Epoxy-fiberglass composite

The storage and transfer of raw chemicals requires special considerations relative to the equipment that come into contact with epoxy resins. Carbon steel is generally satisfactory for pipe and tank construction and will not rust beneath the epoxy resin. Rust occuring above the level of the epoxy and accidentally introduced into the resin may be removed by filters. Epoxy coated steel pipe, aluminum or stainless steel pipe, or epoxy fiberglass composite tubing is used to prevent rusting downstream of the filter. 

Polymeric substrate materials in use include highly filled phenolic and epoxy resins for rigid printed circuit boards, polyimides and polyesters for circuit substrates as well as for more general applications, special foamed poly(tetrafluoroethylene) polymers and copolymers, foamed composite materials of the latter, special epoxy fiberglass composites, and polyimide support layers for TAB. In addition, epoxies and silicone polymers are used increasingly in applications as encapsulants, as humidity and environmental barriers within packages, and as packaging materials themselves. 

C-H Chiang, JL Koenig. Comparison of primary and secondary aminosilane coupling agents in anhydride-cured epoxy fiberglass composites. Polymer Composites 2 192-198, 1981. 

This is a huge general category of materials, which includes both thermoplastics and thermosetting polymers. Tabular data on the corrosion resistance of these materials in a wide range of environments are available from a variety of sources. Commonly used materials of construction in the CPI include polyvinyl chloride (PVC and CPVC), polyethylene, polypropylene, polystyrene, polycarbonate, polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE), fiberglass composite materials, and a variety of epoxies used for coatings or adhesives. 

Polyester resins (alkyds) were commercialized for coatings use in 1926, and unsaturated polyesters were used as thermoset fiberglass composite matrix resins in the 1940s, but the early resins made poor adhesives. When flexibilized resins appeared in the 1950s, they were used as adhesives. Today, unsaturated polyesters are widely used as adhesives for thermoset plastics bonding, and even for metal bonding in most countries, but are seldom used as adhesives in the United States, where the more expensive epoxy adhesives are used in similar applications. The saturated polyesters, used as thermoplastic hot-melt adhesives, seem to have appeared in the literature first in the 1954—1957 period. 

Example 2.3 Fiberglass composites are prepared by coating unidirectional fiberglass with epoxy prepolymer and then heating imtil it forms a hard matrix. Present a simple stress analysis of this under loading in the direction of fibers. 

First-generation polymer composites (e.g., fiberglass) used thermosetting epoxy polymers reinforced with randomly oriented short glass fibers. The filled epoxy resin could be cured into a permanent shape in a mold to give lightweight, moderately strong shapes. 

Fiberglass reinforced plastic (FRP) is used in composite systems. It is particularly important in the process industry because of its corrosion resistance and light weight. The epoxy resin in the FRP matrix begins to melt at approximately 150°C (302°F). This may be used as a first-order failure criterion. Failure of empty 5-mm thick FRP pipes in 2-6 minutes has been reported (SINTEF,... 

Carbon can be treated at high temperature to form strong, light fibers that are mixed with other materials such as epoxy resin to form composites similar to those reinforced with fiberglass but lighter and stronger. Most... 

Recently, Acsion Industries and UCB Chemicals have undertaken a development program of cationic initiated epoxy adhesive for aluminum-to-aluminum, aluminum-to-composite, and composite-to-composite bonding. This has led to a series of bonding adhesives that have tensile shear strengths of 13 to 17 MPa on fiberglass-to-fiberglass substrates and 35 to 52 MPa on aluminum-to-aluminum substrates.11... 

The resin matrix can be either thermosetting or thermoplastic. Thermosetting resins such as epoxy, polyimide, polyester, and phenolic are used in applications where physical properties are important. Polyester and epoxy composites make up the bulk of the thermoset composite market. Of these two, polyesters dominate by far. Reinforced with glass fiber, these are known as fiberglass-reinforced plastics (FRPs). FRPs are molded by layup and spray-up methods or by compression molding either a preform or sheet molding compound (SMC). 

To substantiate the confidence level on our empirical data, data simulation using thermal modeling was exercised. The classical diffusion equation and the following parameters were utilized The thermal conductivity of copper is 3.88 watts/ C-cm whereas that of the Fiberglass/epoxy is 0.0028 watts/ C-cm. The heat capacity (Cp) of copper is 0.09213 cal/ C-g whereas that of the Fiberglass/epoxy composite is 0.22 (30 Cp) and 0.43 cal/ C-g (120 Cp). 

El-Kadi H, EUyin F. Effect of stress ratio on the fatigue of unidirectional fiberglass-epoxy composite laminae. Composites 1994 25(10) 917—24. 

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