Fiber Reinforced Plastics

&
Laminates

Introduction
Composite material refers to All solids composed of more

than one substance.

Composite material is one which is composed of at least two

elements working together to produce material properties that

are different to the properties of those elements on their own.
Composite materials can be characterized into
Advanced Composite Materials (ACM)
Engineering Composite Materials (ECM)
ACM can be used in high performance applications like

aerospace, rocket engine shell, sporting goods.

ECM can be used in general engineering applications where

required
higher
products/materials

strength

than

the

conventional

laminate is a material that can be constructed by uniting two or

more layers of material together. The process of creating a laminate
is lamination, which in commonly refers to the placing of something
between layers of plastic and gluing them with heat, pressure, and
an adhesive

In practice, most composites consist of a bulk material (Matrix or

Resin), and a reinforcement of some kind (usually in Fibre form),
added primarily to increase the strength and stiffness of the matrix.

Types of Composites
Polymer Matrix Composites (PMC's)

These are the most

common also known as FRP - Fibre Reinforced Polymers (or
Plastics) - these materials use a polymer-based resin as the
matrix, and a variety of fibres such as glass, carbon and aramid
as the reinforcement.

Metal Matrix Composites (MMC's) - Increasingly found in the

automotive industry, these materials use a metal such as

aluminium as the matrix, and reinforce it with fibres such as
silicon carbide.
Ceramic Matrix Composites (CMC's) - Used in very high

temperature environments, these materials use a ceramic as the

matrix and reinforce it with short fibres, or whiskers such as those
made from silicon carbide and boron nitride.

 Fibre Reinforced Plastics (FRP) consists of

Resin/Matrix System
Reinforcement System
Releasing Agents
Internal Mould Releasing Agent
External Mould Releasing Agent
Catalyst
Accelerators
Pigments
Fillers
Mostly used Thermoplastics are nylon, PET, polycarbonate, acetal,
ABS, PPO, PPS and other high-performance or high temperature
plastics.

Mostly used thermoset materials are Polyesters, epoxies,

cyanate esters, vinyl esters, phenolics, polyurethane,
bismaleimides (BMI) and polyimides.

Commonly used reinforcements are Carbon fibres, Aramid

fibres, glass fibres, boron fibres and etc.

Release agents are incorporated into the resin matrix or applied

externally to the mould surface.

Correct selection can optimise cycle time, consistency of surface

finish maintaining detail, minimising post mould operation prior to
painting or bonding, even helping with fibre wet out.

Catalysts employed for initiating the crosslinking reaction

and reducing the curing time i.e
for converting the
resin to a hard and infusible solid within a short period.

Accelerators to improve the effect of catalysts at lower

temperatures and pigments and fillers for coloring and
strength purpose.

Application must be simple with clearly defined steps, drying times

should be short and cure time if any must not delay the process.

The role of the reinforcement in a composite material is

fundamentally one of increasing the mechanical properties of
the neat resin system.

The four main factors that govern the fibre's contribution are:

The basic mechanical properties of the fibre itself.

The surface interaction of fibre and resin (the 'interface').

The amount of fibre in the composite ('Fibre Volume

Fraction').

The orientation of the fibres in the composite.

Polyester Fibers
Natural Fibers like
Jute Fiber

Polyethylene Fibers

Sisal Fiber

Ceramic Whiskers

Banana Fiber

Quartz Fibers

Boron Fibers

Carbon fiber
Glass fiber
Aramide fiber

It is type of Polyester Resin.

It is mineral filled.

It is coloured.

It provides a hard and smooth coating which is coloured

throughout and minimizes the effect of scratches & better curing /
cross-linking.

 Wet Lay up
Hand Lay up
Spray-up
Hand Lay-up of Sandwich Components
Prepreg Lay up
Compression Moulding
Filament Winding
Pultrusion
Liquid Moulding
Injection Moulding
Resin Transfer Moulding (RTM)
Vacuum Injection Moulding
Reaction Injection Moulding (RIM)
Reinforced Reaction Injection Moulding (RRIM)
Structural Reaction Injection Moulding (SRIM)

 Pre preg Lay up

Liquid Moulding
Compression Moulding
Filament Winding
Pultrusion

Plaster Moulds.

Wooden Moulds.

GRP Moulds. most commonly used

Steel Moulds

We select the mould according to end use.

Open Moulding / Contact Moulding

A.

Hand lay up process.

Spray lay up process

Vacuum bag moulding

Pressure bag moulding

Autoclave moulding process

Eg. Boat Hulls, Vehicle Bodies, GRP Moulding Panels,

Furniture's, Helmets etc.

Closed Moulding

B.

Compression Moulding

C.

Resin Transfer Mould (RTM)

Injection Moulding

RIM
Other Moulding Methods

Filament Winding
Pultrusion
Continuous Lamination
Encapsulation

 Fibre is chopped in a hand-held gun and fed into a spray of

catalysed resin directed at the mould.
The deposited materials are left to cure under standard
atmospheric conditions.
Resins: Primarily polyester.
Fibres: Glass roving only.
Typical applications are Simple enclosures, Lightly loaded
structural panels, e.g. caravan bodies, truck fairings, bathtubs,
shower trays, some small dinghies.

Widely used for many years.

Low cost way of quickly depositing fibre and resin.

Low cost tooling.

Laminates tend to be very resin-rich and therefore excessively

heavy cost.
Only short fibres can incorporated which limits the mechanical
properties of the laminate.
Resins need to be low in viscosity to be sprayable. This generally
compromises their mechanical / thermal properties.
The high styrene contents of spray lay-up resins generally means
that they have the potential to be more harmful and their lower
viscosity means that they have an increased tendency to
penetrate clothing etc.

Resins are impregnated by hand into fibres which are in the

form of woven, knitted, stitched or bonded fabrics.

This is usually accomplished by rollers or brushes, with an

increasing use of nip-roller type impregnators for forcing resin
into the fabrics by means of rotating rollers and a bath of
resin.

Laminates are left to cure under standard atmospheric

conditions.

Any thermoset material can be made this process, mostly

epoxies, polyesters and phenolics.

Any kind of fibers can be used, but heavy aramid fibres hard
to wet out by hand.

Typical applications are Standard wind-turbine

production boats, Architectural mouldings.

blades,

Widely used for many years.

Simple principles to teach.

Low cost tooling, if room-temperature cure resins are used.

Wide choice of suppliers and material types.

Higher fibre contents, and longer fibres than with spray lay-up.

Process very dependent on the skills of Operators.

Health and safety considerations of resins.

The lower molecular weights of hand lay-up resins more harmful

than higher molecular weight products.

The lower viscosity of the resins have an increased tendency to

penetrate clothing etc.

Compromising mechanical/thermal properties due to use of low

viscosity resins.

This is basically an extension of the wet lay-up process

pressure is applied to the laminate once laid-up in order to

improve its consolidation.

This is achieved by sealing a plastic film over the wet laid-up

laminate and onto the tool.

The air under the bag is extracted by a vacuum pump and thus
up to one atmosphere of pressure can be applied to the
laminate to consolidate it.

Primarily Epoxy and

vinylesters can be used.

consolidation pressures mean that a variety of heavy

fabrics can be wet-out.

Typical applications are Large, One-off cruising boats, Race

car components, Core-bonding in production boats.

Phenolic.

Polyesters

and

Primarily used for hollow, generally circular or oval sectioned

components, such as pipes and tanks.

Fibre tows are passed through a resin bath before being wound
onto a mandrel in a variety of orientations, controlled by the fibre
feeding mechanism, and rate of rotation of the mandrel.

Epoxy, Polyester, Vinylester, Phenolics are commonly

used resins.

Fibres are used straight from a creel and not woven or

stitched into a fabric form.

Typical applications are Chemical storage tanks and

pipelines, Gas cylinders, Fire-fighters' breathing tanks.

This can be a very fast and therefore economic method of laying

material down.

Resin content can be controlled by metering the resin onto each

fibre tow through nips or dies.

Fibre cost is minimised since there is no secondary process to

convert fibre into fabric prior to use.

Good structural properties to match the applied loads.

The process is limited to convex shaped components.

Fibre cannot easily be laid exactly along the length of a

component.

Mandrel costs for large components can be high.

The external surface of the component is unmoulded, and

therefore cosmetically unattractive.

Fibres are pulled from a creel through a resin bath and then on
through a heated die.

The die completes the impregnation of the fibre, controls the

resin content and cures the material into its final shape as it
passes through the die.

This cured profile is then automatically cut to length.

Fabrics may also be introduced into the die to provide fibre

direction other than at 0.

Although pultrusion is a continuous process, producing a profile

of constant cross-section, a variant known as 'pulforming' allows
for some variation to be introduced into the cross-section.

The process pulls the materials through the die for impregnation,
and then clamps them in a mould for curing.

Typical applications are Beams and Girders used in roof

structures, Bridges, Ladders, Frameworks.

This can be a very fast, and therefore economic, way of

impregnating and curing materials.
Resin content can be accurately controlled.

Fibre cost is minimised since the majority is taken from a creel.

Good structural properties and high fibre volume fractions can

be obtained.

Resin impregnation area can be enclosed thus limiting volatile

emissions.

Limited to constant or near constant cross-section components

Heated die costs can be high.

Pultrusion with additional steps to form the length into a

semicircular contour and alter the cross section at one or
more locations along the length

Pultrusion is limited to straight sections of constant cross

section

There is also a need for long parts with continuous fiber

reinforcement that are curved rather than straight and
whose cross sections may vary throughout length

Pulforming is suited to these less regular shapes