Polyester Fiberglass Composite

J. D. Minford, Adhesive joining aluminum to engineering plastics I. polyester fiberglass composite, in Physicochemical Aspects of Polymer Surfaces (K. L. Mittal, ed.), Vol. 2, p. 1139, Plenum Press, New York (1983). 

The primary UPR end markets are construction, automotive, and marine industries widi applications such as house paneling, tub and shower applications, chemical-resistant storage tanks, pultruded profiles, and fiberglass composite boat hulls. The UPR industry is mature, with a world production close to 1.7 million tons (Table 2.2), but must face two important issues increasingly strict regulations for styrene emissions and poor recycling potential for polyester thermosets.48 49... 

About one-half of the phthalic anhydride production is consumed for the preparation of plasticizers, mostly for the various flexible grades of poly(vinyl chloride). The remainder is roughly split between alkyd resin preparation used for many types of surface coatings, and for polyester resin composites with fiberglass reinforcement, the so-called fiberglass resins used in boats and other sporting equipment as well as for corrosion-resistant vessels and ducts used in chemical processing, some automotive parts, and as a convenient means of field repair of many of these items. 

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. 

Corrosion-Resistant Binder for Fiberglass Composites. A second application of furan resins is as a premium, corrosion-resistant binder for fiberglass for fabrication of FRP structures for the chemical process industry. Structures can be easily fabricated using "hand lay-up" techniques used to fabricate polyester composites (see Figure 4). In this fashion, pipes, ducts, tanks, scrubbers, etc., are produced for use with process media which quickly... 

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. 

Storage Protect from light refrigerate store away from heat store 4 C Uses Crosslinking agent in inks, adhesives, textile prod, modifiers, photoresists modifiers for castings, polyesters, fiberglass, or radiation-cured prods. in dental composite materials, prosthetics, sealants Manuf./Distrib. ABCR Aldrich Alfa Aesar Monomer-Polymer Dajac Labs... 

Polyethylene can be crosslinked with peroxides to make it more suitable for coatings for electrical power cables [18]. Peroxides are also used to crosslink (also called cure) thermoset polyesters. Thermoset polyesters have a reactive alkene and are used to make fiberglass compositions such as used for boat hulls. Variations are possible, but commonly they are copolymers of fumaric acid or maleic anhydride with phthalic acid or isophthalic acid and a diol. The oligomer is typically dissolved in styrene. When a peroxide is mixed with the solution, crosslinking occurs and the polyester cures. The styrene solvent takes part in the reaction and the solution hardens. 

Table 3. Mechanical properties of fiberglass-polyester resin composites [from Ref. 32].

Polyester Polyester adhesives can be both thermoplastic and thermoset materials. Thermoplastic polyester is best known for its use in fiberglass composites, such as boat and car bodies. 

By far the most common form of reinforcement is fiberglass. Products using unsaturated polyester resin as a matrix and fiberglass fiber reinforcements are commonly referred to as composites , laminates or FRPs (fiber-reinforced plastics). The latter reinforcements are sold as continuous roving, which is continuously chopped in place with a liquid resin stream, chopped roving mat, woven... 

Sheet molding compounds (SMCs) and bulk molding compounds (BMCs) are the dominant materials used in automotive applications. These composites of unsaturated polyester resin, fillers and fiberglass have advantages of high stiffness, heat resistance and low coefficient of expansion. Coupled with low creep resistance, which is a distinct advantage over thermoplastic competition, and low-profile additives, which can yield Class A surfaces, these materials are well suited for applications from exterior body panels to under the hood components. 

Figure 10. Progress in coupling agents for fiberglass-polyester composites.

Shen, K.K. and Sprague, R.W. 1981. On the use of a unique form of zinc borate as a flame retardant in fiberglass reinforced unsaturated polyesters and vinyl esters—A structure-activity relationship study. Reinforced Plastics/Composites Institute, The Society of Plastics Industry, Inc., Boltan, U.K., February 16-20 Section 13B, pp. 1-5. 

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). 

These new composites are stronger than the old polyester resin/"E" type fiberglass cloth laminates. 

Polyester-based resins are also used in bulk plastics in fiberglass reinforced fabrications such as boats, auto body repairs, and for very large structures such as industrial vessels and pipes, and ships for mine sweeping [10]. This technology uses a combination of polycondensation and vinyl-type (chain reaction) technologies to obtain the final composite product. The viscous, still fluid resin used for layup is a linear unsaturated polyester of relatively low-molecular weight. Unsaturation is introduced into the backbone of the polymer by using maleic anhydride to replace a part of the phthalic anhydride (e.g., Eq. 21.4). 

Vltrombc BMC. [DSM Resins Espana SA] Polyester tesin/fiberglass lareim-pregnated composite. 

A tire is a textile-steel-rubber composite the steel and textile cords reinforce the rubber and are the primary load-carrying structures within the tire. Because of the performance demands of fatigue resistance, tensile strength, durability, and resilience, seven principal materials have been found suitable for tire application cotton, rayon, nylon, polyester, steel, fiberglass, and aramid the latter three materials find primary usage in the tire crown or belt region. 

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