10 Application areas of glass fiber composites

Fiberglass is an inorganic non-metallic material with excellent performance, good insulation, strong heat resistance, good corrosion resistance and high mechanical strength. It is made of glass balls or glass through high temperature melting, wire drawing, winding, weaving and other processes. The diameter of its monofilament is several microns to twenty microns, equivalent to a hair 1/20-1/5 of the filaments, each bundle of fiber strands is composed of hundreds or even thousands of monofilaments. Glass fibers are usually used as reinforcing materials in composite materials, electrical insulating materials and thermal insulation materials, circuit substrates and other fields of the national economy.

Wide application of glass fibre composites

1. Boats

Glass fiber composite materials have the characteristics of corrosion resistance, light weight and excellent reinforcement effect, and fiberglass mat 450 and woven roving 600 are widely used in the manufacture of yacht hulls and decks.

2. Wind energy and photovoltaics

Both wind energy and photovoltaics are among the non-polluting and sustainable energy sources. Glass fiber has the characteristics of superior reinforcement effect and light weight, and fiberglass ECR direct roving is a good material for manufacturing FRP blades and unit covers.

3. Electronic and electrical

The application of glass fiber reinforced composite materials in electronic and electrical fields mainly utilizes its electrical insulation, corrosion resistance and other characteristics. The application of fiberglass yarn in the electronic and electrical field mainly includes the following parts:

1) Electrical enclosures: including electrical switch boxes, electrical wiring boxes, instrument panel covers, etc.

2) Electrical components and electrical components: such as insulators, insulating tools, motor end caps, etc.

3)Transmission lines include composite cable brackets, cable trench brackets, etc.

4. Aerospace and military defense

Due to the special requirements of materials in aerospace, military and other fields, glass fiber composite materials have the characteristics of light weight, high strength, good impact resistance and good flame retardancy, and can provide a wide range of solutions for these fields.

The applications of fiberglass composite materials in these fields are as follows:

-- Small aircraft fuselage

-- Helicopter fuselage and rotor blades

-- Aircraft secondary structural components (floors, doors, seats, auxiliary fuel tanks)

-- Aircraft engine parts

-- Helmet

-- Radome

-- Rescue stretcher

5. Chemical chemistry

Glass fiber composite materials have the characteristics of good corrosion resistance and excellent reinforcement effect, and glass fiber direct roving for winding/pultrusion is widely used in the chemical industry to manufacture chemical containers (such as storage tanks), anti-corrosion grilles, etc.

6.Infrastructure

Glass fiber has the characteristics of good size, superior reinforcement performance, light weight and corrosion resistance compared with steel, concrete and other materials, which makes fiberglass building materials suitable for the manufacture of bridges, docks, highway pavements, trestle bridges, waterfront buildings, pipelines, etc. Ideal material for infrastructure.

7.Construction

Glass fiber composite materials have the characteristics of high strength, light weight, aging resistance, good flame retardant performance, sound insulation and heat insulation, etc., and AR-glass fiber chopped strand can be widely used in the manufacture of various building materials, such as: reinforced concrete, composite material walls, thermal insulation screens and decorations , FRP steel bars, bathrooms, swimming pools, ceilings, lighting panels, FRP tiles, door panels, cooling towers, etc.

8.Cars

Because composite materials have obvious advantages compared with traditional materials in terms of toughness, corrosion resistance, wear resistance and temperature resistance, and meet the requirements of transportation vehicles for light weight and high strength, their applications in the automotive field are becoming more and more extensive. Typical applications are:

-- Car front and rear bumpers, fenders, engine covers, truck roofs

-- Car dashboards, seats, cockpits, trim

-- Automotive electrical and electronic components

9.Consumer Goods and Commercial Facilities

Compared with traditional materials such as aluminum and steel, the characteristics of corrosion resistance, light weight and high strength of glass fiber reinforced materials bring composite materials better performance and lighter weight.

Applications of composite materials in this field include:

--Industrial gear

--Industrial and civil air pressure bottles

--Laptop, mobile phone case

--Parts of household appliances

10.Sports and leisure

Composite materials have the characteristics of light weight, high strength, large design freedom, easy processing and forming, low friction coefficient, good fatigue resistance, etc., and fiberglass fabric have been widely used in sports equipment. Typical applications are:

-- Ski board

-- Tennis rackets, badminton rackets

-- Rowing

-- Bike

-- Motorboat

Status and Prospects

Glass fiber is a very good substitute for metal materials. With the rapid development of the market economy, glass fiber has become an indispensable raw material for construction, transportation, electronics, electrical, chemical, metallurgy, environmental protection, national defense and other industries. Due to its wide application in many fields, glass fiber has been paid more and more attention by people. The world's largest glass fiber production and consumption countries are mainly developed countries such as the United States, Europe, and Japan, and their per capita glass fiber consumption is relatively high. Europe remains the largest region for glass fiber consumption, accounting for 35% of the global total.

The rapid development of China's glass fiber industry in recent years is driven by the domestic and foreign markets. The expansion of the international market is not only due to the growth of total demand, but also from the development space left for domestic companies in the international market after international companies withdrew from the industry due to low profit margins in the early stage; while the growth of the domestic market comes from downstream consumption. rapid development of the industry. After more than 50 years of development, China's glass fiber has become quite large.

In the long run, the strengthening and transformation of infrastructure in the Middle East and Asia-Pacific has increased the demand for glass fiber by a large amount. The outlook for the fiberglass industry remains positive. In addition, the application field of glass fiber has expanded to the wind power market, which may be a bright spot for the future development of glass fiber. The energy crisis has prompted countries to seek new energy sources, and wind energy has become a focus of attention. China has also begun to increase investment in the field of wind power. By 2020, China will invest 350 billion yuan in the field of wind power generation, of which about 20% (ie, 70 billion yuan) will need to use glass fibers (such as wind turbine blades, etc.). This is a big market for Chinese glass fiber enterprises.

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