Читать книгу Encyclopedia of Glass Science, Technology, History, and Culture - Группа авторов - Страница 130

Numerous examples of the use of glass drawn as fibers can be found throughout history. The early Egyptians wrapped glass fibers over clay vessels and then fused them to form glass vessels. Venetian glass blowers in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries used glass fibers to decorate elaborate glass articles. Glass fibers were even used as fabric elements in fashion garments in the late nineteenth century. It was in the mid‐1930s, however, that two key developments created the means for glass fibers to become the base for a new industry based on composites–organic polymers reinforced with glass fibers, more commonly known as glass reinforced plastics, or GRP. The first was improvements in the process of manufacturing glass fibers at the Owens‐Illinois Glass Company so that commercial fibers could be made in a multifilament strand form that met basic material handling requirements for downstream processing into composite structures [1]. The second was the development of polymeric resin systems by DuPont and others that could be combined readily with glass fibers. These glass‐fiber reinforced polymer–matrix composites offered key material advantages over conventional metallic materials, including light weight, stiffness, and strength, and resistance to corrosion and fatigue.

Today, glass fibers have become the most widely used and cost‐effective reinforcing fibers in the arena of commercial polymer–matrix composites. Early melt spun processes producing discontinuous fibers have evolved to today's large‐scale direct melt continuous fiber‐forming operations. One of the first needs for continuous fibers was for insulation of electrical wires for high‐temperature applications, leading to the development of a new glass composition based on a CaO–Al₂O₃–SiO₂–B₂O₃ system that met the electrical requirements and subsequently became known as E‐glass. Because these fibers also exhibited excellent mechanical properties and could be made in relatively high‐volume manufacturing operations, the original E‐glass compositions rapidly spread into many composite applications. Today, the glass fiber reinforcement spectrum has grown to include an increasing array of specialty glass compositions that are targeted for key expanding markets in electronics, transportation, corrosion, construction, and in energy management.

Prior to 2000, most major glass fibers manufacturers were concentrated in North America and Western Europe. Today, fiberglass production facilities are flourishing in China and beginning to spread to other regions of the world to satisfy a constantly growing demand of GRP. It is the intent of this overview to provide insight into the technology that is associated with the continuing success of glass as a reinforcing fiber. Fiberglass technology associated with both material characteristics and manufacturing processes are described at a high level.