Abstract
Glass fibre reinforcements form the backbone of a composites industry with a global annual production of more than 10 million tons of high performance, light-weight materials. Possibly the most critical component involved in the manufacture of glass fibres and their composites is the fibre sizing. Yet because of the intense level of secrecy surrounding size formulations there are very few people in the vast supply chain of composite materials suppliers, processors and end users who have more than a superficial understanding of glass fibre sizings. Given the importance of sizings to the continuing success and growth of the composites industry this paper reviews some of the most relevant articles from the widely dispersed literature available around glass fibre sizings. The review covers size formulation, sizing effects in fibre and composite processing, sizing and fibre performance, sizing and interphase adhesion, and sizing effects on composite performance. The conclusions highlight the fragmented nature of the knowledge base on sizings and the lack of reliable and reproducible reference materials on which to build real progress in this critical technology.
Highlights
Glass fibre has been successful as the reinforcement of choice in the rapidly expanding fibre reinforced polymer composites market
The formulation and application of glass fibre size to reinforcement fibres is a critical component in the cost-effective production of glass fibres and their processability into composite materials with optimized short and long term performance
Because of the lack of any comprehensive or reliable database on the science and technology of glass fibre sizes, any attempt at a classical review is challenging and it is difficult to draw any significant conclusions about the state of play and whether real progress is being made in this important area of composites science
Summary
Glass fibre has been successful as the reinforcement of choice in the rapidly expanding fibre reinforced polymer composites market. In the case of glass fibres, sizing is probably the key component influencing the success or failure of most reinforcement products and their composites. This is due to the major role played by the sizing in the profitability, processability, and performance of that product. Most composite production processes could not be operated in a cost-effective manner without appropriately sized glass fibres. Both short-term and long-term composite performances are critically influenced by the optimization of the fibre sizing and the closely associated fibre-matrix interphase in the composite.
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