Hi All,

I just found an interesting article in New Scientist Magazine about E-Glass And S-Glass, Thought you all might find it interesting, though I've only got time to write some of it:

"All kinds of fibres are available to give a composite material the high stiffness and strength that engineers need. The most common fibres are made from glass and are about 10 to 20 micrometres across-ten times thinner than a human hair. They consist mainly of silicon dioxide with small additions of Aluminium, Calcium, Boron and Magnesium oxides but these ingredients can be varied to produce different grades of fibre such as S-glass and E-glass.

Fibres made from S-glass, for example, have a high Aluminium and Magnesium oxide content and have the highest strength and stiffness. They are also the most expensive to produce. Fibres of E-glass are weaker. They contain significant amounts of Calcium and Boron oxides and are widely used since they are cheaper to manufacture.Although E-glass is strong enough for many applications, it is brittle and it's strength drops rapidly if the fibre is exposed to moisture or mechanically damaged. This means E-glass fibres are usually coated with a thin protective film of polymer shortly after manufacture."

I've heard a few descriptions of the differences between these types of fibre on this bbs, but never this one. Comments?

Cheers,

Paul.