CANZ Glossary of Terms

Yarns running lengthwise and perpendicular to the narrow edge of woven fabric.

Dimensional distortion in composite part.

The amount of water that a laminate will absorb.

High pressure water stream used for cutting polymer composite parts.

Mould release agent or surfacing agent.

Pattern by which fabric is formed from interlacing yarns. In plain weave, warp and fill fibres alternate to make both fabric faces identical. In satin weave, pattern produces satin appearance with warp roving crossing over several fill rovings and under next one (e.g.: eight-harness satin would have warp roving over seven fill rovings and under eighth).

Extreme form of fibre print resembling architecture of woven or stitched glass ply just below or near gel coat surface.

Yarns running perpendicular to the warp in a woven fabric; also called “woof”.

Application of liquid resin to dry reinforcement in the mould.

Filament winding wherein fibre strands are impregnated with resin immediately before they contact mandrel.

The action of saturating a glass fabric with resin. Also, a measure of the speed that a fabric soaks up resin.

Surface-active agent that promotes wetting by decreasing cohesion within liquid.

Short single crystal fibre or filament used as reinforcement in matrix.

Measure in degrees between direction parallel to filaments and established reference.

Regularly recurring pattern of filament path in filament winding after certain number of mandrel revolutions.

Fine wire screen used to increase electrical conductivity. Typically used to dissipate electrical charge from lightning or electromagnetic interference.

Defect in gel coat surface profile that corresponds to some feature, either in underlying laminate or on/in moulding surface; sometimes called mark-off.

Heavy fabrics woven from continuous filaments n roving form. They drape well, are quickly impregnated, are intermediate in price between mats and yarn cloths, and contribute to higher glass content.

Tape of various thicknesses woven from continuous filament yarns.

Imperfection in surface of laminate that appears to be a crease in one of the outer layers; occurs in vacuum-bag moulding when bag is improperly placed.