Glass-filled polymer (or glass-filled plastic), is a mouldable

composite material A composite material (also called a composition material or shortened to composite, which is the common name) is a material which is produced from two or more constituent materials. These constituent materials have notably dissimilar chemical or ...

. It comprises short

glass fiber Glass fiber ( or glass fibre) is a material consisting of numerous extremely fine fibers of glass. Glassmakers throughout history have experimented with glass fibers, but mass manufacture of glass fiber was only made possible with the inventio ...

s in a

matrix Matrix most commonly refers to: * ''The Matrix'' (franchise), an American media franchise ** ''The Matrix'', a 1999 science-fiction action film ** "The Matrix", a fictional setting, a virtual reality environment, within ''The Matrix'' (franchis ...

of a

polymer A polymer (; Greek '' poly-'', "many" + ''-mer'', "part") is a substance or material consisting of very large molecules called macromolecules, composed of many repeating subunits. Due to their broad spectrum of properties, both synthetic a ...

material. It is used to manufacture a wide range of structural components by

injection Injection or injected may refer to: Science and technology * Injective function, a mathematical function mapping distinct arguments to distinct values * Injection (medicine), insertion of liquid into the body with a syringe * Injection, in broadca ...

compression moulding Compression molding is a method of molding in which the molding material, generally preheated, is first placed in an open, heated mold cavity. The mold is closed with a top force or plug member, pressure is applied to force the material int ...

. It is an ideal glass alternative that offers design flexibility, chemical, durability, and chemical and shatter resistance.

Materials

Either

thermoplastic A thermoplastic, or thermosoft plastic, is any plastic polymer material that becomes pliable or moldable at a certain elevated temperature and solidifies upon cooling. Most thermoplastics have a high molecular weight. The polymer chains associate ...

thermosetting In materials science, a thermosetting polymer, often called a thermoset, is a polymer that is obtained by irreversibly hardening (" curing") a soft solid or viscous liquid prepolymer (resin). Curing is induced by heat or suitable radiation and ...

polymers may be used. One of the most widely used thermoplastics is a

polyamide A polyamide is a polymer with repeating units linked by amide bonds. Polyamides occur both naturally and artificially. Examples of naturally occurring polyamides are proteins, such as wool and silk. Artificially made polyamides can be made through ...

polymer

nylon Nylon is a generic designation for a family of synthetic polymers composed of polyamides ( repeating units linked by amide links).The polyamides may be aliphatic or semi-aromatic. Nylon is a silk-like thermoplastic, generally made from pe ...

. The first mouldable composite was Bakelite. This used

wood flour Sawdust (or wood dust) is a by-product or waste product of woodworking operations such as sawing, sanding, milling, planing, and routing. It is composed of small chippings of wood. These operations can be performed by woodworking machinery ...

fibres in

phenolic resin Phenol formaldehyde resins (PF) or phenolic resins (also infrequently called phenoplasts) are synthetic polymers obtained by the reaction of phenol or substituted phenol with formaldehyde. Used as the basis for Bakelite, PFs were the first commerc ...

as the thermoset polymer matrix. As the fibres were only short this material had relatively low bulk strength, but still improved surface hardness and good mouldability. A wide range of polymers are now produced in glass-filled varieties, including polyamide (Nylon),

acetal In organic chemistry, an acetal is a functional group with the connectivity . Here, the R groups can be organic fragments (a carbon atom, with arbitrary other atoms attached to that) or hydrogen, while the R' groups must be organic fragments n ...

homopolymer A polymer (; Greek '' poly-'', "many" + '' -mer'', "part") is a substance or material consisting of very large molecules called macromolecules, composed of many repeating subunits. Due to their broad spectrum of properties, both synthetic an ...

s and

copolymer In polymer chemistry, a copolymer is a polymer derived from more than one species of monomer. The polymerization of monomers into copolymers is called copolymerization. Copolymers obtained from the copolymerization of two monomer species are some ...

s, polyester,

polyphenylene oxide Poly(''p''-phenylene oxide) (PPO), poly(''p''-phenylene ether) (PPE), often referred to simply as polyphenylene oxide, is a high-temperature thermoplastic. It is rarely used in its pure form due to difficulties in processing. It is mainly used as ...

(PPO /

Noryl The NORYL family of modified resins consists of amorphous blends of polyphenylene oxides (PPO) or polyphenylene ether (PPE) resins with polystyrene. They combine the inherent benefits of PPE resin (affordable high heat resistance, good electrica ...

), polycarbonate, polyethersulphone

Bulk moulding compound Bulk moulding compound (BMC), bulk moulding composite, or dough moulding compound (DMC), is a ready-to-mold, glass-fiber reinforced thermoset polymer material primarily used in compression moulding, as well as in injection moulding and transfer m ...

is a pre-mixed material of resin and fibres supplied for moulding. Some are thermoplastic or thermosetting, others are chemically cured and are mixed with a catalyst (polyester) or hardener (epoxy) before moulding.

Applications

Compared to the native polymer, glass-filled materials have improved mechanical properties of rigidity,

strength Strength may refer to: Physical strength *Physical strength, as in people or animals * Hysterical strength, extreme strength occurring when people are in life-and-death situations *Superhuman strength, great physical strength far above human c ...

and may also have improved

surface hardness In materials science, hardness (antonym: softness) is a measure of the resistance to localized plastic deformation induced by either mechanical indentation or abrasion. In general, different materials differ in their hardness; for example hard ...

Compared to sheet materials

Bulk glass ''filled'' materials are considered distinct from

fibreglass Fiberglass (American English) or fibreglass (Commonwealth English) is a common type of fiber-reinforced plastic using glass fiber. The fibers may be randomly arranged, flattened into a sheet called a chopped strand mat, or woven into glass clo ...

or fibre-reinforced plastic materials. These use a substrate of fabric sheets made from long fibres, draped to shape in a mould and then impregnated with resin. They are usually moulded into shapes made of large but thin sheets. Filled materials, in contrast, are used for applications that are thicker or of varying section and not usually as large as sheet materials.

References

Composite materials Polymers Fibre-reinforced polymers {{materials-sci-stub