Single Filament Tensile Testing of Mineral Fibres
topic
Single filament tensile testing mounts individual mineral fibres of defined gauge length on paper tabs using adhesive, loads specimens in a micro-tensile testing machine at 1 to 2 millimetres per minute crosshead speed, and records load-displacement curves from which filament tensile strength, elastic modulus, strain to failure, and Weibull shape parameter are calculated from a minimum of 30 filaments.
Role
Provides the fundamental fibre-level mechanical property data for glass, carbon, basalt, and ceramic fibre quality control and development, enabling detection of fibre strength variability from defects and surface damage, characterisation of gauge length dependence revealing dominant flaw populations, and statistical comparison of alternative fibre compositions and manufacturing process variants.