Wow, this site sure does accumulate a lot of posts quickly!
Kelsey ,
You are correct as usual, the resin is the glue or binder that holds it together. It is very strong as physical property testing can confirm.
Tom,
of "Quartz" (pardon the pun) its weight per cent. One always uses weight per cent in formulation because volume changes with respect to temperature, but weight is fairly constant (unless it boils, decomposes or sublimes).
Also when you mix 2 liquids, say 1 liter of liquid A, plus 1 liter of liquid B, you descend into the Dante’s inferno of partial molal volume considerations (one liquid is soluble so hides inside the other) so 1 liter plus 1 liter sometimes equals 1.8 or 1.9 liters.
A while back I figured out the 7% resin weight percent, and converted it to volume at STP (standard temperature and pressure) and posted it on here somewhere. I can’t remember the result but That 7 percent becomes double digit volume per cent!
Ok let me give it a go, and do it again, it’s a simple quick calculation. In addition to quartz and UP resin there is also a small amount of promoter (cobalt octoate, etc.), some catalyst (usually Methyl ethyl Ketone peroxide, or MEKP), a difunctional agent that bonds the quartz to the resin, and some colorant. But mostly its quartz and resin.
So if we neglect the several percent of other smutz in there and just say quartz and resin at a 93/7 ratio it’s easy to figure out. We also can neglect partial molal volume because the quartz is a solid and has no solubility in the resin. We also can neglect any hydrophobic, or hydrophillic interactions, which should be negligible.
Quartz has a density of 2.65 Gms /ml
UP (unsaturated Polyester resin) has a density of 1- 1.3 Gms ml. Let’s take 1.15 for a moderate case
93 grams quartz / gms /ml = 35.094 ml
7 grams resin / 1.15 gms / ml =6.087 ml
Approximate Volume per cent of resin = 100 x (6.087/ (6.087 + 35.094)) = 14.78 percent. Check my math because Im typing quick, but that looks correct.
If the resin is lighter than 1.15 Gms /ml (which it often is) that number is even higher!
Tom,
I think the plant you are speaking of in Vietnam is the Vicostone plant, owned by the large Vietnamese construction group VinoConex. It’s located up north, a ways (several hours drive) out of Hanoi. I was there several times in 2007 and 2008! It is a Breton plant, with Breton equipment, multiple lines and last time I checked it was listed on the Breton site! But maybe that’s changed!
Well I have to run, I Hope this helps!