LONG-TERM STABILITY OF FIBERIN

Q) WHAT ABOUT THE LONG-TERM STABILITY / ALKALI RESISTANCE PROPERTY OF AR-GLASS FIBERS?

A) THE LONG-TERM CHEMICAL STABILITY  OF AR-GLASS FIBERS HAS BEEN PROVEN IN RESEARCH AND TECHNICAL DATA IN RESEARCH,ACCELERATED AGING TESTS HAVE SHOWN THAT , EVEN AT A CALCUTATED AGE OF 28 YEARS, AR-GLASS FIBERS ARS CHEMICALLY STABLE, AND THE REINFORCEMENT PROPERTIES WITHIN THE HARDENED CONCRETE ARE COMPARABLE TO THOSE RESULTS SEEN AT EARLY AGES OF THE MIX.

IN THE 70S AND EARLY 80S, THE FIRST GENERATION OF GLASS FIBERS WARE IDENTIFIED AS E-GLASS FIBERS,AND THEY WERE NOT CHEMICALLY STABLE IN CINVENTIONAL CEMENT CONCRETE SPRCIFICALLY THE ALKALIS IN THE CEMENT ATTACKED THE THE E-GLASS AND WITHIN A VERY SHORT PERIOD OF TIME THE FIBERS BROKE DOWN.

THEN AR-GLASS OR ALKALI- RESISTANT GLASS FIBERS, WHICH WERE COATED WITH ZIRCONIA TO PROTECT THE GLASS FROM ALKALI ATTACK WERE INTRODUCED. THESE FIBERS WORKED  BUT THEY DID NOT HAVE LONG-TERM CHEMICAL STABILITY. THE NEED FOR STABILITY SPAWNED THE CURRENT GENERATION OF AR-GLASS FIBERS WHERE THE ZIRCONIA IS INTEGRATED INTO THE FIBER: UP TO 16% OF THE WEIGHT OF THE CURRENT AR-GLASS FIBEES IS ZIRCONIA.