JEC COMPOSITES MAGAZINE - Issue #94 - January/February 2015 - 48

pultrusion

Enhancing coated pultruded profile
production for the construction market
The Coaline project aims at reducing the cost of coated
pultruded profiles by up to 35%, simplifying the process and
increasing its output.

btaining suitable materials is
often a problem in construction
today and this has led to a new
focus on the use of high-tech materials with advanced properties, such
as composites (thermosetting resins
combined with glass or carbon fibres).
These materials are becoming prevalent in the market due to their inherent mechanical properties and low
weight. The consolidation of technologies such as pultrusion to produce
excellent construction materials with
notable savings in environmental and
building costs makes them viable and
proven alternatives to solve problems and help for more sustainable
structures.

Potential in construction and
transportation
The potential of high-performance
fibre composites in lightweight
construction will make an important
contribution to increasing energy efficiency, among other advantages. The
durability and long life of FRP and
CRP and their ability to be combined
with traditional lightweight materials

are opening the way to additional
fields of application. In the area of
lightweight construction, the search is
on for intelligent methods of combining and integrating steel and FRP/
CRP. This could lead to ecologically
and economically viable material
combinations. Sustainable urban mobility that conserves resources will be
a leading trend in the coming years.
Lightweight construction will be
paramount for most means of transport. Weight savings contribute to
both increasing efficiency and reducing costs. Here, too, the outstanding potential of FRP/CRP becomes
immediately apparent when weighed
against all other materials. Parts made
of FRP/CRP can be 70% lighter than
steel and 30% lighter than aluminium.
However, tangible ecological and economic benefits can only be achieved
if lightweight construction parts are
used on a large scale. Mass production
of FRP/CRP parts and the associated automation of manufacturing
processes are essential if this goal is to
be achieved. Price-performance ratios
will decide which materials and combinations of materials will be adopted
in the various applications.

48 jec composites magazine / No94 January - February 2015

Fátima Almulla,
Marketing Director
Ecoinnova
Sustainable Coatings

It is precisely for this reason that
high-output production techniques
such as pultrusion are becoming very
attractive to construction designers.

A number of challenges
After contracting the preceding year,
the market for GRP/FRP pultrusion
profiles stabilised in 2013 and is no
longer declining in Europe. The main
area of application for these components is the construction industry, which is still in a more or less
devastated condition, especially in
Southern Europe. Much of the growth
in this market can be attributed to
three factors including increasing
energy efficiency requirements from
consumers, the escalating need for
anti-corrosive applications, and a
greater focus on the total lifecycle cost
of end products as compared to those
manufactured from materials such as
steel and aluminium.
Additionally, tough regulations on
VOC release and styrene emissions
are significantly increasing manufacturing costs, and are becoming a
challenge for the industry. The main
issues that reduce the competitiveness
of pultruded profiles, in comparison

JEC COMPOSITES MAGAZINE - Issue #94 - January/February 2015

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of JEC COMPOSITES MAGAZINE - Issue #94 - January/February 2015