Sizing Chemistry of Glass Fibers

Glass fiber reinforcements form the foundation of a composites industry with a global annual production of greater than ten million tons of high performance, light-weight, carbon footprint lowering materials. Possibly the most critical component involved in the manufacture of glass fibers and their composites is the fiber sizing. Yet because of the intense level of secrecy around size formulations, there are very few people in the vast chain of composite materials suppliers, processors, and end users who have more than a superficial understanding of glass fiber sizings. Given the importance of sizings to the continuing success and growth of the composites industry, this chapter reviews some of the most relevant articles from the widely dispersed literature which is openly available around glass fiber sizings. The review is divided into sections on the formulation of glass fiber sizes, sizing in fiber and composite processing, sizing and fiber performance, sizing and interphase adhesion, and sizing and composite performance.