Fiberset, Inc. - Glossary of Composite Terms (F)

FABRIC, NONWOVEN
A material formed from fibers or yarns without interlacing.

FABRIC, WOVEN
A material constructed of interlaced yarns, fibers, or filaments.

FABRICATION
The process of making a composite part or tool.

FABRICATOR
Manufacturer of reinforced plastic products.

FADING
Loss of color in the gel coat.

FATIGUE
The failure or decay of mechanical properties after repeated applications of stress.

FATIGUE LIFE
The number of cycles of deformation required to bring about failure of the test specimen under a given set of oscillating conditions.

FATIGUE LIMIT
The stress below which a material can be stressed cyclically for an infinite number of times without failure.

FATIGUE STRENGTH
The maximum cyclic stress a material can withstand for a given number of cycles before failure occurs; the residual strength after being subjected to fatigue.

FEA
Finite element analysis, a process of selecting the optimum combination of materials in a composite based on software analysis.

FEATHERED EDGE
In reference to chopped strand mat, this is a mat whose edge was not trimmed during production. Consequently, the edge tapers down in weight instead of abruptly ending.

FELT
a fibrous material made up of interlocking fibers by mechanical or chemical reaction, pressure or heat. Felts may be made of cotton, glass, or other fibers.

FEMALE MOLD
A concave mold used to precisely define the convex surface of a molded part.

FIBER
Relatively short lengths of very small cross sections of various materials can be made by chopping filaments.

FIBER ARCHITECTURE
The design of a fibrous preform or part in which the fibers are arranged (braided, stitched, woven, etc.) in a particular way in order to achieve the desired result.

FIBER CONTENT
Amount of fiber present in a composite expressed as a ratio to the matrix. The most desirable fiber content is a 60:40 ratio, or 60 percent fiber and 40 percent matrix resin.

FIBER DIAMETER
The measurement (expressed in hundred-thousandths) of the diameter of individual filaments.

FIBER GLASS
Fibers similar to wool or cotton fibers, but made from glass; sometimes called fibrous glass. Glass fiber forms include cloth, yarn, mat, milled fibers, chopped strands, roving, woven roving.

FIBER ORIENTATION
Fiber alignment in a non-woven or a mat laminate where the majority of fibers are in the same direction, resulting in a higher strength in that direction.

FIBER PLACEMENT
A continuous process for fabricating composite shapes with complex contours and/or cutouts by means of a device that lays pre-impregnated fibers (in tow form) onto a non-uniform mandrel or tool. It differs from filament winding (below) in several ways: there is no limit on fiber angles; compaction takes place on-line via heat, pressure, or both; and fibers can be added and dropped as necessary. The process produces more complex shapes and permits a faster put-down rate than filament winding.

FIBER REINFORCED PLASTICS (FRP)
Term used to designate mid-range, glass fiber reinforced composites.

FIBER SYSTEM
The type and arrangement of fibrous material which comprises the fiber constituent of an advanced composite. Examples of fiber systems are collimated filaments or filament yarns, wove fabric, randomly oriented short-fiber ribbons, random fiber mats, whiskers, etc.

FILAMENT
The smallest unit of a fibrous material. The basic units formed during spinning and which are gathered into strands of fiber for use in composites. Filaments usually are of extreme length and of very small diameter. Filaments normally are not used individually. Some textile filaments can function as a yarn when they are of sufficient strength and flexibility.

FILAMENT WINDING
A process for fabricating a composite structure in which continuous reinforcements (filament, wire, yarn, tape, or other) either previously impregnated with a matrix material or impregnated during the winding are placed over a rotating and removable form or mandrel in a previously prescribed way to meet certain stress conditions. Generally the shape is a surface of revolution and may or may not include end closures. When the right number of layers are applied the wound form is cured and the mandrel removed.

FILAMENTS
Individual glass fibers of indefinite length, usually as pulled from a stream of molten glass flowing through an orifice of the bushing. In the operation, a number are gathered together to make a strand or end of roving or yarn.

FILAMENT YARN
A yarn composed of continuous filaments assembled with or without twists.

FILAMENTARY COMPOSITES
A major form of advanced composites in which the fiber constituent consists of continuous filaments. Specifically, a filamentary composite is a laminate comprised of a number of laminae, each of which consists of a nonwoven, parallel, uniaxial, planar array of filaments (or filament yarns) embedded in the selected matrix material. Individual laminae are directionally oriented and combined into specific multiaxial laminates for application to specific envelopes of strength and stiffness requirements.

FILAMENT WOUND
Pertaining to an object created by the filament winding method of fabrication

FILL
yarn running from selvage to selvage at right angles to the warp in a woven fabric.

FILL THREADS
Also known as the weft. These are the crosswise fibers woven at 90 degrees to the warp fibers.

FILLER
A relatively inert material added to a plastic mixture to reduce cost, to modify mechanical properties, to serve as a base for color effects, or to improve the surface texture.

FILLER PLY
Additional patch to fill in a depression in repair or to build up an edge.

FILLET
A rounded filing of the internal angle between two surfaces of a plastic molding.

FILM ADHESIVE
An adhesive in the form of a thin, dry, resin film with or without a carrier, commonly used for adhesion between layers of laminates.

FINISH
Material applied to fibers, after sizing is removed, to improve matrix-to-fiber coupling.

FINITE ELEMENT ANALYSIS (FEA)
A process of selecting the optimum combination of materials in a composite based on software analysis.

FIRE POINT
The lowest temperature at which a liquid in an open container will give off enough vapors to continue to burn once ignited. Fire point generally is only slightly higher than flash point.

FISH EYE
A circular separation in a gel coat film generally caused by contamination such as silicone, oil, dust, and/or water.

FLAME RETARDENTS
Certain chemicals that are used to reduce or eliminate a resins tendency to burn.

FLAME RETARDENT RESIN
A resin which is compounded with certain chemicals to reduce or eliminate its tendency to burn.

FLAMMABILITY
A measure of how fast a material will burn under controlled conditions. ASTM D-635/UL E-84 tests.

FLANGE
An extension around the perimeter of a mold or part for the purpose of demolding, stiffening or connecting two components.

FLASH
That portion of the charge which flows from or is extruded from the mold cavity during the molding; extra plastic attached to a molding along the parting line.

FLASH POINT
The lowest temperature at which a substance gives off enough vapors to form a flammable or ignitable mixture with air near the surface of the substance being tested.

FLEXURAL MODULUS
This is a number associated with the stiffness of materials. It is used to calculate how far a bar will bend when a bending load is applied to it. Units are normally millions of pounds per square inch. (106 psi) - Giga Pascals (gPa). Higher numbers for materials mean that they are more resistant to deflection when equal thickness are being compared.

FLEXURAL STRENGTH
The resistance of a material to being broken by bending stresses; the strength of a material in bending, expressed as the tensile stress of the outermost fibers of a bent test sample at the instant of failure. (With plastics, this value is usually higher than the straight tensile strength.)

FLOW
The movement of resin under pressure, allowing it to fill all parts of a mold; flow or creep - the gradual but continuous distortion of a material under continued load, usually at high temperature.

FLOW LINE
A mark on a molded piece made by the meeting of two flow fronts during molding. (Also, 'striae', or 'weld-mark,' or 'weld-line.')

FLOW METER
An instrument designed to measure the flow of a liquid. Normally used with catalyst injection equipment.

FOAM
A lightweight, cellular plastic material containing gas-filled voids. Typical foams include urethane, PVC and polyester.

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