JEC COMPOSITES MAGAZINE - Issue #108 - October 2016 - 42

SOLUTIONS marine
Carbon non-crimp fabrics
to save fuel
The key to this reduced footprint is the lightweight design
that BRØDRENE AA achieved
through the consistent use of
multiaxial carbon fibre fabrics.
Most of the vessel's structural
components, such as decks,
walls, bulkheads, stairs and
many other elements, were
made using a lightweight
sandwich panel construction.
The highlights of the lightweight design are the 41m-long,
carbon hull segments of the
catamaran structure, which
were produced in a single-shot
vacuum infusion process.
Research shows that, due to
fuel consumption, 90% of the
emissions are produced during
the operational phase of the
vessel's life cycle. Therefore,
the best way to build environment-friendly vessels is
to make them lightweight in
combination with a fuel-efficient hull and propulsion.
By using carbon non-crimp
fabrics instead of aluminium
in the production of the ships,
it is possible to save nearly
50% of the structural weight.
This typically reduces overall
consumption by 20%.
The layer structure of noncrimp fabrics (NCF) allows a
free choice of fibre orientation
and weights - and thus greater
lightweighting potential. The

Fig. 3: Main
technical benefits

multiaxial textiles can be
produced with different fibre
orientations and with several
layers stitched together to form
biaxial, triaxial or quadraxial
reinforcements. Due to the
straightness of the fibres characterizing non-crimp fabrics
technology, all NCF variations
offer much better mechanical
properties than woven fabrics,
which have undulated fibres
inherent to their structure.

41m carbon hull segments
in a single-shot vacuum
infusion process
The catamaran hull of the Seasight is a modular platform that
is also used in other projects such
as high-speed ferries made from
carbon composites (Fig. 2). For
this application, a customized
carbon textile reinforcement
material was developed with
Saertex's technical service. The
main challenge for this infusion
process was to produce a fabric
with the right permeability
and flow characteristics for the
41m-long and 5m-high part. At
the same time, it was essential
to achieve the right drapeability

Fig. 2:
a) The catamaran
hull with bulkheads -
all made out of carbon composites
b) The 41m carbon hull from below
c) Carbon inside:
the walls, stairs, ceilings
and decks made of carbon NCFs

42

jec composites magazine / No108 October 2016

for the mould's complex shapes.
Saertex's application service
qualified a new carbon fibre
compatible with the vinylester
resin for the multiaxial fabric
used in this project (Fig. 3).
To save weight, BRØDRENE
AA used different NCFs
depending on the mechanical
properties needed: for crucial
components like the hull, triaxial
fabrics were produced. For other
structural components, unidirectional non-crimp fabrics were
sufficient to meet the stiffness
requirements and save weight at
the same time. The permeability
of the fabrics and the mechanical
performance of the laminates
were tested in a series of laboratory tests.
The weight savings achieved
were also an important requirement for BRØDRENE AA to
produce the propulsion of the
Vision of the Fjords, which uses
a diesel and an electric engine.
With the lower mass of the
vessel, it was possible to select
a smaller electric engine that
operates during sightseeing.

The outcome:
an ambitious project that
won the Ship of the Year
2016 award in Norway
All this was done within the
ambitious timeline of the project
plan, i.e. less than one year from
first draft to release. The vessel
was delivered by BRØDRENE
AA on the 16th of July and it
is now in operation at Nærøyfjorden, allowing sightseers to
visit this World Heritage site.
Only a few weeks later, the vessel
was elected Ship of the Year 2016
in Norway n a ceremony during
the SMM show in Hamburg.
The Norwegian government
has the ambitious goal to reduce
Norway's CO2 emissions in
the segment ferries & aircrafts
by 91,000 tons by 2020. With
BRØDRENE AA's released carbon vessels, almost 10% of this
goal is achieved. The Vision of
the Fjords is a next step to reach
this ambitious objective and to
protect the beautiful scenery
of Western Norway's majestic
fjords.
More information:
www.saertex.com
http://www.saertex.com
Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of JEC COMPOSITES MAGAZINE - Issue #108 - October 2016
