Influence of vibration on basalt fiber crystallization at high temperature

Abstract The influence of low-frequency vibrational treatment on the crystallization of basalt wool fibers was studied. In this work, three series of samples were investigated. The first sample set was only one-sided heated at temperatures from 300 °C to 900 °C for 24 h. The second sample set was after only vibrational treatment with a frequency of 50 Hz and oscillations amplitude of 1 mm for 6–48 h. The third sample set was after simultaneous treatment of one-sided heating and vibration at temperatures from 300 °C to 600 °C with a frequency of 50 Hz and oscillations amplitude of 1 mm for 24 h. It is shown that at temperatures close to the glass transition temperature, vibration can influence on the relaxation processes in glasses and accelerate them. Mechanism of glass structure transformation in the basalt fiber does not change, but it starts at a slightly lower temperature. That is a consequence of an additional low-energy vibrational treatment. The vibrational treatment intensifies the crystallization process in basalt fibers and decreases the service temperature of the material by at least 40–50 °C.