After more than 50 years of development, my country's FRP industry has been highly recognized, the technological level and industrial equipment have been greatly improved, and the relevant standard system has also tended to be perfected. However, there is still a certain gap with the international advanced level, and it needs to be improved in terms of application and research and development in the future.
My country's FRP industry began in 1958, and with the rapid development of reform and opening up, great progress has been made in technology, type, scale, application, etc., and a relatively complete industrial system has been formed.
The development and progress of the FRP industry has benefited from the performance improvement and output growth of raw and auxiliary materials, including glass fiber, unsaturated polyester resin, phenolic resin, epoxy resin, etc.
Taking glass fiber as an example, according to the "China FRP Industry Production and Sales Demand and Investment Forecast Analysis Report" data released by Qianzhan Industry Research Institute, in 1958, my country's glass fiber annual production capacity was only 0.05 million tons, and the output was 0.0106 million tons; by 2013 In 2018, the glass fiber output reached 2.85 million tons, ranking first in the world.
Not only the output has been greatly increased, but the technical level has also been continuously improved. New technologies such as electric boosting and pure oxygen combustion have emerged and applied one after another, enabling large-scale production of high-quality and high-performance glass fibers, which has provided a boost for the development of the FRP industry.
After a huge breakthrough in the FRP industry, its application fields continued to expand. FRP has become an indispensable basic material in many fields, from aerospace, shipbuilding, transportation to energy, construction, energy conservation and environmental protection, from petroleum, medical care, electronic appliances to sports, national defense, and sports equipment.
Next, FRP will continue to break through, shorten the gap with the international advanced level, and will present the following development trends.
First of all, raw and auxiliary materials are developing towards high performance, which will drive technological progress, equipment upgrading and product upgrading in the FRP industry. High performance is the current development direction of raw and auxiliary materials, and the FRP industry can take this opportunity to achieve industry upgrading.
Secondly, the high-end FRP products are mainly focused on the aviation industry and the lightweight of automobiles. Breaking through in the middle and high-end direction is the mainstream development of all walks of life in my country, and the FRP industry is no exception. FRP is expected to benefit from the booming aviation industry and the lightweight development of automobiles.
Third, intelligent equipment and technology have become an important trend in the development of the industry. Artificial intelligence technology is advancing by leaps and bounds, and intelligent industrial production has become one of the future development trends. In this context, the FRP industry will inevitably improve the level of intelligence and further develop in the direction of high-level, large-scale, and precision.
Finally, green development and cleaner production are necessary requirements for the development of the industry. In this regard, the FRP industry must start from various aspects, such as the use of new materials, the improvement of the recycling system, and the promotion of environmentally friendly products, in order to reduce the pressure on the environment.