JEC COMPOSITES MAGAZINE - Issue #95 - Special JEC Europe - March 2015 - 43

official partner

awards

Reinforcements

Manufacturing chain for high performance
glass-thermoplastic textile reinforced composites

Winner: 3D-LightTrans (Austria)

Within the cooperative research project 3D-LightTrans, 18 partners have
established an innovative approach for
industrial manufacturing of textilereinforced thermoplastic composites.

lidation of the composite: glass fibres
(reinforcement material) and thermoplastic filaments (matrix) are already
integrated in the "hybrid" yarn at the
beginning of the supply chain.

The key to the 3D-LightTrans innovation consists in combining improved
hybrid yarn technology, on the one
hand, with advanced textile weaving
and processing methods, on the other.
This project features industrial weaving and processing of 3D textiles in a
structural variety and geometrical complexity not attained before in largescale manufacturing. This is achieved
by a novel machine, which can produce
interlocked woven spacer fabrics and
cellular textile structures in a single
step, combined with the capability for
automated deep draping and fixation
of thick multilayer fabrics in complex
three-dimensional geometries. Moreover, the use of hybrid yarn allows for a
particularly easy processing and conso-

The 3D-LightTrans hybrid yarn
made of PET/glass (or other material
combinations) can easily be woven
into textiles, since the technology has
been optimized to keep the abrasion of
the yarn during weaving at a minimum. In this yarn, the distribution
of thermoplastic filaments and glass
fibre is highly homogeneous, and a
special sizing maximizes the adhesion
of the glass fibre to the matrix. This
guarantees optimal results and superior
performance of the final composite
after the thermoforming consolidation
process. The process is supported by
modelling and simulation of the materials (from the micro to the meso and
macro scale), the processes (including
draping and thermoforming) and the

Resins

Novel watersensitive curing systems
for bio-fibre reinforced composites
AkzoNobel's innovation consists in
enabling the economically viable production of lightweight bio-fibre based
composites with a significant lower
CO2 impact.
An innovative cure system for biofibre reinforced composites based on
peroxide-cured unsaturated polyester
was developed and patented.
This system allows the use of biofibres in humid (undried) conditions.
When used in unsaturated polyester
(UP) systems, bio-fibres need to be
dried and processed immediately
to avoid moisture pickup from the
atmosphere. If not, the cure will not
be sufficient and the composite will
not cure or be of poor quality. This

complete manufacturing chain.
The 3D-LightTrans tracks one of the
key market drivers for using composite materials - namely the need for
lightweight construction in automotive
applications. If several structural steel
car parts were substituted with 3DLightTrans composite parts (like the
tailgate developed in this project) and
assuming large lot sizes and an average
weight reduction of 2 kg per component, the contribution to reduced CO2
emission during car service could reach
several thousand tons.

makes the production of large parts
almost impossible. Furthermore, the
investments in ovens and the additional processing step make UP bio-fibre
composites very expensive. This issue
seems to have been one of the major
barriers to the entry of bio-fibres
in the unsaturated polyester (UP)
composite industry. This new curing
system (based on replacing the cobalt
accelerator with a newly developed
alternative) enables efficient cure of
UP composites based on humid and
even wet bio-fibres. This means that
producers can simply replace their
glass reinforcement with the right
bio-fibre reinforcement and produce
their part as they are used to (predominantly in infusion processes).

Winner: AkzoNobel Polymer
Chemistry (Netherlands)

It has been proven that the use of wet
fibres in combination with these innovative cure systems does not deteriorate the mechanical properties and,
in many cases, even improves them.
What's more, the use of bio-fibres has
many advantages, ranging from lower
weight to a very limited environmental footprint of the composite.

No95 March 2015 / jec

composites magazine 43

JEC COMPOSITES MAGAZINE - Issue #95 - Special JEC Europe - March 2015

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of JEC COMPOSITES MAGAZINE - Issue #95 - Special JEC Europe - March 2015