Abstract
Unsaturated polyester resins are used for FRP and non-FRP since 1953 in Japan. In 1988, the total production was about 230,000 metric tons. More than 80% of comsumption is for FRP, main applications of which are residental housings, marine appliances, tanks & vessels and constructions.
As a recent tendency, the change can be seen in the process, from hand lay up method to molding methods, with heated metal mold, which need high performance FRP. Many resins of that kind are developed in order to meet the trendy and performance requirements.
This article describes recent progress and development on unsaturated polyester resins and their acryl, epoxy, and urethane derivatives.
