| COMPOSITES A
composite is a material system made up of two or more material components. For fibreglass
composites, the primary ingredients are usually the reinforcing fibreglass and a plastic
resin. Our customers add Owens Corning South Africa fibreglass reinforcement to the resin in a moulding
or fabrication process that gives shape to the finished component. When the resin cures to
a hard state, it is strengthened by The strength of the composite depends primarily on the amount, arrangement and type of Owens Corning South Africa reinforcement in the resin. Typically, the higher the reinforcement content, the greater the strength. In some cases, fibreglass is combined with other fibres, such as carbon or aramid, to create a "hybrid" composite that combines the properties of more than one reinforcing material. In addition, the composite is often formulated with fillers and additives that change processing or performance parameters.
A thermosetting, or thermoset, resin "cures" into an irreversible state because its molecular structure is cross-linked. A thermoset, resin is comparable to an egg. Once it's cooked, it essentially stays in the same state. Examples of thermoset resins for composites are unsaturated polyester, vinyl ester, epoxy, urethane and phenolic. On the other hand, a thermoplastic resin has a linear molecular structure that will repeatedly soften when heated to its melting temperature and harden when cooled. In simple terms a thermoplastic is comparable to paraffin wax, which flows when heated and hardens to a set shape when cooled. Examples of thermoplastic resins for composites are polypropylene, polyethylene, polystyrene, ABS (acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene), nylon, polycarbonate, thermoplastic polyester, polyphenylene oxide, polysulfone and PEEK (poly-ether-ether-ketone).
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the reinforcement. The shape of the finished part is
dependent on a mould, die or other tooling that controls the geometry of the composite
during processing.
Each
Owens Corning South Africa fibreglass reinforcement is engineered to be compatible with a particular resin or resins.
It would be impractical to list the many polymers that can be used with Owens Corning South Africa
fibreglass. However, all polymers fall within one of two basic groups:
thermosetting plastics and thermoplastics.