FIBER REINFORCED PLASTICS
Friday, August 28th, 2009Fiber Reinforced Plastics (FRP) plays a very important role in the machine industry. FRP is generally a composite material. Composite materials are the one that has got improved properties and also they are developed in such a way to get the desired properties.
FRP has the properties of high strength, high modulus, greater heat resistance and light weight. For these properties they are used in many machine parts. The reinforced plastic has got fiberous glass in the form of mats, rovings and chopped strands. Vinyl silane-epoxy surface treatment is carried out on the fibers to improve their wet and dry strength, thereby increasing their tensile strength to withstand heavy loads.
Here plastics are mostly made of polyster resin and also other resins like epoxy and phenolic resins are also used. Boric acid is used as one of the melt rather than soda ash in the case of E type glass, one of the important glass fiber materials. In motor car bodies, sinks, chemical vats, etc., glass reinforced plastics are used as glass provides strength and the polymer reduces the brittleness. Synthetic textile fibers are treated in such a way to get the desired fibers.
Carbon fiber reinforced plastics has lower density and greater resistance, hence they are used in aero engines, high pressure rotor and stator blades. Silica and Boron fiber reinforced plastics have the same properties of high strength and low density. But Carbon fiber reinforced plastics are preferred over Silica and Boron fiber reinforced plastics because they are cheap.

