AR Glass Roving — Spray-Up GFRC Reinforcement

Primary uses

• Spray-up GFRC reinforcement
• High fibre loading provision
• Structural thin-panel reinforcement

Applications

• Sprayed GFRC cladding and architectural panels
• High fibre-content structural GFRC
• Large-format thin panels
• Replication of architectural stone detail in GFRC

Advantages

• Supports much higher fibre loadings than premix, which is what structural GFRC panels require
• Chops and distributes consistently through a spray operation when matched to the equipment
• Formulated for the alkaline cement environment where standard glass fibre is unsuitable

Limitations to consider

• Requires spray-up equipment and trained operators, which is a plant-level commitment
• Feed and chopping behaviour are equipment-specific and must be proven on the plant's own gun
• Alkali resistance and fibre properties are supplier-declared for the exact product
• Where the finished element goes into a building, the performance that matters is the performance of your element under the applicable code and project specification, not the property of a single ingredient. Testing and conformity evidence for the finished product are the responsibility of the producer and are established by project-specific testing.
• Mix ratio, pot life, working time, demould time, full-cure schedule, hardness, tear strength, elongation, shrinkage, viscosity and temperature resistance are properties of one specific supplier system. They are never quoted here from memory or by analogy with a similar product; they are read from the supplier data sheet for the exact material offered and confirmed at quotation.

How to choose the right grade

• Start from the matrix — polymer resin or cementitious mix — because reinforcement is selected against the matrix it has to bond into
• State the process: hand lay-up, spray-up, premix, or addition at the mixer, since each demands different fibre handling
• Describe the failure you are trying to prevent, whether that is cracking, low flexural performance or handling damage
• Name the chopper gun and equipment set the roving has to run on
• State the panel specification and fibre loading the plant is producing to
• Mould-making and casting behaviour depends on the pattern, the shop temperature and humidity, the mixing method and the operator. A production-representative trial on your own pattern and in your own shop conditions is the only honest way to qualify a material before a run is committed.
• Exact specification is confirmed against supplier documentation at quotation.

Typical grades

• Spray products the supplier matches to specific chopping equipment
• Products distinguished by sizing and tex as the supplier declares them
• Buyers search this category by grade name, and those names describe what the workshop needs rather than what is asserted here. Which grade a specific offer corresponds to, and what the supplier declares for it, is read from the technical documentation issued for the exact material quoted.
• Materials in this category interact: rubbers, releases, sealers, resins, pigments and fillers can inhibit cure, stain a surface or shorten mould life when they are combined outside the combinations the supplier has tested. State every material already in the process at enquiry so compatibility is checked against supplier documentation rather than discovered on the shop floor.
• Reactive materials age in the container, and moisture-sensitive systems age faster once opened. Order against real consumption rather than against a discount, and confirm the shelf life the supplier states for the exact product and pack.