GRP - Glass Reinforced Plastic
GRP is a kind of composite material. What is composite?
Composites are materials made from two or more constituent materials with significantly different physical or chemical properties,that when combined, produce a material with characteristics different from the individual components. The individual components remain separate and distinct within the finished structure.
These components, which do not chemically combine with each other and lose their own properties, form a new material with superior properties by covering each other’s weaknesses.
Composite materials are formed by combining two main components: reinforcement and matrix. While the reinforcement material imparts its special mechanical and physical properties to enhance the matrix properties, the matrix acts as a binder, providing the composite structure with its integrity.
What is Glass-Reinforced Plastic (GRP)?
Glass-reinforced plastic (GRP) is a composite material that consists of glass fibre suspended in a polymer matrix; which results in a material that combines the compressive strength of plastic and the tensile strength of glass fibre, thus resulting in a composite material that can withstand compressive and tensile loads.
Plastics used in GRP production are divided into two groups as thermoplastics and thermosets. Thermoplastics can be remelted and remolded without losing their structural characteristics while thermoset plastics remain in a permanently solid state once hardened.
Unsaturated polyester resins, which are in the thermoset group,are the most common polymer matrix.
Advantages of GRP
• High impact resistance
• Resilience
• Lightness
• High corrosion resistance
• High chemical resistance
• Unlimited design
• Moulding flexibility
• No dimensional limitations
Areas of Use of GRP
• Automotive Industry
• Agricultural Machinery and Equipment
• Railway Systems
• Aerospace and Defence Industry
• Marine Industry
• Construction Industry
• Electric-Electronic
• Water and Sewage Pipes
• Highway Traffic Signs
• Furniture for public areas
• Advertising Industry
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