Effect of melt homogenization on the structure and properties of zirconium-rich basalt fibers

The slow dissolution process of zirconium oxide (ZrO2) limits the efficient and energy-saving production of zirconium-rich basalt fibers with excellent alkali resistance for fiber-reinforced concrete. Therefore, it is necessary to investigate the optimum homogenization conditions to produce high-performance zirconium-rich basalt fibers. In this study, quenched zirconium-rich glasses and zirconium-rich fibers with the addition of 7 wt% ZrO2 at different homogenization temperatures and time were prepared. The quenched melt structure was characterized by XRD and FTIR, and followed information about the melt structure obtained by Gaussian curve fitting of the FTIR spectra. The results indicated that obvious ZrO2 crystals appeared in the melts and fibers with homogenization temperature below 1500 °C and time below 4 h. The degree of polymerization of zirconium-rich basalt melt was found to increase with increasing homogenization temperature and time. Meanwhile, the tensile strength and production stability of zirconium-rich fibers increased with increasing the degree of polymerization. The optimum homogenization temperature and time for zirconium-rich basalt fibers were concluded to be 1580 °C and 10 h, and the corresponding tensile strength is 1799 MPa and 1761 MPa, respectively. By diffusion experiment of ZrO2 in basalt melt with altered major component content, it was found that the Ca, Mg, Na, and Fe significantly facilitated the melting of ZrO2 into basalt melt by XRD and EDS. It was mainly attributed to the charge-compensating effect of metal cations on the [ZrO6] octahedra, which promoted the homogenization of ZrO2 in basalt melt.