Reinforcement material for

composite systems
Dr. Jayakrishnan Nampoothiri
Assistant Professor, Dept. of Prod.
PSGCT-CBE-04
Reinforcement Materials
 Types of Fibres
Natural
Fibre
Synthetic
 Synthetic Fibres

Glass fibre Boron fibre

Carbon fibre

Aramid fibre
Application of Natural Fibre
Composites
Natural Vs. Synthetic
Synthetic Reinforcement Fibres

Glass fibre

Aramid

Ceramic fibre
 Synthetic Reinforcement Fibres

Glass fibre

Poly
propylene

• Glass fibre is a generic name like steel

• 5-15 types of glass fibres are there

• Based on composition and applications glass fibres are classified.

 Types of Glass fibre
1. A-Glass Fibre
2. C-Glass Fibre
3. D-Glass Fibre
4. E-Glass Fibre
5. ECR Glass Fibre
6. Advantex Glass Fibre
7. AR-Glass Fibre
8. R-Glass, S-Glass, or T-Glass Fibre
9. S2-Glass Fibre
10. M-Glass Fibre
11. Z-Glass Fibre
 Types of Glass fibre
Chopped Strand Continuous yarn

Roving Mat
 Fabrication of Glass fibres

Schematic of Glass fibre fabrication unit

1. Step 1: Batching
Glass fibres with a filament
2. Step 2: Melting diameter of more than 9 μm
cause irritation of the skin, so
3. Step 3: Fiberization we only offer glass fibres with a
filament diameter of 6 μm or 9
4. Step 4: Coating μm

5. Step 5: Drying/packaging
Properties and Applications
Mechanical and physical properties
• E-glass fibre products are particularly resistant to abrasion and vibration and have
excellent flexibility.
• The glass thread has a higher specific resistance (tensile strength/volumetric mass)
than that of steel.
• This feature makes it possible to develop glass threads that reinforce high
performance composites.
Electrical and acoustic properties
• Its excellent electrical insulation properties, even at low thickness, combined with its
mechanical strength and its behaviour at different temperatures, were the basis for
the first applications of the glass thread.
Thermal properties
E-glass fibre has low thermal conductivity. For felt, for example, conductivity is 0.03
W/m.K. The fibre can withstand temperatures of over 600°C and is non-combustible.
Chemical resistance
Fibrous E-glass fibre products are resistant to oils, solvents and most chemical agents.
They are also rot-proof.
Dimensional stability
Glass fibre thread is insensitive to variations in temperature and humidity and has a low
expansion coefficient.
Glass fibre reinforced resins are used widely in

The building and construction industry.

wall panel;

window frames,

tanks,

bathroom units,

pipes, and ducts

Boat hulls,

In the chemical industry (e.g., as storage tanks, pipelines, and process vessels)

The rail and road transportation industry and the aerospace industry are other big users

of GRP.
 Boron Fibre
• This fibre was first introduced by Talley in 1959
• Boron fibre manifests a combination of high strength and high elastic modulus
• Five times strong as and twice stiff as steel
• The Boron fibres itself a composite
• Produced by deposition of boron vapours into a fine core filament of W or C
• Uses of boron fibre based composites varies from sporting goods such as golf club
shafts, fishing rods, bicycle frame to aerospace components such as empennage
skins, space shuttle truss members and patch/repairing of aircraft parts
Boron

Patches
Surface texture
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Filament
• In commercial production of boron fibres, the method of Chemical Vapour
Deposition (CVD) is used
• The CVD is a process in which one material is deposited onto a substrate to
produce near theoretical density and small grain size for the deposited material.
• The material grows on this substrate and produces a thicker filament.
• The size of the final filament is such that it could not be produced by drawing or
other conventional methods of producing fibres.
• It is the fine and dense structure of the deposited material which determines the
strength and modulus of the fibre.

𝟐𝑩𝑪𝒍𝟑 + 𝟑𝑯𝟐 → 𝟐𝑩 + 𝟔𝑯𝑪𝒍

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 Carbon Fibres
• Carbon fibre is a generic term representing a family of fibres
• Most of the carbon fibre fabrication processes involve the following essential steps:
1. A fiberization procedure to make a precursor fibre. This generally involves wet-
,dry-, or melt-spinning followed by some drawing or stretching.
2. A stabilization treatment that prevents the fibre from melting in the subsequent
high-temperature treatments.
3. A thermal treatment called carbonization that removes most noncarbon elements.
4. An optional thermal treatment called graphitization that improves the properties of
carbon fibre obtained in step 3.

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 On top of being strong, carbon fibre:
● Is high in stiffness
● Is high in tensile strength
● Has a low weight to strength ratio
● Is high in chemical resistance
● Is temperature tolerant to excessive heat
● Has low thermal expansion

Applications includes:
• Bike frames
• Aircraft Wings
• Automotive drive shafts
• Tubing
• Containers
• Propeller blades
• Car components

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Aramid Fibres

Chemical Structure of aramid fibre

Schematic
of fibre
structure

Schematic of fibre
fabrication 19
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 Ceramic Fibres-Oxide based
The sol–gel process of making fibres involves the following steps, common to all fibres:
1. Formulate sol.
2. Concentrate to form a viscous gel.
3. Spin the precursor fibres.
4. Calcine to obtain the oxide fibre.

Optical micrograph of Nextel 312 (Al2O3 +

B2O3 + SiO2) fibre

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 Ceramic Fibres-Non-Oxide based
Silicon Carbide Fibres by CVD

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Property comparison of fibres

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Cross sectional shapes of fibres

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Fibres in a glance

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 Particulate reinforcements particles
Silicon Carbide in a Particulate Form

• SiC in particulate form has been available quite cheaply and abundantly for
• abrasive, refractories, and chemical uses.
• In this conventional process, silica in the form of sand and carbon in the form of
coke are made to react at 2,400 oC in an electric furnace.
• The SiC produced in the form of large granules is subsequently powdered to the
desired size

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 Assignment

1. Describe fabrication of any one polymer fibre

2. Describe fabrication of any one particulate reinforcement other than SiC

Thank you…

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