JEC COMPOSITES MAGAZINE - Issue #97 - Special JEC Americas - May/June 2015 - 28

awards

Novel natural-fibre composite solution
for the automotive industry
Bcomp has developed the powerRibs
patented technology, which has a
higher performance-per-price ratio than
standard composites currently on the
market. For a given performance, this
technology allows to decrease weight by
up to 50% while simultaneously cutting
costs, which is of particular interest for
the automotive sector. This novel reinforcement material can be combined
with all types of structural materials,
such as carbon-fibre composites, glassfibre composites or non-woven naturalfibre composites, but also any type of
sheet metal alloys.
For a given flexural stiffness, the weight
of a reference carbon composite plate
can be reduced by 27% with a cost
lowered by 40 % when the carbon-fibre

Mass production

parts are replaced by powerRibs. When
compared to a full glass-fibre composite plate, cost can still be reduced by
approximately 30% while cutting over
40% of the weight for the same performance. This unique combination of
high flexural stiffness and damping is
ideal for a wide range of applications
in the sports & leisure industry (kayak
hulls, bicycle frames) but especially
in the automotive industry with the
current strong drive for light-weighting
and high-performance bio-sourced
materials. This innovation can be used
for both automotive interior semi-structural shell elements (door panels, seat
backs, front panels) and exterior body
parts (roofs, fenders, etc.). In addition
to its extensive collaboration with ESA,
Bcomp has launched collaborations

with several players in the automotive
industry, namely a leading tool manufacturer and several Tier 1 suppliers
and OEMs.

MRO

Flexible repair technology
The process of repairing FRP structures
begins with the removal of the damaged
areas and the application of single
patch layers or a hardened repair piece
(patch). Most repair methods require a
heat source to harden either the entire
patch or the adhesive layer through a
heating cycle. The repair concept developed by the German Aerospace Center
(Institute of Structures and Design
in Stuttgart) uses inductively-heated
metal pressure sheets. An induction
coil is used to generate an alternating
electromagnetic field that heats the
metal sheet. The sheet is pressed onto
the patch with the aid of a vacuum bag
and binds the patch to the surrounding
structure through pressure and heat.
The new repair technology provides
far greater flexibility when integrating
the patch than the standard technology
previously used. With an oven or auto-

Winner: BComp (Switzerland)
Partner: Georg Kaufmann Formenbau
AG (Switzerland)

clave, the entire component is heated.
Although heat blankets, infrared lamps
and hot air systems can be used to
heat smaller areas of a structure, they
cannot specifically heat only the area
to be repaired. The inductively-heated
metal pressure sheet, on the other
hand, can be precisely adapted to the
different geometric dimensions of an
area in need of repair. The main benefits
include heating rates of up to 65°C/
minute, if required; the ability to repair
high-performance thermoplastics (temperatures of over 300°C are possible by
separating the induction coil and the
heated metal sheet); and precise, localised heating of only the areas in need
of repair. To demonstrate the great
potential of the developed technology,
a mobile repair station was built. This
station provides all the systems needed
to repair FRP structures.

28 jec composites magazine / No97 May - June 2015

Winner: German Aerospace Center
(DLR) (Germany)

In addition to the system technology
for creating the alternating electromagnetic field, the repair station also
includes a vacuum pump for applying
the necessary pressure to the patch.
A netbook was added to manage the
systems and control the individual
processes via a resistance thermometer
and a flowmeter.

JEC COMPOSITES MAGAZINE - Issue #97 - Special JEC Americas - May/June 2015

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of JEC COMPOSITES MAGAZINE - Issue #97 - Special JEC Americas - May/June 2015