Before we talk about pultruded fiberglass, we have to talk about normal fiberglass. Fiberglass is a natural insulator because it does not conduct heat and cold, and it doesn’t expand or contract. Most window and door frame components have an interface of different materials: glass on wood, glass on aluminum or glass on vinyl. With fiberglass, the components are identical which means there is minimal expansion and contraction and if there is any, the components expand and contract as a unit.
Applications of Fiberglass
Fiberglass is used in everything from sports cars to large utility construction equipment, truck beds, armored vehicles and tanks, road signage to highway sound barriers. All applications are exposed to all weather conditions, and subject to constant abuse.
The high strength to weight ratio of fiberglass is ideal for plane fuselage, propellers and nose cones of high performance jets, and satellites.
Boats were once completely dominated by wood and aluminum and are now 95% fiberglass, due to its ability to withstand the elements under heat and cold and it’s resistance to corrosion, both salt water and atmospheric pollution, while retaining its finish with minimum maintenance.
Equipment that takes a beating, under all temperatures includes; golf clubs and carts, snow mobiles, hockey sticks, playground equipment, skis and ski poles, fishing rods, shot gun barrels, travel trailers.
Fiberglass is used in the manufacture of many household items that are taken for granted, including: shower stalls, laundry tubs, hot tubs, and ladders. In North America, every gas station was required by law to dig up their steel gas storage tanks and replace them with fiberglass tanks, the least likely material to corrode, rot, disintegrate and leak its contents into the ground and water table.
Fiberglass is being used to build bridges (“H” and “I” beams) where the bridge span is so wide that if made from steel, would collapse under its own weight. Fiberglass is replacing steel rebar because it has the strength of steel but resists corrosion. Fiberglass road guard rails and highway signage have proven to be stronger than their steel counterparts. From hydro transmission towers, to street light poles, to street manhole covers; from sea walls, dikes, to offshore oil rigs, fiberglass is used to provide strength, durability, and resist corrosion.
Acoustical Performance
In today’s architectural environment, good acoustical design isn’t a luxury – it’s a necessity. Acoustics impact everything from employee productivity in office settings to the market value of apartments, condominiums, and single-family homes.
The criteria that separates the various cladding systems is how the framing material is able to reduce the transmission of unwanted sound.
Sound Vibrations
Sound is vibration resonating through a mass. Aluminum, steel and PVC are homogeneous materials that readily transfer sound through a wall. Fiberglass is made of bundles of glass fibers interspaced with resins and fillers of different densities. As sound waves vibrate alternately through changing densities, the sound vibrations are dampened.