JEC COMPOSITES MAGAZINE - Issue #33 - June 2007 - 16

INNOVATIONS Woven preforms with fillets Biteam AB, the pioneer of 3Dweaving process, has developed woven T and Pi cross-section beams with fillets. It exhibited the preforms for these novel profiles at the JEC Composites Show 2007. Direct weaving of profiled preforms with fillets strengthens the joints and thereby improves the loadbearing capability of a composite material for structural applications. Profiled preforms having slender walls in combination with fillets at their intersections offer a significant increase in performance and open up new application areas. Combining woven profiles with fillets is a unique way to expand a given cross-sectional profile range to give a greater choice of versions of the profile. For example, the Pi cross-section profile could be woven with the fillets at outer, inner, or all corners, making it possible to select the most advantageous solution for a given application. Producing fillets in preforms directly during weaving also eliminates the time and effort associated with reinforcing the joints with stitches, pins or rods. Polymeric coupling agent for filled radical curing systems www.biteam.com BYK-Chemie has developed an additive that improves these key characteristics by up to 50%. This impressive figure is achieved by means of a totally new mode of action. Normally, the filler is only mechanically embedded in the resin. BYK®-C 8000, however, creates genuine chemical bonds between resin and filler. The mechanical strength achieved in this manner can even allow the thickness of components to be reduced without any loss of quality, thereby saving considerable costs. At the same time, BYK®-C 8000 improves the processing properties of the filled resin by reducing the viscosity. www.byk-chemie.com Environmentallyfriendly sizing binder INNOVATIONS Low FST/hightemperature core material www.celanese.com technology. The binder also has an excellent environmental profile, because it is APEOfree, exhibits low VOC levels and has a low level of preservatives. Filled radical curing systems like polymer concrete must be able to withstand tremendous loads. Thus their mechanical properties – such as flexural strength, compressive strength, tensile strength and impact resistance – affect their quality directly. JEC Composites Magazine / No33 June 2007 One of the most important technologies exhibited by Celanese at the JEC Composites Show 2007 was Vinamul® 8852, its industrybenchmark sizing binder for production of assembled rovings. This highly modified vinyl acetate offers excellent compatibility with a wide range of sizing additives and with styrenated resins in the production of gun rovings, panel rovings and rovings for CSM input glass. It exhibits excellent sizing efficiency and particle size control, and delivers fast wet-out in styrenated resins and high laminate clarity. Because of its balanced molecular weight and Tg, Vinamul 8852 offers the right equilibrium between strand integrity and choppability. Fuzz levels generated during the roving manufacturing process are extremely low with this DIAB has added a new core material to its range that offers excellent FST (fire, smoke and toxicity) properties coupled with good mechanical and processing characteristics. Designated Divinycell F the , new material has been developed primarily for the commercial aircraft and public transportation markets. It more than meets the USA and European regulatory requirements for aircraft interiors and FST requirements for European trains. Other key features include superior damage Innovative barrier coat for marine applications tolerance, exceptional fatigue life, low water absorption, and excellent heat ageing at 180°C. Chemical resistance to the majority of aircraft fluids is also excellent. Divinycell F is compatible with most common composite manufacturing processes up to 220°C cure cycles, including prepregs and infusion. When used with most prepregs it does not require the use of a film adhesive. It is also compatible with the most common thermoplastic and thermoset resins, including the epoxies and modern phenolics used by both aircraft and train manufacturers. With its superior fire properties, Divinycell F is ideal for aircraft interiors, including wall panelling, ceiling modules, luggage bins and doors/lockers. Its closed-cell structure makes it particularly suitable for galleys and toilets. www.diabgroup.com Atlac E-coat 65, an innovative vinylester marine barrier coat with low styrene content, was launched at JEC 2007. Atlac Ecoat 65 is sprayed onto the gel-coated mould to form a highperformance barrier against osmosis and a highly effective print blocker that greatly improves the cosmetic finish. With a styrene content of less than 35%, Atlac E-coat 65 gives substantially reduced styrene emission in both open and closed moulding processes. Compared to standard gelcoats, styrene emission measurements show an average reduction of 40% in the dynamic phase and 25% in the static phase. Atlac E-coat 65 is faster to apply and cures faster, so it delivers higher productivity compared to the more time-consuming manual application of traditional reinforced tie coats, which also carry the risk of dry glass and air entrapment behind the gelcoat. The inventive new barrier coat has the application and curing behaviour of a gelcoat, so the back-up laminate can be applied in 60-90 minutes rather than the overnight curing required with most conventional systems. Production rates are therefore significantly increased without compromising exceptional physical performance and rich surface qualities. www.dsmcompositeresins.com

http://www.celanese.com http://www.byk-chemie.com http://www.diabgroup.com http://www.biteam.com http://www.dsmcompositeresins.com

JEC COMPOSITES MAGAZINE - Issue #33 - June 2007

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of JEC COMPOSITES MAGAZINE - Issue #33 - June 2007