Expanding world of reinforcements

Abstract

Review of costs, properties, performance, and potential of glass, asbestos, carbon and graphite, boron, silicon carbide, and boron nitride fibers and whiskers, and comparison with wire reinforcements; glass fibers dominate reinforced plastics/ composites industry, and last year estimated 170 million lb of textile grade glass fibers were used, i.e., more than 1 billion lb of reinforcement and matrix; characteristics of roving, mat, chopped strands, glass fabrics, woven roving, hollow glass filaments, and glass fiber yarns (E-, C-, and S- glasses, and new S-HTS and S-1014).