JEC COMPOSITES MAGAZINE - Issue #62 - January/February 2011 - 24

market

An historical overview of the Para-aramid fibres for composites
JCM: In addition to its high strength and low density, aramid fibre had other interesting properties, so DuPont and the industry found other applications to use the production capacity destined for the tyre market. Could you tell us more? R.P New industrial applications .:

interview
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JEC Composites Magazine: Now retired from DuPont, you were involved with Kevlar® for composite applications for many years. Could you summarize for JEC Composites Magazine the historical development and applications of this paraaramid fibre and the major events which have occurred over the years? RENÉ PINZELLI: At the beginning

Over the last 20 years, the uses of Para-aramid high modulus fibre have declined and in somes cases stopped, due to technical performance limitations, and due to the emergence of high performance carbon fibres more attractive on a cost performance basis and available from different sources.
FORMER TECHNICAL CONSULTANT

of the commercialization of Kevlar®, DuPont had great expectations for the use of lowmodulus aramid fibre to reinforce tyres, an excellent

jec composites magazine / No62 January - February 2011
were developed based on specific properties of the low and high modulus of paraaramid fibres: brake pads and clutches, protective gloves, automotive hoses, strengthening members of fibre optical cables, aircraft and marine composites. The best known applications to the public are the bullet proof

DUPONT DE NEMOURS INT.

DR RENÉ PINZELLI,

JCM: How and when did paraaramid fibre start to be used in composites? R.P In the mid 70s, major .:

jackets and hard armour. These two last uses are still very large in terms of volume, although the commercialization of the high molecular weight polyethylene fibre (HMWPE) became in recent years a severe competitor.

JCM: When did the first aircraft applications for composites appear? R.P At the same time, in the mid .:

alternative to steel wires. Unfortunately, when the speed limit in the USA was drastically reduced, the uses of aramid fibre were confined to what exists today in high-performance tyres: aircraft, motor cars (F1 and other categories), trucks and heavy-duty vehicles.

composite developments occurred in the USA for the space programme. Because of its low specific strength, Kevlar® was adopted for the production of filament-wound pressure vessels and fuel tanks. This technology found civil applications in oxygen bottles (aircraft, medical and firemen). In Europe, Kevlar® was adopted in the mid 80’s for antitank rocket launchers and pressure tanks for the Ariane rocket programme. Over the recent years, the paraaramid fibre was displaced by the new high-strength, highmodulus carbon fibres in weightsensitive industrial applications such as pressure tanks for compressed natural gas for urban transport, and industrial 1969-2006 : The rise and fall of Concorde gases.

70s. Glass-fibre-based composites were selected by Boeing for the legendary 707 aircraft, and in Europe various aircraft manufacturers developed design and fabrication methods for nonor semi-structural parts. In Europe, the Concorde programme faced a severe weight problem because the carbon-fibre fan blades developed by Rolls Royce did not meet fatigue requirements. To solve the unexpected additional weight issue (titanium fan blades), British and French aircraft engineers and the industry developed systems for making sandwich composites based on Nomex® paper honeycomb cores and carbon-fibre fabric/epoxy skins for flooring panels, or Kevlar® fabric/ phenolic skins for interior components (side window panels, luggage compartments, galleys, etc.).

JEC COMPOSITES MAGAZINE - Issue #62 - January/February 2011

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of JEC COMPOSITES MAGAZINE - Issue #62 - January/February 2011