JEC COMPOSITES MAGAZINE - Issue #117 - November/December 2017 - 14

NEWS JEC Asia awards
arbon fibre evlar hinge s stem
At present, almost all hinges in the world
are metal with a small number of low-stress
plastic designs, and this has been the case
for at least the last 100 years. This carbon/
Kevlar hinge uses advanced composite materials in a very unusual way, that creates
a high-strength, lightweight and extremely durable hinge that is also corrosion resistant and maintenance free. The 1.6mmthick (closed) hinge is probably the world's
thinnest hinge, yet able to hold a 150kg

load (50mm wide). Having no metal parts
and made entirely from an epoxy/carbon/
glass/Kevlar composite, the hinge can be
used in some very extreme environments.
It is easily bondable to composites structures (fibreglass boats), significantly reducing fitting time and the cost of expensive
fasteners. Moreover, Talon recently tested
the hinge to over 1 million flex cycles with
almost no change in the hinge's stability.
www.carbonhinge.com

Acoustic emission system for the assessment
of hydrogen tanks for fuel cell vehicles
R-TECH Services Ltd. and its partners developed a continuous monitoring system for
detecting damage in Type III hydrogen storage vessels for hydrogen fuel cell vehicles.
These vessels are manufactured from a filament-wound epoxy-matrix CFRP material
with an aluminium liner and are designed for
an operating pressure of 350 bar.
The monitoring system is based on an acoustic emission (AE) technique, and is designed

to be applied permanently to the vessel. It is interrogated during the vessel's fill cycle, when

Winner: R-TECH Services Ltd. (UK)
Partners: Pancom Ltd. (UK), TWI
Technology Centre Wales (UK), Arcola
Energy (UK) and SiPlan Electronics
Research Ltd. (UK)
any progressive damage can be detected by
the AE transducers. This system can improve
the safety of hydrogen fuel cell vehicles as well
as consumer confidence in the technology.
www.rtech-materials.co.uk

PROCESS
cess is all possible in one factory, cooperating with others. Its allows quick production
and quick product changes. Applications
are numerous, including automotive parts,
sports equipment, household goods, etc.
This project was supported by the Ministry
of Trade, Industry & Energy (Korean
Government), DYETEC, Gyeongsangbukdo (Provincial Office) and Gyeongsan-City.
www.t4l.co.kr

Winner: Textile For Life Co., Ltd.
(South Korea)

RACING CAR

Lightweight body structure design
Epotech Composite Corporation supported the composite racing car manufacturer KCMG for the development of a lightweight body structure design for the GT86
racing cars. The tooling used a low-temperature-cure resin system, EPO-RT 213TM
(510), with good mechanical strength and
Tg - making it ideal for prototyping and/
or large part manufacturing thanks to an

Winner: Talon Technology Pty Ltd.
(Australia)

NDT & MONITORING

Industry 4.0 robotic braiding factory
T4L developed the world's first propeller
shaft produced by CFRP braiding in 2015.
Propeller shafts are automotive driving parts
that require very high quality and productivity. Through this project, Textile For Life Co.,
Ltd. applied IoT (Internet of Things), CAE,
(Cyber Physical System) and Big-Data technology. The Industry 4.0 factory has been
built, and the process and process control
can be conducted in virtual space. This pro-

MARINE

improved working life and wider processing window when rolling over the mould.
For the roof, Epotech used its EPO-624
toughened epoxy resin system, allowing
good processability and excellent damage resistance. Moreover, the surface finish lowers the car's wind resistance (drag),
which is critical for manoeuvrability.
www.epotechcorp.com

jec composites magazine / No117 November - December 2017

Winner: Epotech Composite Corp. (Taiwan)
Partners: KC MotorGroup Ltd.
(Hong Kong)

http://www.carbonhinge.com http://www.rtech-materials.co.uk http://www.t4l.co.kr http://www.epotechcorp.com

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of JEC COMPOSITES MAGAZINE - Issue #117 - November/December 2017