- Email: [email protected]
Aircraft project investigates modular construction
Applications news
Resin enhances tank appearance CANADIAN-BASED Triple M Fiberglass has employed Reichhold’s DION IMPACT 9102 in the fabrication of its corrosion-resistant tanks. The tanks are produced using a variety of fabrication processes including filament winding, layup and hoop chop, which is a combination of filament winding and chopping. The main market for the vessels produced using the resin is the oil sands plants in Alberta, Canada, where the tanks are used in large water treatment facilities. The epoxy-based vinyl ester resin is said to provide reduced viscosity and improved curing at low accelerator levels while maintaining the mechanical properties and chemical resistance of standard bisphenol epoxy-based vinyl ester resins.
“This resin provides us with a much nicer looking vessel vs. the dark brown parts you get with older vinyl ester formulations,” explains Glenn Maber, operations manager at Triple M Fiberglass. “The handling of this resin is good too. We can lay up thicker parts with the DION IMPACT 9102. We get much less foaming than with traditional vinyl esters.” “Our guys in the fitting area like the DION IMPACT resin due to the much thicker laminates it makes possible,” Maber continues. “We can produce a thicker laminate, but with less exotherm than you would expect with a vinyl ester. With less exotherm, there’s less shrinkage in the completed parts.”
Aircraft project investigates modular construction SWEDISH COMPANY Biteam is working together with the Royal Institute of Technology in Stockholm, Sweden, on a aircraft project funded by the European Union. The Modular Joints for Composite Aircraft Components (MOJO) project aims to develop a modular system for aircraft construction using advanced composite material profiles. It is hoped that the resulting weight savings will also make aircraft safer, relatively more cost effective and environmentally friendly. Biteam’s weaving technology will be employed to produce specially profiled carbon preforms to help meet the
project’s objectives. It is said that the use of composite materials could reduce production costs by as much as 20%. The project is being led by EADS Military Air Systems. Other participants include Eurocopter, Dassault Aviation, EADS Corporate Research Center, S.A.B.C.A (Société Anonyme Belge de Constructions Aéronautiques), The German Aerospace Association, CRC-ACS, Secar, The University of Patras in Greece and the Aeronautical Research and Test Institute based in the Czech Republic. Biteam; www.biteam.com
Triple M Fiberglass; www.zcl.com Reichhold; www.reichhold.com
A tank produced using DION IMPACT 9102 resin.
May 2007
REINFORCEDplastics
7
Resin enhances tank appearance CANADIAN-BASED Triple M Fiberglass has employed Reichhold’s DION IMPACT 9102 in the fabrication of its corrosion-resistant tanks. The tanks are produced using a variety of fabrication processes including filament winding, layup and hoop chop, which is a combination of filament winding and chopping. The main market for the vessels produced using the resin is the oil sands plants in Alberta, Canada, where the tanks are used in large water treatment facilities. The epoxy-based vinyl ester resin is said to provide reduced viscosity and improved curing at low accelerator levels while maintaining the mechanical properties and chemical resistance of standard bisphenol epoxy-based vinyl ester resins.
“This resin provides us with a much nicer looking vessel vs. the dark brown parts you get with older vinyl ester formulations,” explains Glenn Maber, operations manager at Triple M Fiberglass. “The handling of this resin is good too. We can lay up thicker parts with the DION IMPACT 9102. We get much less foaming than with traditional vinyl esters.” “Our guys in the fitting area like the DION IMPACT resin due to the much thicker laminates it makes possible,” Maber continues. “We can produce a thicker laminate, but with less exotherm than you would expect with a vinyl ester. With less exotherm, there’s less shrinkage in the completed parts.”
Aircraft project investigates modular construction SWEDISH COMPANY Biteam is working together with the Royal Institute of Technology in Stockholm, Sweden, on a aircraft project funded by the European Union. The Modular Joints for Composite Aircraft Components (MOJO) project aims to develop a modular system for aircraft construction using advanced composite material profiles. It is hoped that the resulting weight savings will also make aircraft safer, relatively more cost effective and environmentally friendly. Biteam’s weaving technology will be employed to produce specially profiled carbon preforms to help meet the
project’s objectives. It is said that the use of composite materials could reduce production costs by as much as 20%. The project is being led by EADS Military Air Systems. Other participants include Eurocopter, Dassault Aviation, EADS Corporate Research Center, S.A.B.C.A (Société Anonyme Belge de Constructions Aéronautiques), The German Aerospace Association, CRC-ACS, Secar, The University of Patras in Greece and the Aeronautical Research and Test Institute based in the Czech Republic. Biteam; www.biteam.com
Triple M Fiberglass; www.zcl.com Reichhold; www.reichhold.com
A tank produced using DION IMPACT 9102 resin.
May 2007
REINFORCEDplastics
7