COMPOSITES EUROPE 2012 Blog

Sustainability and questions it raises regarding the effects materials, products and processes have on the environment is a major current topic and one that influences all aspects of business.  The automotive and electronic industries have already implemented current regulations on recycling and CO2 emissions. Demands on the use of sustainable materials and products in the building industry amongst others are now gaining pace too.

The effects that composites have on the environment are also Read Full Post

Epoxy resins are the elixir for numerous composite applications. They consist of polymers, which together with suitable hardeners produce a duroplastic plastic of high strength and chemical stability. When epoxy resin and hardener are mixed, after a specific time, curing of the originally viscose mixture takes place. Depending on the formulation and temperature, this time span can take a few minutes or may last several hours. In some cases, the curing time may also take several months.

The Krempel-Group, from Vaihingen, offers with the BD system, prepregs that are based on modified epoxy resins with high impact resistance and excellent dynamic properties. These can be processed into high strength structural components with all standard processes. The curing range is between 85 and 140 degrees Celsius, the maximum dimensional stability under heat is 125 degrees Celsius.

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Very light, very sturdy and very expensive. The characteristics of carbon fibres can be briefly described in this way. Consequently, their applications were primarily restricted in the past to aircraft and aerospace as well as to sports equipment. In addition, the so-called monocoque and other components of Formula 1 racing cars are produced using a carbon fibre reinforced plastic. Very large CRP components are employed in the wings and hull of aircraft.

After carbonization of the basic organic raw materials into carbon, the fibres are tensioned and thus achieve higher strengths and rigidities. Further processing takes place as rovings. This involves several thousand fibres which are combined into a strand and are then used as reinforcing fibres in woven fabrics. As low filaments (short fibres) they can be added to polymers. Suitably reinforced plastic components can be produced by means of processing equipment such as extruders or injection moulding machines.

To produce carbon fibre reinforced plastics (CRP), several layers of carbon fibres are embedded in a plastic matrix of epoxy resin, thermoplastics or ceramics. Analogue to glass-fibre reinforced plastics (GRP), press or autoclave processes for prepregs or fibre wrappings are used for production. CRP manual laminates are only employed for small scale runs or for individual production.

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