FRP
Fiber reinforced plastic(FRP) has been widely adopted as a material and is used in the latest aircraft frames, automotive frames, wind turbine blades, etc., It is also currently playing a big role in the transportation field, since lightweight materials lead to lower fuel consumption and reducing environmental pollution. Shimadzu provides a range of instruments and systems for analysis, testing, and inspection, thereby contributing to solving a variety of problems from the development of FRP raw materials to product durability evaluations.
CFRP (Carbon Fiber Reinforced Plastic) is a type of FRP in which carbon fiber is added as a reinforcing material. Carbon fiber has characteristics such as high rigidity and high strength, and among composite materials, CFRP is particularly lightweight, has high specific strength, and has excellent corrosion resistance. Therefore, CFRP is expected to be used in a variety of fields. In this section we will introduce the applications of CFRP, primarily focusing on its strength evaluation.
FRP with glass fiber added as a reinforcing material is called Glass Fiber Reinforced Plastic (GFRP). GFRP is made by hardening glass fiber with polyester, vinyl ester, epoxy, or phenolic resin, and is a common type of FRP. In this section, we introduce applications such as evaluating glass fiber orientation in injection molded products using X-ray CT.
Cellulose nanofiber (CNF) has attracted attention as an advanced biomass-based new material because of its light weight, high strength, high gas barrier properties, adsorption properties, transparency, and various other excellent functions. In the future, CNF is expected to be applied as a composite material with automotive materials, electronic materials, and packaging materials. In this section, we will introduce various applications for CNF related research and development.