Glass Fiber-Reinforced Plastics Aerospace Applications

Some applications of reinforced plastics in the aircraft and aerospace indnstries are listed in Table 10.1. It is seen in the table that many formulations have been used in aerospace applications that incorporate glass fibers or carbon fibers. For example, polyether ether formulations have been employed that use from 10% to 20% glass fibers, up to 40% in missile nose cones. 

The aerospace industry has recognized the major benefits associated with fiber-rein-forced composite materials [1]. The more popular techniques available for composite production are the traditional wet layup or autoclave and resin transfer molding. Efforts to further reduce processing time and improve part quality have focused on improved process control. To date, this has been based on off-line techniques. The need for online cure monitoring is widely recognized, and this will require the development of suitable in-mold sensors. The Engineering Composites Research Centre has investigated and concentrated on the specific problems encountered in the aerospace industry. 

Test methods used to evaluate these materials include resin content, gelation time, volatile content and resin flow resistance, prepreg tack, and friction. Additional evaluation techniques include Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and thermal analysis. 

Analysis of thermal transport phenomena in aerospace glass fiber-reinforced components, composite joints, and the composite material interface is very important. It has been shown by finite element analysis and molecular dynamics solutions that interface impedance plays an important role in dictating thermal transport 

Epoxy Kevlar prepreg — Aerospace applications, fuselage 

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It was hard to even guess that the glycidylic compounds discovered by the Swiss chemist P. Kastan in the 1930s would become so significant in 20 years. Many industrial branches would become potential fields of application of these products. Glass fiber-reinforced plastics, a wide variety of adhesives, and numerous elec-troinsulating materials the aeronautics and aerospace industries, electronics, and... 

Fiber-reinforced plastics have been widely accepted as materials for structural and nonstructural applications in recent years. The main reasons for interest in FRPs for structural applications are their high specific modulus and strength of the reinforcing fibers. Glass, carbon, Kevlar, and boron fibers are commonly used for reinforcement. However, these are very expensive and, therefore, their use is limited to aerospace applications. 

Densely cross-linked PCN networks, synthesized by polymerization, via cy-clotrimerization reaction, of dicyanic ester of bisphenol A [159-161], consist of rigid triazine heterocycles as junctions connected with bisphenol A remainders (see a scheme in Fig. 26). At the total conversion of cyanate groups (Xcn pcn 1). PCN exhibits high Tg 300°C and rigidity, good adhesion to different substrates and chemical resistance, as well as low values of dielectric constant and water uptake. This allowed in particular its application as the matrix for glass- and aramid fiber-reinforced plastics in the electronics and aerospace industries. 

Fiber Reinforced Plastics Fiber reinforced plastics (FRP) or polymer matrix composites (PMC) are now frequently used in automotive, aerospace, boating, sporting goods, construction and other applications. Unfortunately, these products go by many different names. For example the FRP materials made with glass fibers often are call glass reinforced polymers (GRP) or simply fiberglass. 

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