JEC COMPOSITES MAGAZINE - Issue #37 - December 2007 - 21

Turane resin DSM Composite Resins AG Application: Turane resins were developed for advanced composite applications such as aerospace, automotive and windmill blades, which all require high strength coupled with low weight. The cure chemistry of Turane resins gives a cure profile from slow to very fast, making them ideal for fully controllable vacuum resin infusion. The Nuna4 solar-powered vehicle weighs in at barely 190 kilograms. Cuttingedge aerospace and Formula1 technology were used to produce a car that is stronger, lighter and safer than its predecessors. Technical characteristics: Turane, a new family of thermoset materials, stands for “thermosetting urethanes”. Cured Turane resins are distinguished by high flexibility and toughness, with the structural performance of epoxy resins but faster processing characteristics. Due to their superior adhesion to fibre reinforcements, the composites exhibit advanced behaviour and quality. 3D fabric manufacturing technology Textile College of Donghua, University of Shanghai Application: The fabric is used as reinforcement in sandwich composites, in energy- and impact-absorbing materials, and in sound- and heatinsulating materials. Technical characteristics: This is a kind of 3D textile fabric formed with two biaxial weft-knitted structures and a layer of spacer yarns. It is characterized by a high planar structural stability and easy variation of thickness in comparison with current spacer structures. The maximum thickness can reach 2.5 cm. The structure also has higher resistance to delami-nation and better structural integrity under impact loads. ECV radiology tabletop Beijing TBHY Composites Institute Co-developer: Dongr uan Philips Medical Equipment System Corp. Ltd. Application: No inclusion is to be allowed in the working area of the tabletop, except for the 620 mm long joining part (non-working area). Technical characteristics: - The inspected deformation is 10.5 mm, less than the 12.5mm norm, which proves the table’s rigidity satisfies operational requirements. - The material used is UDC instead of prepreg CW used by Philips for the original product. Compared to CW, UDC has more longitudinal layers for the same skin thickness. The volume fraction of 0º layers is 70%. So the UDC tabletop has higher strength/Young’s modulus. -UDC’s Al equivalent is lower, which makes the picture clearer. -The price of UDC is about one-third that of CW. Because UDC is stronger and more rigid than CW, 71IG PMI (used by Philips) could be replaced with 51IG PMI. This way, the cost of materials is significantly reduced. Composite post insulator for 1000 kV UHV trans-mission lines Wuhan University of Technology, School of Materials Science and Engineering Co-developer: National Net Wuhan High Voltage Institute Application: Used in 1000 kV UHV transmission lines as post insulator. Technical characteristics: Composite post insulators are applied extensively in HV (high voltage) transmission lines due to their low weight, good insulation properties, convenient production, etc. In China, 1000 kV UHV transmission lines are a key item accounting for huge investments in the 11th five-year plan. The corresponding composite post insulators are now in the design and testing phase. They are almost twice as high as those currently used, imposing higher insulation, strength and rigidity requirements for the composite materials. The insulator is 12 m high and 600 mm in diameter. Insulation voltage: 1000 kV, bending moment: 16 x 12 kN•m, torque: 8 kN•m. Its axial rigidity and weight were improved through optimized pultrusion, tape-laying and winding techniques. The epoxy-based composite material offers excellent electrical properties: electric strength: 37.0 kV/mm, volume resistivity: 1.34x1017, relative dielectric constant: 2.74. No37 December 2007 / JEC Composites Magazine

JEC COMPOSITES MAGAZINE - Issue #37 - December 2007

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of JEC COMPOSITES MAGAZINE - Issue #37 - December 2007