Glass fiber characteristics

An investigation has been undertaken to better understand the influence of glass fiber characteristics upon tensile creep and fatigue in polypropylene. Specifically, the characteristics include the physical attributes and chemical composition of sizing on the glass filaments. The physical aspects of the glass fiber discussed in this chapter are filament diameter and retained filament length in the... 

With the exception of glass fiber, asbestos (qv), and the specialty metallic and ceramic fibers, textile fibers are a class of soHd organic polymers distinguishable from other polymers by their physical properties and characteristic geometric dimensions (see Glass Refractory fibers). The physical properties of textile fibers, and indeed of all materials, are a reflection of molecular stmcture and intermolecular organization. The abiUty of certain polymers to form fibers can be traced to several stmctural features at different levels of organization rather than to any one particular molecular property. 

Proprietary blend formulations based on polysulfone, polyethersulfone, and polyphenylsulfone are sold commercially by Amoco Corporation to meet various end use requirements. The blends based on polysulfone are sold under the MINDEL trademark. A glass fiber-reinforced blend based on PES is offered under the trade name RADEL AG-360. This offers most of the performance characteristics of 30% glass fiber-reinforced polyethersulfone but at a lower cost. Two blend product lines are offered based on PPSF. These are designated as the RADEL R-4000 and R-7000 series of products. The former is a lower cost alternative to RADEL R PPSF homopolymer offering most of the performance attributes unique to PPSF. The R-7000 series of resins have been formulated for use in aircraft interiors for civil air transport. They exhibit a very high degree of resistance to flammabihty and smoke release. 

The avadabihty of PMDI also led to the development of polyurethane-modified isocyanurate (PUIR) foams by 1967. The PUIR foams have superior thermal stabiUty and combustibiUty characteristics, which extend the use temperature of insulation foams well above 150°C. The PUIR foams are used in pipe, vessel, and solar panel insulation glass-fiber-reinforced PUIR roofing panels having superior dimensional stabiUty have also been developed. More recently, inexpensive polyester polyols based on residues obtained in the production of dimethyl terephthalate (DMT) have been used in the formulation of rigid polyurethane and PUIR foams. 

Figure 16 Characteristic values of glass fiber and flax fiber SMC molded plastics (absolute values and in reference to density) [58].

Generally, the mechanical and physical properties of natural fiber-reinforced plastics only conditionally reach the characteristic values of glass fiber-reinforced systems. By using hybrid composites made of natural fibers and carbon fibers or natural fibers and glass fibers, the... 

Glass-fiber tissue or non-woven fabrics are used for decorative purposes on many insulants. They also give improved strength to foam plastics and enhanced sound-absorption characteristics to mineral wools. 

Table 2. The values of the characteristic parameters of a series of E-glass fiber, epoxy resin unidirectional composites for various fiber volume contents t>f... 

Figure 12.8. Transmission characteristics of some commonly used optical fibers, (a) glass fiber (b) gradient-index fiber (c) plastic-clad silica fiber (d) plastic fiber. (Reproduced with permission from the Ealing Corporation.)...

This brief summary of the composition and structural characteristics of glass fibers, whiskers, and carbon and graphite fibers illustrates the ranges of synthetic inorganic fibrous materials. The purposes of the construction of these materials is to capitalize on the physical and chemical advantages of the fibrous morphology, size, and state. 

By the addition of glass fibers, textile fibers, or chopped fabrics to crosslinkable polymers molding materials are produced with increased tensile strength, stiffness, and thermal stability compared to the filler-free polymers. The so-called reinforcing fillers, like carbon black, have good adhesion to the matrix due to their nonpolar structure and their characteristic geometry. 

Complex mixtures of oxidized products are produced in the ozonolysis of BaP on solid substrates. For example, BaP deposited on a glass fiber filter and exposed to 1 ppm 03 in air primarily formed products characteristic of the ring-opening mechanism, e.g., dialdehydes and dicarboxylic and ketocarboxylic acids. However, some quinones and phenols, were also formed. For details on the mechanisms and O-PAH products of these BaP-Ov gas-solid substrate reactions, see Van Cauwenberghe et al. (1979) and Van Cauwenberghe and Van Vaeck (1983 and references therein). 

---