Composite Solutions
Owens Corning glass fiber innovation also helps our environment.
Our glass fiber reinforcements are combined with polymers to create strong and durable composite materials. These materials offer many benefits, including corrosion resistance and weight savings. Lightweight parts for cars and trucks are among the thousands of applications for composites. These parts help those vehicles reduce fuel consumption and resist corrosion. Therefore, the vehicles requires less maintenance, last longer and use less fuel.
According to Scientific American magazine and Ward’s Automotive Yearbook, fuel consumption in cars produces about one pound of CO2 per mile driven. A simple 10% weight reduction translates to a 7% fuel savings. A typical composite part is 25 to 35% lighter than conventional materials.
In recent years, reinforced plastics have accounted for only about 5% of total vehicle weight so there is opportunity for improvement.
In addition, glass fiber reinforcements are used to make the blades for wind turbines that generate electricity from a renewable resource. Owens Corning is the leading provider of glass fiber reinforcements for wind turbine blades.
We recently introduced a new family of reinforcements based on a breakthrough high-performance platform. Our breakthrough will enable wind blade fabricators to make longer blades that can generate more and less-expensive energy. This effort will contribute to making wind a more attractive, cost-competitive energy resource.
Click here to learn more about Owens Corning Composite Materials