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

composite material A composite material (also called a composition material or shortened to composite, which is the common name) is a material which is produced from two or more constituent materials. These constituent materials have notably dissimilar chemical or ...

. It comprises short glass fibers in a

matrix Matrix most commonly refers to: * ''The Matrix'' (franchise), an American media franchise ** '' The Matrix'', a 1999 science-fiction action film ** "The Matrix", a fictional setting, a virtual reality environment, within ''The Matrix'' (franchi ...

of a

polymer A polymer (; Greek '' poly-'', "many" + '' -mer'', "part") is a substance or material consisting of very large molecules called macromolecules, composed of many repeating subunits. Due to their broad spectrum of properties, both synthetic a ...

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 design flexibility, chemical, durability, and chemical and shatter resistance.

Materials

Either

thermoplastic A thermoplastic, or thermosoft 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 associate ...

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

polyamide A polyamide is a polymer with repeating units linked by amide bonds. Polyamides occur both naturally and artificially. Examples of naturally occurring polyamides are proteins, such as wool and silk. Artificially made polyamides can be made th ...

polymer

nylon Nylon is a generic designation for a family of synthetic polymers composed of polyamides ( repeating units linked by amide links).The polyamides may be aliphatic or semi-aromatic. Nylon is a silk-like thermoplastic, generally made from pet ...

. The first mouldable composite was

Bakelite Polyoxybenzylmethylenglycolanhydride, better known as Bakelite ( ), is a thermosetting phenol formaldehyde resin, formed from a condensation reaction of phenol with formaldehyde. The first plastic made from synthetic components, it was developed ...

. This used wood flour fibres in

phenolic resin Phenol formaldehyde resins (PF) or phenolic resins (also infrequently called phenoplasts) are synthetic polymers obtained by the reaction of phenol or substituted phenol with formaldehyde. Used as the basis for Bakelite, PFs were the first commerc ...

as the

thermoset polymer matrix A thermoset polymer matrix is a synthetic polymer reinforcement where polymers act as binder or matrix to secure in place incorporated particulates, fibres or other reinforcements. They were first developed for structural applications, such as gla ...

. 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 ...

homopolymer A polymer (; Greek '' poly-'', "many" + '' -mer'', "part") is a substance or material consisting of very large molecules called macromolecules, composed of many repeating subunits. Due to their broad spectrum of properties, both synthetic an ...

s and

copolymer In polymer chemistry, a copolymer is a polymer derived from more than one species of monomer. The polymerization of monomers into copolymers is called copolymerization. Copolymers obtained from the copolymerization of two monomer species are ...

polyester Polyester is a category of polymers that contain the ester functional group in every repeat unit of their main chain. As a specific material, it most commonly refers to a type called polyethylene terephthalate (PET). Polyesters include natura ...

polyphenylene oxide Poly(''p''-phenylene oxide) (PPO), poly(''p''-phenylene ether) (PPE), often referred to simply as polyphenylene oxide, is a high-temperature thermoplastic. It is rarely used in its pure form due to difficulties in processing. It is mainly used as ...

(PPO / Noryl),

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

, 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 Fibre-reinforced plastic (FRP; also called fibre-reinforced polymer, or in American English ''fiber'') is a composite material made of a polymer matrix reinforced with fibres. The fibres are usually glass (in fibreglass), carbon (in carbon-fibr ...

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