Chemical properties, glass fibers

Keywords glass fiber (GF), composition, physical properties, chemical resistance, electrical properties, optical properties, glass fiber production, glass fiber reinforced composites. 

The tensile and flexural properties as well as resistance to cracking in chemical environments can be substantially enhanced by the addition of fibrous reinforcements such as chopped glass fiber. Mechanical properties at room temperature for glass fiber-reinforced polysulfone and polyethersulfone are shown in Table 5. 

The mechanical properties of composites are mainly influenced by the adhesion between matrix and fibers of the composite. As it is known from glass fibers, the adhesion properties could be changed by pretreatments of fibers. So special process, chemical and physical modification methods were developed. Moisture repel-lency, resistance to environmental effects, and, not at least, the mechanical properties are improved by these treatments. Various applications for natural fibers as reinforcement in plastics are encouraged. 

Composite materials are made up of two or more materials that have different properties. These materials are combined (in many cases involving chemical bonding) to produce a new material that has properties superior to either material alone. An example of this type of composite is fiberglass, in which glass fibers are held together by a polymeric resin. 

Optical fibers which were developed primarily for the communication industry have been successfully implemented into other disciplines such as chemistry, physics, and biomedicine. Mass production of high-quality fibers by a variety of manufacturers has rendered themrelatively inexpensive. The use of optical fibers is rapidly increasing because of their size, cost, and easy mode ofoperation.(62) Table 7.1 shows properties of some commercially available optical fibers. Originally, optical fibers were made of glass but more recently they have become available as organic polymers or metal halides. They are flexible, stable, and resistant to many chemicals. Furthermore, optical fibers can improve safety by allowing the remote analysis of potentially harmful chemicals. A detailed review of the development of optical fibers has been previously published/63 ... 

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