The influence of two selected composite manufacturing technologies, hand lay-up lamination and vacuum infusion with autoclave curing, was investigated. To characterise the basic material properties, tensile testing of cross-ply basalt laminates was first carried out. Next, Arcan fixture tests were performed to obtain data on the failure strenghts at angles between 0° and 90° with a 15° increment. The fracture modes in pure tension, combined tension-shear and pure shear were analysed using a microscope. In biaxial states between 15°-75° and pure shear at 90°, the deformation and the shear-induced damage start to accumulate significantly. Microscopic analysis showed that large extent of damage is the consequence of the shear deformation after the rotation of 0° clamped fibers, while the 90° fiber maintained their original straight form. The test results showed that the composites produced by vacuum infusion and autoclave curing achieved better fiber volume fraction, elastic modulus and tensile strenght in transverse direction, while composites made by han lay-up achieved higher tensile strenght in transverse direction and shear strenght in both longitudinal and transverse direction.
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