JEC COMPOSITES MAGAZINE - Issue #71 - March 2012 - 72

innovations
other sectors wind +other sectors

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> Booth G65 New sizing technology enhances the properties of epoxy composites > Booth D4

Leveraging its core strengths in synthesis and formulation, Huntsman confirms its position as a supplier of high-performance building blocks for formulators, including: - Di, tri and tetra functional epoxies providing formulators with a full set of “building blocks” for formulated composite and adhesive systems to improve thermal, mechanical and processing properties. - Tougheners and flexibilizers – a range of liquid-to-solid molecules and polymers modifying the flexibility and/or impact resistance of formulated composite and adhesive systems. - Epoxy hardeners designed for a wide range of processing conditions that allow formulators to adapt curing kinetics of their systems as well as the structure of the cured network, from high cross-linking density to high flexibility. - Benzoxazines: solid resins combining medium to high glass transition temperature, high modulus, good to very good flame resistance, low water uptake and near zero shrinkage on curing. Liquid benzoxazines acting as diluents for solid resins and catalysts that reduce curing temperature and the cure cycle will also be released this year.
www.huntsman.com

High-performance building blocks for formulators

To meet wind turbines manufacturers’ needs for the production of longer and lighter blades, 3B has been collaborating with the whole value chain in the wind industry to bring to market two cost-competitive, high-performance reinforcements with an optimised sizing technology. Advantex® SE2020 and HiPer-tex™ W2020 have been specifically engineered for epoxy polymer systems and push further the limits of glass fibre blade designs to address new challenges facing the wind industry and to support the growth of multi-mega-watt turbines. Compared with conventional materials, 3B’s new sizing offers better wet-out, therefore providing a more consistent laminate quality, a significantly improved resin matrix adhesion which delivers higher shear strength (up to 15% in-plane shear strength), and substantially greater interfibre strength (up to 50%). These static property improvements translate into superior dynamic performance. Improvements ranging from 2x to 7x in terms of fatigue life for a given stress level have been measured. These unique properties, together with the very good hydrolysis resistance and inherent corrosion resistance of 3B boron-free glass, will also be of interest to many other epoxy composite structural applications such as pressure vessels, pipes, leaf springs, etc. www.3b-fibreglass.com
other sectors

This is a great technological breakthrough that will assist automotive equipment manufacturers and industrial markets in their quest for increasingly more efficient composite solutions that permit production rates to increase, without affecting investment and labour costs. Curing in only two minutes at 150°C, HexPly M77 brings significant advantages to the market, especially as this reactive system also offers a long shelf life of six weeks at 23°C. It is highly suitable for large-volume production, such as the manufacture of skis. In addition to its short cycle, M77 is also fully compliant with the European Reach regulation which makes it extremely attractive to the automotive industry. M77 offers a unique combination of benefits: - Extra-fast curing system with 2 min at 150°C: the fastest epoxy system combining performance and shelf life, suitable for compression moulding, can be moulded using only vacuum techniques (specific lay-up needed). - High TG (125°C): allows demoulding at high temperature, optimizes total cure cycle. - Adhesive properties: bonding properties create inseparable solutions with other materials. HexMC based on HexPly M77 resin has been recently developed. It is a high-performance moulding material for the high-volume production of complex shape parts, especially designed for compression moulding. The combination of fast curing cycle and compression moulding make the product particularly beneficial for sporting goods, automotive and a wide range of industrial components.
www.hexcel.com

automotive

New prepreg curing in under five minutes

> Booth G57

TeXtreme spread tow reinforcements offer possibilities for weight savings, improved mechanical performance and superior surface smoothness compared to conventional reinforcements. TeXtreme carbon reinforcements are available as spread tow fabrics with both 0/90 and +a/-b orientations (initially +45/45) and spread tow UD tapes. This range of reinforcements, combined with high flexibility in optimizing reinforcement parameters and Oxeon’s knowledge, provides enormous possibilities to design and optimize reinforcement solutions for specific applications with short lead times and fast deliveries. Oxeon, headquartered in Sweden, will move to new larger tailored facilities in the spring to enable good conditions for continued growth. In connection with this, the company will also implement new machinery for increased production capacity to meet the future demand from large-scale programmes and applications. TeXtreme is widely used by premium brands in the sporting goods sector and has been successfully implemented by the leading F1 teams for many years. Due to the unique benefits of spread tow and TeXtreme, this new category of reinforcements has now found its way into interesting projects within the aerospace, industrial, marine and automotive sectors.
www.oxeon.se

Spread tow reinforcements setting a new standard

> Booth P25

72 jec composites magazine / No71 March 2012
http://www.nidaplast.com http://www.huntsman.com http://www.3b-fibreglass.com http://www.hexcel.com http://www.oxeon.se
JEC COMPOSITES MAGAZINE - Issue #71 - March 2012

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of JEC COMPOSITES MAGAZINE - Issue #71 - March 2012
