Why is it called fiberglass when it is clearly plastic? What kind of material is fiberglass
Attention everyone, this type of pipe in the figure below is made of fiberglass material. Upon hearing about fiberglass, I thought it was a new type of steel, but it wasn't. Fiberglass reinforced plastic is a composite material, essentially a plastic, but unlike ordinary plastics, it is a fiber-reinforced plastic.
What is composite material?
Composite materials are a new type of material with stronger performance formed by mixing several materials with different properties through physical or chemical methods. Composite materials are not a unique invention of humans, as we often see them in nature. For example, in bird nests, some birds will use straw, branches, and clay to build nests, which will make the bird trough more sturdy. Ancient humans were also inspired by this, adding straw, lime, etc. to the clay, and then compacting it to make houses. This is a reinforced composite material.
What exactly is fiberglass?
Fiberglass reinforced plastic is a type of reinforced composite material that we refer to as fiber reinforced plastic. Baidu Baike defines it as a reinforced plastic that generally refers to the use of glass fiber reinforced unsaturated polyester, epoxy resin and phenolic resin matrix, and glass fiber or its products as reinforcing materials. It is called glass reinforced plastic, or fiberglass reinforced plastic.
Single materials often have poor performance, such as glass, although relatively hard, its strength is not high and it is a very brittle material. But if glass is melted at high temperature and pulled into fine fibers, its properties will change, its strength will be greatly enhanced, and other matrices will be added to form a new material.
Simply put, fiberglass is like reinforced concrete, fiberglass fibers are like steel bars in reinforced concrete, and various types of resins are like cement. The two mix to form a material with the same strength as steel, and because the material contains glass components, it is called fiberglass.
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