Glass fiber’s growing array of new uses is catching
the world’s attention
Have you heard of glass fiber? It is a fibrous glass developed about 80 years ago. It has many applications; for instance, it is an ingredient in reinforced plastic, which makes automotive parts, electronic components, and housing equipment
stronger, lighter, and more durable. Glass fiber is also used in the automotive industry for resin components that lead to greener, safer, and more fuel-efficient vehicles. In addition, glass fiber is a leading component in cutting-edge
fields, such as its growing use in the construction sector as a reinforcing material in new concrete products that do away with the need for rebar.
Thus it’s an old, yet new material now generating more and more attention worldwide.
We have two types of glass fiber: E-Fiber, primarily used in auto parts and electronic devices, and ARG Fiber, mainly used in construction materials. Read on to Related Information about glass fiber.
A reinforcing material for high-performance resins, concrete, and mortar
Glass fiber enables the development of new functions, construction methods and more. There is demand today in diverse fields for components that empower us to do things we simply couldn’t before. One material fulfilling this need is glass fiber. The uses for glass fiber are growing quickly: in our lives, in our cities, and in our world.
E-Fiber adds great value to resins
Adding E-Fiber to resin enhances the resin, making it stronger, more heat-resistant, harder, and more dimensionally stable. No wonder it is now used in a wide range of fields, including auto parts and housing equipment.
And thanks to the non-conductive property of glass, E-Fiber aids with such advancements as making electronic devices smaller and thinner.
Chopped strand for functional plastic
Chopped strand mat
Roving for reinforced plastic
Expands uses for resins and contributes to industries like automotive and electronics
Take, for example, automobiles. Metal parts have always accounted for most of their structure, but today
automakers are simplifying production processes: they want better fuel efficiency, safety and environmental performance; and they are creating more modular designs utilizing lighter-than-metal resins.
So how can a resin serve as a replacement for strong metals? The secret is glass fiber. Mixing glass fiber
into a light resin as a strengthening agent raises its performance.
Moreover, you can use resin with mold injection to efficiently produce parts with complex shapes. In addition to interior components like car tops and doors, resins are used in all sorts of places, like engine mounts and exhaust pipes, to
improve fuel efficiency, simplify production processes and contribute to cost-savings. Their use is making particular progress with hybrid vehicles.
Strengthens building material strength without the need for rebar ARG Fiber
ARG Fiber is a glass fiber with excellent alkali resistance. It is commonly mixed with cements for materials used in building construction and civil engineering. When used in glass fiber reinforced concrete, ARG Fiber—unlike rebar—does not
corrode and reinforces with a uniform distribution throughout the entire component. ARG Fiber’s superior reinforcement guarantees the necessary strength without rebar, and that means components can be significantly thinner, thus reducing
the weight of the entire building.
ARG Fiber is also proving invaluable in civil engineering. Today, fiber nets are used to repair or reinforce waterways and prevent exfoliation joints in tunnels.
GCR board cross-section
Good compatibility with cements; uniform distribution in mixture strengthens entire board
Alkali-resistant glass fiber (ARG Fiber)
Strong yet light ARG Fiber: setting new standards for well-designed architecture
One advantage of GRC is that it opens the door to a greater variety of designs. It makes installing complex designs easy with mold-based factory production and modularization, thus expanding the possibilities of building construction. And GRC boards can be used for dry installation of flooring. That means you can build a structure in an unconventional manner by assembling the frame before laying the floors. This is one of many construction methods GRC is suited to. By thus simplifying the work done on-site, GRC enables you to shorten construction schedules and cut costs.
Example Applications
Ginza Kabukiza Theater
The Ginza Kabukiza Theater that opened in Tokyo in April 2013 uses ARG Fiber as a reinforcing material in its ornamental mortar. We restored the look of the building’s earlier incarnations by modularizing each of the difficult-to-reproduce traditional patterns and designs into separate ornamental elements. These turned out lighter than their predecessors and helped shorten construction time. This beautiful fusion of tradition and state-of-the-art technology marks a new chapter in the Kabukiza Theater’s history.
GRC Board Flooring
Modularization
Modularization and installation of an art deco balcony
Modularization and installation of entire window sets
GRC also enables easy installation of modularized old-fashioned building ornamentation.
Glass fiber helps with everything from everyday life to global issues
Glass fiber’s applications are now spreading into unexpected areas.
It is helping solve various problems in many countries by acting, for example: as light yet strong electrical poles; hurricane-resistant walls and other hazard-resistant building materials; wind turbine rotor blades; crack-resistant flower
pots; and interior materials for homes. We want to explore potential uses for glass fiber so we can keep making a wide array of contributions that solve problems ranging from those in our everyday lives to global issues like energy
and resources.