Pultruded fiberglass bars are made of a composite material consisting of polyester resin and fiberglass. Reinforced fibers and liquid resin are combined to form a fiber-reinforced plastic (FRP) and then shaped into bars of various shapes and sizes.
When you work with our experienced engineers, you can customize the composition of the FRP by varying the resin systems and glass content to produce pultruded fiberglass bars with different properties to meet specific requirements, e.g., high strength, high-temperature tolerance, flame-retardant, track-resistant, and corrosion-resistant.
Pultruded fiberglass bars can also be made into different colors by adding pigments to the resin or produced for outdoor applications by applying a UV-resistant treatment during the pultrusion process.
Advantages Of Pultruded Fiberglass Bars
Compared to traditional materials such as steel, aluminum, and wood, pultruded fiberglass bars offer cost-effective solutions to a variety of construction, infrastructure, and manufacturing projects.
Here are the unique properties of pultruded fiberglass bars:
- High tensile strength: the continuous length of reinforcing fibers gives the pultruded fiberglass bars their exceptional tensile strength.
- High dimensional stability: pultruded fiberglass bars maintain their shapes under humid or high-heat conditions.
- Lightweight: pultruded fiberglass bars can be up to 30% lighter than aluminum and 70% lighter than steel of the same strength.
- Impact-resistant: pultruded fiberglass bars can retain their shapes upon impact. Also, they don't deform permanently under working load.
- Corrosive- and chemical-resistant: FRP is resistant to a wide range of chemicals and not affected by oxidation or corrosion.
- Non-conductivity: pultruded fiberglass bars are electrically and thermally non-conductive, making it an effective barrier for hot or electrically-charged components.
- Non-magnetic electromagnetic transparency: FRP is EMI/RFI transparent, making it an ideal material for specialized applications in which metal parts can't be used due to possible interference.
- Durability and long lifecycle: FRP can have a lifecycle of 75-150 years with very few maintenance requirements and low maintenance costs.
- Easy to handle and transport: pultruded fiberglass bars are lightweight and durable, which reduces the cost of transporting the materials. In addition, they can be cut and shaped using simple tools for easy installation.
- Sustainable: the manufacturing and installation of pultruded FRP products are energy-efficient, require less heat, produce less wastage, and cause less pollution. In addition, they can be recycled or reformed into other plastic-based products for an eco-friendly manufacturing process.
Applications Of Pultruded Fiberglass Bars
Pultruded fiberglass bars are commonly used as an alternative to metal to provide cost-effective solutions that are corrosion-resistant, low-maintenance, durable, and lightweight.
Its strength and versatility are particularly useful in the following industries:
- Construction and Infrastructure: FRP's durability makes it a top choice for many outdoor construction projects. They're easy to cut, shape, and install using simple tools and their minimal maintenance requirements lower overall costs. In addition, unique shapes can be created for specific purposes -- e.g., pultruded fiberglass I-bars can be used to construct strong and corrosion-resistant walking surfaces while flat beams are an ideal structural component for many construction projects. Also, pultruded fiberglass bars are used in bridge components, corrosion-resistant guardrails, railway crossing arms, and highway sound barriers.
- Utility and Telecommunications: thanks to their durability, non-conductivity, low-maintenance, and EMI/RFI transparency, pultruded fiberglass bars are widely used for items such as utility poles, cross arms, and line markers, electrical lines and trunking, wastewater and water treatment components, non-conductive ladder rails, and fiber optic cabling.
- Tool Manufacturing: FRP is an ideal material for producing ergonomic shapes used in handheld tools or devices thanks to its versatility, low-cost, reliability, and non-conductive properties. In addition, it can be made into various shapes and sizes to meet different specs.
- Sporting, Recreational and Outdoor Equipment: from outdoor furniture to high-performance sporting equipment (e.g., hockey sticks, sailing equipment, paddles, ski poles,) pultruded fiberglass bars' ability to withstand moisture, sunlight, heat, and heavy wear makes them ideal for use in various outdoor equipment.
Pultruded Fiberglass Bars: Turning Design Concept Into Reality
For over 22 years, Tencom's team of expert engineers has helped designers, architects, builders, and manufacturers turn their design ideas into reality.
Our customer-first approach ensures that you get the right product at the right time and at the right price by helping you customize FRP components and integrate them into the manufacturing process.
