Chemical and corrosion resistance of composites. Selection guide

This article completes the .

Professionals in the chemical industry, as well as all those faced with problems of resistance to water, corrosion, chemicals and aggressive environments, need to know the chemical resistance of the materials they use for their tanks, piping, pumps, chemical equipment, etc.

We have therefore listed here a fairly large number of chemicals frequently used in all kinds of industries, and indicated the chemical resistances of a number of reinforced plastics/composite materials, as a function of temperature.

Most of the leading suppliers of corrosion- and chemical-resistant resins now provide such tables. Examples include Reichold, DSM Composites, Cray Valley/Total for polyesters and vinylesters, and Vantico/Huntsman for epoxy resins. We have selected a few of these, and the others are listed in the bibliographical references ( ).

To test chemical resistance, some resin manufacturers use the American standard ASTM C 581 or other standards. Finally, it is often necessary to know chemical resistance at different temperatures (the higher the temperature, the lower the chemical resistance) and at different concentrations.

Notes on the use of chemical resistance tables :

• These tables are for guidance only and are not intended to replace actual testing.

• For Table 1, the figures in the columns are the recommended maximum temperatures in C. These temperatures may vary with various factors: exposure time, laminate thickness, thermal conductivity, cross-linking/hardening conditions of the reinforced plastic, reinforcing fibers used, etc., so please refer to suppliers' technical catalogs for further details.