High Flexibility of the Fiberglass

The car window, solar cell, glass panel, F15 fighter jet, basket ball backboard and many others are made of the fibreglass.

Fiberglass is usually known as glass fiber and it is tougher than the ordinary glass but it has negligible weight and is very light. Fiberglass is a complex material composed of glass but it is very hard like a rock and tough like steel. The use of glass fiber in the mirrors or car window is a recent phenomenon.

The Owens Corring Fiberglass Corporation has promoted the utilisation of fiberglass to a great extent. Use of these glass fibers for the textile applications was officially introduced in the year 1938. When the industry of the glass fiber started, it specialised in the manufacturing of the filament glass fiber. Till date, Owens and Corring is the major maker of fiberglass.

There are 2 ways in which fiberglass is manufactured. It can be melted directly by heating the sand and then forming the fibers. These fibers will be moulded to form a panel. This is a very efficient method as it does not involve much time and effort. The product that is obtained from this procedure is manufacturer grade that is, all the required standards of an A-grade product has been met. The fiberglass that is obtained from this method is suitable to be used for the commercial purposes.

There are also specialised way of producing glass fiber. But it involves much time and effort. While re melting the marble, the material that is in a molten state is trimmed. After rolling it into marbles, it is put in the cans and then it is shipped to re melt again and forms the fibers. The fibers which are manufactured from the direct melting process have a high flexibility as compared to the finished products from the re-melt procedure.

The fibers yielded from the re-melt process are usually used for the specialised purposes and are used mainly for the research purposes and also for the non-commercial as well as commercial needs. As it is totally resistant to corrosion and chemically inert, so, it has an economic advantage over aluminium and wood. This is highly flexible and has a high weight to strength ratio. Fiberglass can withstand substantial weights without getting cracks.

It is not that the fiberglass is not at all susceptible to get the cracks. It is more likely to develop the cracks when surface area of it is quite large. In order to find out the precise weight that the glass fiber can handle, the outside area is really a crucial element. Humidity may also cause deterioration of fiberglass because the panel has some minuscule components which absorb the humidity in the air. If the panel absorbs ample amount of moisture then it may so happen that will crack easily.

The fiberglass is highly resistant to ultra violet rays, acids, various chemicals and also extreme temperature conditions. If the fibers are very fine then it will be very flexible also. That is, they can bend very easily.