Boron fibres

Composites news Materials manufacturing and processing in space The National Physical Laboratory is acting as coordinator for British industrial interests in the European materials processing programme in Spacelab on behalf of ESRO (European Space Research Organization). Spacelab is to be a re-usable manned orbiting laboratory and will be launched in the US by NASA's Space Shuttle in an extended series of flights commencingin 1979. Flights will be of one or two weeks' duration. The facilities carried will be more versatile than in the recent Skylab missions and can be tailored to individual requirements. The zero gravity conditions in space enable materials to be produced that have characteristics and qualities unobtainable on Earth. The Skylab missions have already demonstrated this: very much larger semi-conducor crystals have been grown under zero-g conditions than can be grown on Earth. Spacelab offers extended opportunities for further novel experimentation and processing with likely advantages in a number of fields. Thise include melting and solidification, crystal growth, welding, thermal diffusion, the production of void-free composite materials and many others.where the absence of convection and boyancy effects could be of benefit. British industry is being invited to participate in the Spacelab programme by proposing ideas for space processing and/or material manufacture which utilize the zero gravity (and high vacuum) of space. The National Physical Laboratory is canvassing many likely organizations but wishes to hear, as soon as possible, form any British source which may be interested. Any such organizations should contact one of the following: Dr. J. A. Champion (Chairman, NPL Spacelab committee), Division of Inorganic and Metallic Structure; Dr. R. Morrell, Division of Inorganic and Metallic Structure, or Mr. D. W. Butler, Division of Inorganic and Metallic Struc-

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ture at the National Physical Laboratory, Teddington, Middlesex TW11 0LW, England

Unsaturated polyester resins The Petrochemicals Division of ICI is to manufacture and market unsaturated polyester resins, under the trade name 'Impol', at a specially designed plant, with a capacity of.the order of 20 000 tonnes/year which is to be built at Wilton, Teesside. It is scheduled to be on line in 1975. Interim production for test marketing purposes will be available during 1974 from an existing multi-purpose plant at Billingham. A full range of standard resins will be marketed at home and overseas. In addition, new resin systems developed in ICI's research laboratories will be introduced. 'Impol' high quality resins will have the full backing of ICI's technical service resources. Unsaturated polyester resins are currently used in a wide range of industrial applications including boat building, land transport, chemical plant, prefabricated building units and electrical units. ICI Limited, Thames House North, Millbank, London SWl P 4GQ, England

Boron fibres Following publication of the article by Brenda M. Parker on boron fibre and boron reinforced composites (COMPOSITES, Vol 5, No 1 (Jan (1974) pp 7-15), further information has been made available on the production and costing of boron. filaments, by Compsoite Materials Corporation (CMC). CMC have now lea~ed boron filament production facilities previously operated by the Hamilton Standard Division of United Aircraft Corporation in the USA. Current US boron filament capacity is, CMC suggest, approximately 14 000 kg/year, divided between AVCO and themselves. The estimate that in 1974, 85% of the filament produced will go into resin-impregnated tapes with the remaining 15% being used to manufacture metal

matrix sheets and tubes. The predominant matrix material is Alcoa@ aluminium alloy 6061. Boron filament is now available in three dia. meters, 100gin, 140gin and 200/~m: the latter uses less tungsten per kg of filament. CMC also state that, in Europe, Wacker-Chemie GmbH in Munich, West Germany, act merely as their exclusive sales agent, not (yet) as manufactuers, although they do hold an option to manufacture in future under patents owned by the United Aircraft Corporation. Composite Materials Corporation, PO Box 385, 112 Main Street, Broad Brook, Connecticut 06016, USA

Bulk moulding compounds A range of glass reinforced bulk moulding compounds has been introduced by the Composite Materials division of Fothergill and Harvey Ltd. The new compounds, which will be marketed under the Flodo brand name, will complement the existing range of Flomat sheet moulding compounds. Flodo bmc will be available in flock or rope form in three grades - general purpose, low shrink and pigmented low shrink. The basic chopped glass fibre and polyester resin system provides a material suitable for marched die hot compression and injection moulding techniques. Glass contents of 15% and 20% by weight are available in each grade. The addition of various chemicals and compounds enables components with flame retardant and chemical resistance properties to be produced. Typical properties of 15% by weight glass compound show te'nsile strengths of 34-40 MN/m 2 tensiie modulus of 1 1 - 1 2 GM/m 2 and flexural strength of 90-103 MN/m2 . Fothergill and Harvey Limited, Summit, Littleborough, Lancashire, England

Fibreglass aids air safety Fibreglass Limited, together with the Aircraft Division of Triplex, both members of the Pilkington group, have developed a special fibreglass/nylon edge-mounting material to retain the aircraft windscreen within the frame in the event of an in-flight breakage. The Triplex 10•20 laminated screen widely fitted to Boeing 747s and other aircraft consists of two layers of glass joined by a polyvinyl butyral interlayer. In the event of the glass break-

COMPOSITES. JULY 1974