
326 Engineering Materials Technology
Epoxides
Epoxide
materials
are generally used in conjunction with glass, or other, fibres
to give hard and strong composites. Epoxy resins are excellent adhesives giving
very high adhesive strengths.
The unfilled epoxide has a tensile strength of 35 to 80 MN m~
2
,
considerably less than that of the composite. The composite is used for boat
hulls and table tops.
Polyesters
Polyesters can be produced as either thermosets or thermoplastics. The
thermoset form is mainly used with glass, or other, fibres to form hard and
strong composites. Such composites are used for boat hulls, architectural
panels, car bodies ...