JEC COMPOSITES MAGAZINE - Issue #79 - March 2013 - 81

sustainability

Flax & hemp fibres,
a solution for the composite industry
There is a growing awareness of environmental issues across
the world. At the same time, changing lifestyles are increasing the need for greater and faster means of transport.
Faced with this paradox, manufacturers in the transport sector (such as the aerospace and automotive industries) are left
with no choice but to reduce the weight of structures while
improving their reliability. In this context, the use of composite materials is one of the key solutions that can be considered - In collaboration with CELC.
Biosourced panels for aircraft interiors

aerospace

New, more environment-friendly materials for airplanes? A four-partner European
consortium (Lineo, Invent GmbH, Boeing Research & Technology Europe and Aimplas) aims to industrialize the production of biosourced panels for aircraft interiors.
The consortium brings together different types of expertise such as the manufacture
of technical flax textiles or of composite parts for the transportation industry and R&D
activities around aerospace materials or specific to thermoplastics and composites. The
consortium, called Cayley, has been studying the industrialization of sandwich panels
based on alternative matrices reinforced with natural fibres since 2011, focusing on developing flame-retardant treatments and optimizing the dimensional stability. The systems studied in the Cayley project use mostly flax that is treated specially for fire retardancy, smoke
toxicity and heat release. The flax reinforcements are used with geopolymer, thermoplastic or biopolymer matrices to form the outer layers of sandwich panels. Thermoplastic
foams designed for optimum fire resistance are used as core material for the panels. These
materials used in combination will help considerably to reduce the environmental impact
of aircraft interior parts. Besides its advantages in terms of weight, cost and vibration
reduction, and improved acoustic performance, flax helps in this instance to improve the
environmental impact of composite materials, as a natural fibre with zero end-of-life waste production: a crucial factor in determining
the recyclability of the sandwich panels. More specifically, the use of flax reduces weight even more than glass or carbon fibre, which
will help to cut down on fuel consumption. While the performance of these biosourced panels is tailored for the requirements of the
aerospace industry, it could also meet those of all types of transportation vehicles.

aerospace

More information: www.cayley.eu/ Contact: Linéo, francois.vanfleteren@lineo.eu – Booth M80

Flax as reinforcement for ecodesigned wind turbines

The design of composite wind turbine blades must not only meet quality assurance requirements, but also comply with environmental regulations, including end-of-life recycling. With that goal in mind, the University of Nottingham and Camira Energy
worked together for two years to complete a research project for a flax-composite wind turbine blade that is compliant with British
standards (IEC/British 61400 standard). The blade prototype that was successfully tested is adapted for an 11kW turbine – enough
to supply five households with electricity. A wind turbine’s power depends mainly on the surface swept by the rotating blades, so the
challenge was to optimize blade size, strength, stability and vibration damping properties. Flax provided effective
solutions for all these constraints, thanks to its good mechanical properties in terms of specific stiffness and strength. A
vacuum infusion process was used to enhance the durability
No79 March 2013 /

jec composites magazine 81

http://www.cayley.eu/

JEC COMPOSITES MAGAZINE - Issue #79 - March 2013

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of JEC COMPOSITES MAGAZINE - Issue #79 - March 2013