GRP stands for Glass Reinforced Plastic. It is also called fibreglass, composite plastic or FRP. It is strong, extremely light and highly versatile. GRP behaves differently from the conventional thermoplastics that are used in everyday items. This means that it has properties that are useful for a range of applications within many industries.
The polymer is usually the epoxy, polyester, or the vinyl. Fibreglass materials are commonly used in high performance leisure aircrafts and gliders, boats, automobiles, bathtubs, hot tubs, water tanks, roofing products, pipes, cladding, cast, Surfboards, and external door skins.
FRP stands for Fibre-Reinforced Polymer. FRP is a composite material formed of a polymer matrix reinforced with fibres. Although the fibres used are usually glass fibre, as in GRP, others such as carbon, aramid or basalt are also utilised.
Fibre reinforced polymers are made of two primary constituents; fibres and a polymer matrix. In FRP, the fibre is embedded in a polymer matrix. This structure gives completely different chemical and physical properties than the properties of the individual materials. In fact, these materials satisfy higher engineering requirements than the ordinary materials. Hence composites are applied in less sophisticated to very sophisticate and demanding manufacturing tasks.
Mechanical, civil, biomedical, marine, and the aerospace industries are main users of composite materials.
The primary role of fibres is to provide strength and stiffness to the material. But the fibre alone is brittle (ex: glass). Therefore, the fibres are encased in a coating of polymer materials. Polymer matrix holds the fibres in their position and transfers the loads between the fibres. It also contributes to the inter-laminar shear strength.
The fibres used in composite are as follows; E-glass, S-glass, Quartz, Aramid (Kevlar 49), Spectra 1000, Carbon (AS4), Carbon (IM-7), Graphite (P-100), and Boron. Polyesters, Vinyl Esters, Epoxies, Bismaleimides, Polyimides, and Phenolics are the polymers used. Each polymer has different chemical and physical properties; therefore, contribute differently to the composite structure. As a result, the composite properties are also different based on the polymer.
Polyester and vinyl are low cost materials, hence used extensively in commercial applications. Epoxies are used for high performance continuous fibre matrices. It also performs better than vinyl and polyester in high temperature conditions.
Bismaleimides and Polyimides are high temperature resin matrices for use in temperature critical engineering applications. Phenolics are high temperature resin systems with a good smoke and fire resistance; therefore, used in aircraft interiors.
FRP is a broader general term more often applied to engineering materials used in a wide range of industrial applications. The term FRP is, however, often used interchangeably when referring to GRP.
GRP stands for Glass Reinforced Plastic and is just another name for fibreglass. In fact, you might even hear the term “glass fibre” being used by some contractors. Rest assured that these terms are just interchangeable.
Some people confuse the terms, and it generally depends on the company using them. Regardless of where it’s being used or what country you’re in, the term GRP and fibreglass are both the same.
Although they have different uses, GRP and FRP are both “composites”, an engineering material that means they’re materials that consist of two or more dissimilar components. The two components are often described as a matrix and a reinforcement. In the case of GRP, the matrix is plastic (or polymer) and the reinforcement is glass fibre.
The purpose of combining two materials to create a composite is to get the advantages of both. In the case of GRP, it takes on the lightweight qualities of resin but the sturdiness of glass fibres. It can also be melded into various different shapes, much like plastics in general and will remain sturdy thanks to the reinforcement from the glass fibres.
Composites are commonly used when meeting specific engineering challenges. Although some materials are typically only seen in high-end applications, more affordable versions (such as GRP vs FRP) can easily be used in residential or even commercial applications.
• FRP is a composite material, where high strength fibres are included in a polymer matrix. They are used in many commercial and engineering applications due to their high strength and light weight. FRP is widely used as a substitute for metal and wood. Best example is the use of carbon fibre reinforced polymer (CFRP) instead of aluminum and titanium or high grade steel in aircrafts.
• Fibreglass or GRP is a composite material made out of glass fibres and uses polyester, vinyl, or epoxy as the polymer. It is used to make gliders, boats, and bathtubs. Fibreglass is used mainly for commercial applications. Fibre glass is one type of FRP.
DEKO GRP Seal Plate is produced on semi-automatic machines with high output, high quality and low price, and is a typical lightweight and high-strength material. It can be used in certain parts of buildings with moisture resistance requirements and is usually used in conjunction with good rings. If you are interested in our products, please contact us for more information.
