FRP Vs Traditional Materials

FRP vs. Steel

Steelmaking began thousands of years ago, while the first composites made from reinforced fibers only debuted in the last century. But older doesn’t mean better. While steel has its place, composites FRP (Fiber Reinforced Polymer)are an ideal material for many applications.

Fiber Reinforced Composites offer several advantages over steel. Steel has intrinsic design limitations, is heavy and costly to transport and is susceptible to corrosion, which leads to high maintenance costs. Consider these features:

• Composites are corrosion resistant – In outdoor applications, composites stand up to severe weather and wide temperature changes. Steel rusts easily unless it is painted or coated with zinc. And corrosion is expensive with Steel.But with FRP its NO.
• Composites are lighter than steel – A cubic meter of cast steel weighs approximately 7800 kg. Depending on the material formulation, composites can be up to 70 percent lighter, i.e of approximately 2000kg only.
• Composites are incredibly strong – They can be custom-tailored to add strength in critical areas, such as spots that may bend or wear out. With steel, if greater strength is needed in any area then more metal must be added, which in turn increases weight.
• Composites are nonconductive – By their very nature, metals like steel conduct electricity. Composites are superior insulators: They don’t respond to an electric field and resist the flow of an electric charge.
• Composites allow for parts consolidation – A single piece made of composites can replace an entire assembly of metal parts, streamlining the production process and reducing lifetime maintenance.