JEC COMPOSITES MAGAZINE - Issue #69 - November/December 2011 - 51

More information
Owens Corning supports end-users, engineers and fabricators in specifying the proper type of glass fibre reinforcement for their use. Owens Corning offers a link on the Advantex® website to submit requests and also provides a faxable form in their glass fibre chemical resistance guide. Once Owens Corning receives the form, they will send a letter containing the recommended veil and chop/mat glass type for the corrosion barrier and the recommended glass type for the structural portion of the FRP part dependent upon the corrosive environment.

Boron-free glass
Advantex® glass is a patented boron-free glass formulation that is both a corrosionresistant E-CR glass and an E-glass by definition. This glass material was developed with the following attributes: increased mechanical properties when compared to standard E-glass and E-CR glasses, and improved corrosion resistance when compared to standard E-glass, meeting both the ASTM D 578 4.2.4 and ISO 2078 standards. Owens Corning invented Advantex® glass in 1996 and it has proven to be a best-inclass performing glass fibre type for FRP use in corrosive environments. Advantex® glass is produced in all regions of the world to provide customers the necessary product types from a local supply base. There are several industry standards
Tab. 2: ISO 2078 Glass designations

Fig.5 :An example of a sodium hydrochloride FRP tank

recommending glass types for FRP use in corrosive environments. One of them is the ASTM D578 - Standard Specification for Glass Fibre Strands, section 4.2.4. This standard states “the nomenclature “E-CR glass” is used for boron-free modified Eglass compositions for improved resistance to corrosion by most acids.” International Standard ISO 2078 Designation of glass fibres, section 4.1.1, provides a chart with general indications of which glass types to use for certain environments (Table 2).

Glass type E-glass D A C S R AR E-CR

General indication For general purpose: good electrical properties Good dielectric High alkali content Chemical resistance High mechanical strength High mechanical strength Alkali resistant For use in acid environments

FRP specification standard

Many end-users and engineering firms are adjusting their FRP specification standards away from standard E-glass and inserting Advantex®/E-CR glass for FRP applications facing corrosive environments. Since FRP structures rely on glass reinforcements for their strength, using a glass fibre reinforcement which has better chemical resistance in many environments reduces risk and can improve the overall lifetime performance.

No69 November-December 2011 / jec composites magazine This glass material also offers advantages in areas with high voltage electrical currents. “The main advantage of Advantex® glass with high-voltage applications is that it is boron free,” said Byrd Hennessee, global product engineer for Owens Corning. “There is a corona effect which occurs around high voltage lines, which attacks the boron in the glass, creating what the electrical industry refers to as a ‘brittle fracture’ failure, which means the boron-containing part is weakened and fails structurally. Since Advantex® does not contain boron it is less vulnerable to this type of brittle fracture failure.” n
More information: www.owenscorning.com/ composites/aboutAdvantex.asp

Advantex®/E-CR glass is being specified more frequently for use in mining, flue gas desulphurization, chemical processing, water and sewage, and many other industrial processes.

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Technology & Innovations
http://www.owenscorning.com/composites/aboutadvantex.asp
JEC COMPOSITES MAGAZINE - Issue #69 - November/December 2011

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of JEC COMPOSITES MAGAZINE - Issue #69 - November/December 2011
