Life Cycle Assessment of Fiber Composites_final__rättad

previously but it was heavy thus increased the fuel consumption and were
slower. It was easily detected due to magnetic properties and was easily exposed
to mines. Its maintenance was very costly thus forcing high budgets to the
Navy. With the advents of fiber composites new light weight structures of
Warfare ships have been introduced which are fuel efficient, fast, fire resistant,
non magnetic and with a minimum cost of maintenance. These ships can easily
receive and send radar waves. Key fixtures and fittings of the boat are now
being made from these materials. Steering wheels and wind transducers are
some of the most recent areas of application (Micheal, 1999).
With the increase in worldwide need for improving fire standards in ships fiber
composites are playing greater role. Fiber reinforced composites based on
thermosetting polymeric resins offer many benefits over traditional materials
but have typically suffered from poor fire performance. Phenolic resins have
resistance to heat and combustion. When phenolic composites do burn, a
carbon char is rapidly formed which insulates and protects underlying material.
An additional valuable property derived from the resin is the ability to retain its
physical properties at high temperatures. All the outstanding fire performance
of the phenolic matrix is achieved without the use of additives other than
reinforcing fibers. (Borden, 1993)
Nowadays tug boats, passenger boats, cranes, yacht, ferries fishing boat all are
being built in fiber composites.
Another application of fiber-reinforced composite is its offshore application. It
has provided with an alternative and solution to the materials used in this
corrosive environment. It has good strength to weight ratio and is lightweight.
Use of fiber composite pipes for transportation of oil, sewerage, drilling etc has
helped as they are resistant to corrosion and has less cost for maintenance
compared to other material, which are easily corroded and have to be replaced
regularly on corrosion. They are easier to transport.
In order to study the impacts of fiber reinforced composites in marine
applications we have conducted a study on materials used in the superstructure
of Ro Pax vessel. LCA has been used to study these impacts. The next chapters
would study LCA and impacts of fiber composites in marine application in
detail.
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