Composites are now firmly integrated materials in civil engineering and structural building work. Designers and architects use composites as fully-fledged materials alongside traditional materials such as concrete, marble, granite, steel and wood. In combination with conventional building materials, honeycomb structures in particular offer a wide range of benefits in comparison to using the standard material alone.  An example: Offering the same mechanical resistance and rigidity as natural stone, the weight of a sandwich structure consisting of a 28 millimetre honeycomb layer and a five millimetre thick layer of marble is a third of that of a layer of conventional natural stone.

In the drive to conserve resources and ensure sustainability, renewable raw materials are increasingly being used for fibre-reinforced and matrix resins. There is also growing interest in recycling and in reusing the materials for similar applications.  Experts believe that a new trend is emerging in the increasing use of thermoplastic composite reinforced plastics. Numerous exhibitors at the international Composites Europe (CE) trade fair, to be held in Essen in September, will be demonstrating the innovative force behind composite applications in the building industry.

Example – Dennert Poraver: Dennert manufactures this lightweight expanded glass granulate filler from recycled glass using a patented process. It is used as an aggregate in solid wall systems, in plaster, mortar, tile adhesives, textured wallpaper and façade profiles. Poraver is light, pressure-resistant, chemically stable, free of hazardous substances and is suitable for use as thermal and sound insulation. It is therefore used by the building industry for various purposes including reaction resin grout, polymer concrete, kitchen work surfaces and mineral foams. Roughly one million cubic metres are produced each year.

Use of Poraver in acoustic boards in a multi-purpose hall in Ochtendung in Rhineland-Palatinate (photo: Dennert Poraver)

One of these is Saertex GmbH & Co. KG from Saerbeck.  The company produces so-called non-crimp multi-ply fabrics.  These are characterized by stretched fibres within the individual plies, which optimally absorb mechanical forces such as pressure and tension.  Different mechanical strengths can be achieved by the fibre used, weight per unit area and angle combination.  Multi-axial multi-ply fabrics have been specially developed for the requirements of the sports industry and are used, in particular, in skis and snowboards.

Key players of the industry such as AOC Resins, Exel Composites and Huntsman will once again be present in Stuttgart. In Krauss-Maffei, RAMPF Tooling, Henkel, DSM Composites Resins, Carbon Composites e.V., Zoltek and Cam Elyaf, however, COMPOSITES EUROPE could also win major new exhibitors this year. The organisers succeeded in bringing almost the entire sector of automated cutting to Stuttgart with Gerber Technology, Lectra, Expert Systemtechnik, Topcut-Bullmer and Zünd Systemtechnik AG.

The International AVK Convention and the 2nd Biocomposites Congress will mark the start of the fair. For the fourth time already, the International Convention of the AVK (Industrievereinigung verstärkter Kunststoffe) will mark the start of the fair. From 26 to 27 October, some 500 participants are expected at the International Congress Centre Stuttgart (ICS) who will take advantage of the lectures to catch up on innovations in the field of reinforced and filled plastics.

For the first time, the nova-Institut will hold its Biocomposites Congress as part of the annual AVK Convention and of COMPOSITES EUROPE. The Congress will focus on the latest developments in materials and products which will be presented and discussed in Stuttgart. The Congress targets materials specialists, developers, manufacturers and users from the automotive, building, consumer goods and packaging industries.

Green Composites
In addition to the Biomaterials Congress, COMPOSITES EUROPE plans to further expand the “green“ materials segment. The European industry association and trade fair partner EuCIA will, among other things, present the latest materials developed by the EU funded “BioStruct“ project. The focus here will be on structural and multifunctional components made from wood and cellulose-reinforced composites. Together with Fraunhofer ICT and the project partner NetComposites, EuCIA will showcase the latest innovations in Hall 2.

In Stuttgart the “Bio Concept Car“, the world’s only racing car of its class featuring a body shell made from natural-fibre reinforced plastics, will also be on show. In this car which singer Smudo will also take to the track for the 24–hours race on the Nürburgring, among others, the bonnet, wings, doors and spoiler are all made from natural fibres and liquid bioplastics.