Fibreglass Facts:

THE BASICS...
ARMATEC
www.armatec.co.nz
Composite Material:
Reinforcements for strength - glass, carbon, synthetics,
fibres, flakes
Thermoset resin matrix protects reinforcement and
transfers loads to reinforcement - isophthalic, vinyl ester,
epoxy resins
Manufacturing methods varied - contact moulding,
Woven roving laminate
filament winding, spray up, resin transfer moulding, pre- being consolidated
pregs, pultrusion

Features of Fibreglass:
High strength/weight ratio
Ease of fabrication - eg complex shapes, coloured
Fibres can be placed where the loads are
Dimensional stability - shapes can be duplicated accurately
Good weathering properties - eg can be placed outside
Good chemical resistance - with correct resin choice
Proven performance worldwide in industry for over 50 years

All fibreglass pump station for residential wastewater

 Fibreglass Facts:
STRESS & STRAIN ...
ARMATEC
www.armatec.co.nz
Ultimate Strength:
Yield and Ultimate Strength are same
Ultimate Strength reduces with
increasing temperature FIBREGLASS
When failure does occur it can be
sudden and dramatic
Failure initiates at point of max stress

STRESS
Good Design: Yield and
Ultimate
Use high safety factors, SF = 5 minimum Strength
for structural FRP
Build to standards
Analyse stresses fully ... FEA
Ensure no over-stressing can occur STRAIN
Avoid stress concentration points
Maintain regular inspections
If cracks or weeping occur,
initiate maintenance immediately

Fibreglass tank failure can be sudden and dramatic. Failure initiated from Polyethylene manhole failed under buried
stress point 3 years after installation. Tank by another manufacturer. load at temperature
Fibreglass Facts:
CREEP ...
ARMATEC
www.armatec.co.nz

What Happens:
Ultimate Strength of FRP under load (pipes,
tanks) reduces with time
Can lead to failure some years after FIBREGLASS
installation
Reduction in Ultimate Strength depends Ultimate Strength

ULTIMATE STRENGTH
of FRP under load
on service temp and HDT (heat distortion 100% reduces with time
temp) of resin

Good Design: 50%

Use higher safety factors for FRP
under constant load ... minimum 10, eg for
tanks and pipes
Use resin with HDT preferably 20C above 5 10
max service temp TIME IN YEARS
Avoid stress concentration points

FRP tank and piping by ARMATEC at Pulp & Paper site handling bleach Tank by others has crack in tank bottom
filtrate. Tank handles over-pressurisation from filters on floor above. knuckle due to incorrect lug design.
 Fibreglass Facts:
CHEMICAL RESISTANCE ...
ARMATEC
www.armatec.co.nz

Fibreglass has wide range of corrosion resistance depending on resin

selection, and is ideal for industrial applications.

Materials Carbon Steel Stainless FRP FRP

1020 316 Isophthalic Vinyl Ester
Acetic Acid NR R NR R
Acid Chloride Salts NR NR R R
Bleach NR NR NR R
Chlorine Wet NR NR NR R
Chlorine Dioxide NR NR NR R
Hydrochloric Acid Dilute NR NR R to 5% R
Hydrochloric Acid Conc NR NR NR R
Hydrofluosilicic Acid NR NR NR R
Hydrogen Sulphide NR NR R R
Lactic Acid NR R R R
Nitric Acid Dilute NR R R to 5% R to 40%
Nitric Acid Conc NR R NR NR
Phosphoric Acid Dilute NR R R to 5% R
Phosphoric Acid Conc NR R NR R
Salt Water NR NR R R
Sodium Hydroxide Dilute NR R NR R
Sodium Hydroxide Conc R R NR R
Sodium Hypochlorite NR NR NR R
Sulphuric Acid Dilute NR R to 5% R R to 75%
Sulphuric Acid Conc R R NR NR
R = Resistant, NR = Not Resistant. Consult ARMATEC for more detailed information.
For example there are temperature limitations to almost all the data given above.

Used for corrosive chemical storage, corrosive gases and liquids in a scrubber, and for combinations of corrosive
chemicals in manholes and neutralisations sumps in an effluent stream. All the above installations are by ARMATAEC.
Fibreglass Facts:
STANDARDS & QA ...
ARMATEC
www.armatec.co.nz

Standards to Specify:
AS 2634 - good all round standard used in NZ and Australia
- still in use and in process of being superceded
BS 4994 - for tanks and pipes especially
EN 13121-3-2004 - European standard
ASTM RTP1 - USA standard includes pressure vessels
AS/NZS 3751 - FRP pipe for public utilities
AS/NZS 2566 - for buried flexible pipelines
AS/NZS 1170 - for seismic and wind loads

Quality Assurance Available:

ISO 9001 Accreditation
Armatec Standard Laminate Testing
Materials traceability
Thickness AS 2634 Armatec Exceeds
Design Audits Minimums Minimums
Standardised laminates tested (see table) 3.1 mm 57 MPa 103 MPa + 80%
4.6 mm 68 MPa 127 MPa + 87%
QA checks during manufacture 5.9 mm 77 MPa 107 MPa + 39%
Post fabrication thickness checks 9.7 mm 100 MPa 124 MPa + 24%
10.3 mm 100 MPa 167 MPa + 67%
Post cure Barcol hardness checks * By Materials & Testing Laboratories Ltd to As 1145
On site QA logs for coatings and linings
Coatings and linings - sparktesting
Coatings and linings - thickness checks

Quality Assurance Tools Used by ARMATEC: Left - Ultrasonic thickness testing of fibreglass laminates; Centre - Spark
testing tank lining for pinholes; Right - Measuring thickness of applied coating
 Fibreglass Facts:
BARRIER COATINGS ...
ARMATEC
www.armatec.co.nz

Key Success Criteria:

Withstand chemical attack - choose correct resin
Resist permeation - less than 0.1 perms (ASTM E-96) or impedance greater
than 1 x 108 ohm-sq.cm at 0.1Hz per EIS testing
Withstand other service conditions - eg abraision, flexing, cleaning,
temperature fluctuations, physical abuse
Properly designed and prepared substrate - cleaned, steel blasted to minimum
profile, concrete surface strength adequate
Be installed correctly - using specifications and QA procedures

LCC (Life Cycle Cost) Analysis

Year Standard Paint Barrier Coating
Est 8 year life Est 24+ year life
1 $50k $100k
6 $8k $1k
8 $50k $2k
14 $8k $5k
16 $50k $4k
22 $8k $5k
24 To be replaced Needs replacing?
Total Cost $174k $117k
LCC over 24 years $7,250/year $4,875/year
LCC is better than Initial Cost in evaluation that relative cost of a coating. Costs above are
current day costs. No allowance is made for downtime or lost manufacturing time when
coatings replaced.
Flakes are used to resist
permeation in barrier coatings

Motunui methanol plant demin neutralisation sump below pipework (left) lined in 1983 by ARMATEC with barrier coating
(right). In daily use for over 20 years. Maintenance costs during this time have been almost zero.