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

composite material A composite or composite material (also composition material) is a material which is produced from two or more constituent materials. These constituent materials have notably dissimilar chemical or physical properties and are merged to create a ...

. It comprises short glass fibers in a

matrix Matrix (: matrices or matrixes) or MATRIX may refer to: Science and mathematics * Matrix (mathematics), a rectangular array of numbers, symbols or expressions * Matrix (logic), part of a formula in prenex normal form * Matrix (biology), the m ...

of a

polymer A polymer () is a chemical substance, substance or material that consists of very large molecules, or macromolecules, that are constituted by many repeat unit, repeating subunits derived from one or more species of monomers. Due to their br ...

material. It is used to manufacture a wide range of structural components by injection or compression moulding. It is an ideal glass alternative that offers flexibility in the part, chemical resistance, shatter resistance and overall better durability.

Materials

Either

thermoplastic A thermoplastic, or thermosoftening 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 as ...

or thermosetting polymers may be used. One of the most widely used thermoplastics is a polyamide polymer

nylon Nylon is a family of synthetic polymers characterised by amide linkages, typically connecting aliphatic or Polyamide#Classification, semi-aromatic groups. Nylons are generally brownish in color and can possess a soft texture, with some varieti ...

. The first mouldable composite was

Bakelite Bakelite ( ), formally , is a thermosetting polymer, thermosetting phenol formaldehyde resin, formed from a condensation reaction of phenol with formaldehyde. The first plastic made from synthetic components, it was developed by Belgian chemist ...

. This used wood flour fibres in phenolic resin 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 ...

homopolymers and copolymers, polyester, polyphenylene oxide (PPO / Noryl),

polycarbonate Polycarbonates (PC) are a group of thermoplastic polymers containing carbonate ester, carbonate groups in their chemical structures. Polycarbonates used in engineering are strong, toughness, tough materials, and some grades are optically transp ...

, polyethersulphone Bulk moulding compound 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 and may also have improved surface hardness.

Compared to sheet materials

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