Reinforced plastics fiber manufacture

The choice of manufacturing technology for the fabrication of fiber-reinforced plastics or composite materials is intimately related to the performance, economics, and application of the materials. It also depends upon a number of factors, such as component numbers required, item complexity, number of molded surfaces, and type of reinforcement. 

Reinforced plastics (RPs) hold a special place in the design and manufacturing industry because they are unique materials (Figs. 6-11 and 6-12). During the 1940s, RPs (or low-pressure laminates, as they were then commonly known) was easy to identify. The basic definition then, as now, is simply that of a plastic reinforced with either a fibrous or nonfibrous material. TSs such as polyester (Table 6-19) and E-glass fiber dominated and still dominates the field. Also used are epoxies. 

Domier has developed a production route for continuous fiber-reinforced ceramics based on the impregnation and pyrolysis of Si-polymers. This process is related to the manufacturing of fiber-reinforced plastics and allows the cost-effective production of large and complex CMC-structures. 

Fiber reinforced ceramics such as C/SiC, SiC/SiC can be manufactured by the polymer infiltration and pyrolysis technique at reasonable cost. The developed production technique allows the manufacturing of large and complex structures comparable to fiber-reinforced plastics. The material has excellent high temperature resistance, low density, and good damage tolerance, and is therefore well... 

Fiber glass-reinforced plastic tanks, 24 299 Fiber grating, 11 150-151 Fiber length (FL), 18 148 Fiber manufacture, sodium bisulfite in, 23 673 Fiber-matrix bonding, 26 771-772 Fiber modification, chemical, 16 14 Fibernodes, 11 595 Fiber-optic probes, 16 524 Fiber optics, 11 128-162, 15 469 attenuation in, 11 132-133 dispersion in, 11 134-135 fiber drawing in, 11 141-145 fiber strength in, 11 141-145 history of, 11 128-131 inside processes for, 11 136-140 near-infrared, 23 141 optical amplifiers with, 11 145-146 optical fiber fabrication for,... 

The Chemical Propulsion Division of Hercules was formed in 1958, and began construction of a major facility for design development and manufacture of large rockets and propellants at the Bacchus, Utah plant. In 1958 Hercules acquired the design, development, and production facilities of Young Development Laboratories of Rocky Hill, N J. The filament-wound, glass fiber-reinforced plastic Spiralloy structures... 

Maleic Anhydride. Maleic anhydride is one of the fastest-growing chemical end-uses for butane. The demand in the United States was about 500 million lb in 2000. About 60 percent of the maleic anhydride produced goes into the manufacture of unsaturated polyester resins, used primarily in fiber-reinforced plastics for construction, marine, and transportation industries. It is also used to make lube oil additives, alkyd resins, fumaric and malic acids, copolymers, and agricultural chemicals. 

In the European Union, the design, manufacture, and use of pressure systems is covered by the Pressure Equipment Directive (Council Directive 97/23/EC) whose use became mandatory in May 2002. European standard EN 13445 provides similar rules and guidelines to the ASME BPV Code. The design of fiber-reinforced plastic vessels is covered by European standard EN 13923. 

Epoxy resins continue to be essential preliminary products for the manufacturing of fiber-reinforced compound materials with glass, carbon or plastic fibers imbedded. As far as their mechanical properties are concerned, they can compete with metal materials, for example, in car manufacturing, boat building and aircraft construction. 

This particular manufacturer created a composite panel consisting of a glass-fiber reinforced plastic outer shell backed with a rigid polyurethane foam. The product looks like a cluster of hand split wood shakes. When installed, the panels interlock and look exactly like a shake shingle roof to the casual observer. These panels have been tested and qualify as a Class A built-up roof covering. In addition, they provide a much greater resistance to the transmission of heat than wood shake shingles. The panels are fast and easy to install and quite durable. 

Owing to their chemical, thermal, and mechanical resistance, carbon fibers are an ideal material for highly durable composites. Compared to steel, they are four times Ughter at similar strength, which in addition is preserved up to temperatures of more than 2000 °C. Certain threads, ribbons, and fabrics are made from pure carbon fibers, as well as there are carbon-reinforced plastics which are employed to manufacture, for example, components of aircrafts or cars, sporting devices, implants, or filters for dusts and aerosols. 

A concept of a composite LH2 container has been developed in Canada where the outer shell is fabricated from fiber reinforced plastics. The tank volume is 60 m. Such vessels of which a first set has been manufactured already, are to be used for the transportation of smaller amounts of LH2 onboard conventional container ships, railway carriers, or as a storage medium near power or refueling stations [34, 35]. 

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