber effect on concrete parameters Positive: Negative: High thermal conductivity; Lower unit weight, than of concrete; High thermal expansion coefficient; High elongation coefficient; Low elasticity modulus; No-adherent in concrete; Large fiber diameter; Low heat resistance; Inefficient mechanical strength. • Chemical stability. www.basalt-fibers.com

19. Carbon fiber effect on concrete parameters Positive: Negative: High thermal conductivity; No-adherent in concrete; A very high price. • Unit weight - close to that of concrete; • Low elongation %; • Best elasticity modulus; • Best chemical stability; • Small fiber diameter; • Best thermal resistance; • Best mechanical stability. www.basalt-fibers.com

20. Mineral fiber effect on concrete parameters Positive: Negative: • Low thermal conductivity; • Unit weight is identical to concrete; • Thermal expansion coefficient close to that of concrete • Low elongation %; • Best adhesiveness in concrete; • Good chemical stability; • Small fiber diameter; • A wide range of thermal resistance; • Good mechanical strength. www.basalt-fibers.com

21. Mineral fibers (AR-glass, Basalt fiber) effect comparative analysis in concrete reinforcement • Mineral fibers have absolutely positive influence and good compatibility with concrete compared to all other types of concrete reinforcement fibers. • It’s almost two decades, that in the world construction market is actively used one type of chemically stable glass fiber in especially high alkali concrete solutions (pH13) to which zirconium dioxide (ZrO2) is added. • As for natural mineral fiber – Basalt Fiber- it is being used in construction for several years. It’s only in the last decade that extensive researches and tests have been conducted on this product with a view to its application in building sector. www.basalt-fibers.com

22. The main factor, for chemical stability in mineral fiber reinforced concretes, is the presence of heavy metal oxides in its molecular structure, which prevent mineral fiber structure and the strength determiner SiO2 from alkali leaching (silicon dioxide) in high pH concrete solution. Number of metal molecules in the fiber molecular structure with respect to thousand molecules of SiO2 Table 2 www.basalt-fibers.com

23. Comparison of physical and mechanical parameters of mineral fibers with respect to the concrete (have equal importance). Table 3 Comparison of these two types of fibers show us clearly the expected better effect of basalt fiber in concrete products, when comparing to AR-glass. This makes the basalt chopped fiber more desirable product to modern construction technologies. www.basalt-fibers.com

24. Significant effect In addition to technical advantages, it is also important to point out, that much more elementary basalt fibers are spread in concrete matrix contributing to the binding process, than in case of other type of fibers. Table 4 • That large amount of chopped basalt fiber determine faster formation of cement stone in concrete. • Therefore, the existence of 300 million alkali resistant elementary basalt fibers in 1 m ³ of concrete, unlike other reinforcement fibers, enable by 2 ÷ 3 times intense binding process during continuous concreting, without using expensive accelerators. www.basalt-fibers.com

25. Additional comments regarding the certification of basalt chopped fiber In relation to fiber reinforced concretes and cements basalt chopped fiber refer to alkali resistant mineral fiber class which is defined byC1666/C1666M-08 standard and the following important parameters have to be emphasized : Table 5 www.basalt-fibers.com

26. Some research information on advantages of the basalt chopped fiber usage in concrete reinforcement and its technical parameters improvement The fact that we are proposing the basalt fiber to customers is based on several years’ researches and tests which were conducted also on our products at one of the leading institutes in Europe. In details: • Cement grouts are used for oil well completion which are subjected to high pressures and temperatures as high as 200˚C. Therefore much attention is paid to their tensile strength, shock resistance and crack resistance. In such conditions usage of mineral fibers is the best and optimal choice and basalt fiber is one of the most attractive alternatives. (R. Felicetti, C Meyer and S. Shimanovich – Department of Civil Engineering and Engineering Mechanics, Columbia University, New York) www.basalt-fibers.com

27. Basalt fiber has some particular characteristics like: crack resistance, freeze resistance, shock and impact resistance. Thanks to this properties it extends the operation time of concrete. • Basalt fiber doesn’t have any side effects while mixing, pouring and curing. It improves adhesiveness and prolongs stability of concrete. • Basalt fiber increases concrete resistance and reduces its fragility, therefore it can be used in roads and bridges construction, so that to improve the quality of concrete. (“Fibers Unlimited” LTD. - Dutch research) • Test results of Loads on square slab show that, when using 24 mm basalt fibers in 3,5kg/m³ mixes they get effective bending strength - 0,31 N/mm². This index is slightly less than of metal fiber reinforced concrete one - (0,38 N/mm2). (IBU –Trier, Germany) www.basalt-fibers.com

28. Thank You For your kind Attention!!! www.basalt-fibers.com