Which Reinforcing Fibre Is Right for Your Product?
E-glass fibre, high-strength carbon fibre and high-modulus carbon fibre each provide different combinations of strength, stiffness, weight and cost. The best choice depends on what the finished product needs to achieve.
Fibre Selection Guide
The reinforcing fibre has a major influence on the weight, stiffness, strength, durability and cost of a composite product. This simple guide compares three commonly used options for pultruded and prepreg composite profiles.
E-Glass Fibre
Cost-effective structural reinforcement
E-glass is the most widely used reinforcement for GRP products. It provides a practical balance of strength, durability, electrical insulation and cost.
- Pultruded structural profiles
- GRP gratings and platforms
- Marine and corrosion-resistant structures
- Electrical and utility applications
- Cost-sensitive industrial products
- Good strength at an economical cost
- Excellent electrical insulation
- Good corrosion resistance
- Reliable and widely available
High-Strength Carbon Fibre
High strength with very low weight
High-strength carbon fibre is selected when reducing weight while maintaining high strength and good stiffness is a major design priority.
- Lightweight structural tubes
- Sporting and recreational equipment
- Robotics and automation
- UAV and aerospace components
- Highly loaded composite structures
- Very high strength-to-weight ratio
- Much lighter than steel
- Good fatigue performance
- Low thermal expansion
High-Modulus Carbon Fibre
Maximum stiffness and dimensional stability
High-modulus carbon fibre is used when limiting bending, movement or dimensional change is more important than achieving the highest possible tensile strength.
- Precision equipment and instruments
- High-stiffness beams and tubes
- Satellite and aerospace structures
- Optical and measurement systems
- Applications requiring minimal deflection
- Extremely high stiffness-to-weight ratio
- Very low thermal expansion
- Excellent dimensional stability
- Reduced bending and deflection
Higher modulus does not automatically mean higher strength or better durability. High-modulus carbon fibres are designed primarily to resist bending and deformation, but they may be less tolerant of impact and strain than high-strength carbon fibres. The final fibre choice should consider loading, stiffness, impact, fatigue, environment, manufacturing method and budget.