Indispensable in aerospace and special high-performance glass fiber, a friend of metal materials
The proportion of composite materials used in aerospace is increasing year by year, with special high-performance glass fiber showing significant advantages. Currently, composite materials, along with aluminum alloys, steel, and titanium alloys, have become indispensable materials in the aerospace industry. Whether for civil or military aircraft, high-performance glass fiber reinforced composite materials are required. These materials possess excellent mechanical properties, superior fatigue and corrosion resistance, and excellent wave transmission dielectric properties. Their structure facilitates overall design and manufacturing, achieving a 20%–30% structural weight reduction, improving aircraft structural efficiency and reliability while reducing manufacturing costs. The A380-800, the most representative aircraft of Airbus, weighs approximately 583 tons. While the fuselage is mostly aluminum, it also utilizes over 20% advanced composite materials. Besides carbon/epoxy and glass fiber/epoxy composites, there is also GLARE (glass fiber reinforced aluminum) composite material, which is made of multiple layers of glass fiber bonded to aluminum alloy. It is lighter than traditional aluminum alloys but offers better corrosion and impact resistance. Currently, the use of composite materials in advanced military and civilian aircraft is rapidly increasing, and it is projected that the amount of composite materials used will exceed 50% of the total weight of aircraft in the future.
Specialty high-performance glass fiber is leveraging its advantages in the diversified aerospace field to improve aircraft performance. The types of specialty high-performance glass fiber for aerospace applications mainly fall into two categories: one is used in primary and secondary load-bearing structural components for structural reinforcement, such as GLARE laminates and helicopter rotors; the other is used in functional structural components and interior trim with special electrical performance requirements, such as nose cones, radomes, radar domes, and cabin floors. In primary load-bearing structural components, glass fiber reinforced materials are mainly used in helicopter rotor blades, improving their tensile stiffness, flapping and yaw stiffness, and impact resistance. In secondary load-bearing structural components, glass fiber reinforced materials are mainly used in aircraft wing fixed leading edges, rudders, tail fins, and tail cones. In interior components, highly uniform satin-weave glass fiber fabrics combined with flame-retardant epoxy and phenolic composites are primarily used in aircraft floors and ceilings, exhibiting high specific strength and specific stiffness, as well as significant advantages in flame retardancy and low smoke emission.
The proportion of glass fiber composite materials in the aerospace composite materials market is continuously increasing, and its demand is expected to reach 50,200 tons in 2023. According to data from the Qianzhan Industry Research Institute, glass fiber composite materials are widely used in my country's aerospace field, and their proportion in the aerospace composite materials market is expected to increase year by year; in 2017, this proportion was approximately 14.2%, and it is projected to rise to 18.5% in 2023. With the development of my country's aviation industry, the demand for durable, lightweight, and non-corrosive products is increasing. In 2023, the demand for glass fiber composite materials in the aviation industry is expected to reach 50,200 tons.