What are FRP/Composites?
Fiberglass reinforced plastic, commonly known as fiberglass, was developed commercially after World War II. Since that time, the use of fiberglass has grown rapidly. The term “fiberglass” describes a thermoset plastic resin that is reinforced with glass fibers. In this manual, the more general terms Fiber Reinforced Plastic/Composites or FRP/Composites will be used to describe these extremely useful material systems. Plastic resins come in two different classes – thermosets and thermoplastics. From a practical perspective, it’s easy to remember that thermosets maintain their molded shape at higher temperatures and cannot be melted and reshaped. Thermoplastics will melt at a given temperature and can be solidified into new shapes by cooling to ambient temperatures. Thermosets and thermoplastics are described with more detail in the Resin Systems section of this document. Reinforcing fibers include glass, carbon, aramid and other man-made and natural materials that are further described
