Reinforcing fibers, inorganic organic

The organofunctional portion bonds with the resin in the adhesive or the organic medium, and the silane portion bonds to the inorganic or substrate surface. Silane coupling agents are commonly used between the adhesive and the adherend, between resin matrix and reinforcing fibers in composites, and between resin matrix and mineral fillers in compounds. The resulting interface provides... 

Fillers are particulate, organic or, for the most part, inorganic substances in solid form. Their incompatibility with the basic material (matrix) results in a multiphase system, the compatibility of which can, however, be increased by means of coupling additives (coatings) - similarly to the process with reinforcing fibers leading, at the least, to bridge formation. 

The macroscopic inorganic fibers worsen the processability of the composites, increasing abrasion on the processing equipment surface. A solution to this problem may be the addition of LC Polymer to ease the processability due to the very low melt viscosity of LC Polymer. Moreover, they also provide reinforcement effect at a microscale. These types of composite, in which thermoplastics are reinforced by both organic and inorganic fibers, are called "in-situ hybrid" composites. The fillers, whiskers and fibers are used as inorganic reinforcements for this type of composite. 

Fiber-reinforced polymers with inorganic, organic, and polymer fibers... 

Finally, the combined reinforcing effect and high absorption capacity of asbestos fibers have been exploited in a variety of appHcations to increase dimensional stabiHty, typically in vinyl or asphalt tiles and asphalt toad surfacing. Figure 9 summarizes, as of 1984, the various classes of application for asbestos fibers in combination with other materials. The diagram shows that in recent years, most industrial appHcations have evolved towards composite materials where the fibers are bonded within an organic or inorganic matrix. 

The fabricator has a variety of alternatives to choose from regarding the kind, form, amount of reinforcement to use, and the process vs. requirements (Table 8-28). With the many different types and forms (organics, inorganics, fibers, flakes, and more) available, practically any performance requirement can be met and molded into any shape. Possible shapes range from very small to extremely large, and from simple to extremely complex. 

As noted earlier, for the most part, the resulting materials from the use of reinforcements are composites, which are materials that contain strong fibers embedded in a continuous phase. The fibers are called reinforcement and the continuous phase is called the matrix. While the continuous phase can be a metallic alloy or inorganic material, it is typically an organic polymer that is termed a resin. Composites can be fabricated into almost any shape and after hardening, they can be machined, painted, etc., as desired. 

The crosslinking copolymerization of unsaturated polyesters with styrene is utilized industrially for the production of surface coatings. More extensive are applications in fiber-reinforced plastics where the unsaturated polyesters are used as a matrix for inorganic and organic fibers (see Example 5-20). Areas of application are (large) parts in boats, vehicles, and sport equipment construction. 

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