Fiber Reinforced Plastic

Fiber Reinforced Plastic

Subject : Science and Technology

Context:

• Carbon Fiber-reinforced Plastic Market to Record a CAGR of 8.9% Aerospace and Défense to be Largest Revenue Generating

What is fibre reinforced plastic?

• Fiber reinforced plastic (FRP) is a type of plastic in which the strength of low strength plastic material is increased by means of high strength of fibers.
• Fiber reinforced plastics contain two main things
  • Matrix
  • Fibre
• The function of the matrix is to support and hold the fibers in the correct position.Matrix also prevents fibers from surface damage and environmental conditions.
• The matrix material should show stability with moisture and temperature. The FRP fibres are the main component which bears the actual load.
• The bond between the fibres and the matrix is generally made with the help of a chemical adhesive.
• The length of fibers should be more so that the strength of bond between matrix and fibers is more than the tensile strength of fibers.

Advantages of fibre reinforced plastic:

• It is lightweight
• It has high strength
• It has high modulus of elasticity
• It has high resistance to fatigue failure
• It has good resistance to corrosion

Disadvantages of fiber reinforced plastic:

• The design of components made from FRP is complex
• The manufacturing and testing of FRP components is highly specialized

Types of fiber reinforced plastics

• Glass reinforced plastic (GRP)
• Carbon reinforced plastics (CRP)

1. Glass reinforced plastic:

Advantages of glass reinforced plastic

• They can be easily drawn into fibers from molten state
• Glass is cheaper and readily available
• Glass fiber is relatively strong
• Glass is chemically inert with respect to plastic matrix materials

Disadvantages of glass reinforced plastic

• It has poor rigidity and stiffness
• Its application is limited to a temperature below 300-degree Celsius

Applications

It is used as a manufacturing material in the following things.

• In the manufacturing of Automotive bodies due to its low weight
• Pipes
• Valve bodies
• Pump castings
• Storage containers

2. Carbon reinforced plastics:

Advantages of carbon reinforced plastics

• It has maximum strength compared to other reinforcing fibers
• It retains its strength at elevated temperatures
• At normal temperature moisture, acids and solvents do not affect carbon fibers
• They are relatively cheap

Disadvantages of carbon reinforced plastics

• There is only one limitation of carbon reinforced plastic. The manufacturing techniques associated with CRP are relatively complicated.

Applications 

Carbon reinforced plastics are used for the manufacturing of

• Pressure vessels
• Aircraft components
• Casting of rocket motors