Hexcel hails composite innovations for aerospace, recreation and automotive applications
UC composites supplier Hexcel is show its latest innovations for aerospace, recreational equipment and automotive applications at CAMX 2016, currently taking place in Anaheim, California, the US until September 29.
Aerospace
Hexcel continues to pave the way in airplane engine noise reduction innovation with its Acousti-Cap broadband noise-reducing honeycomb. On January 29, Hexcel and Boeing celebrated the first flight of the 737 MAX 8. The 737 MAX is powered by LEAP-1B engines from CFM International.
While Hexcel supplies HexTow IM7 carbon fiber for the engine fan blades and containment cases, the engine nacelles have an acoustic inner barrel that is manufactured from Hexcel's engineered core and Acousti-Cap technology.
Acousti-Cap honeycomb's efficacy is made possible by a permeable cap material which is individually embedded into each honeycomb cell to create an acoustic septum. This technology is a leading contributor to the 40% reduction of the area of acceptable noise contour of the 737 MAX engine over the legacy 737 NG, without any weight penalty.
Recreation
On January 5, Hexcel completed its full acquisition of Formax UK Limited, a manufacturer of composite reinforcements, specializing in the production of lightweight carbon fiber multiaxials and highly engineered glass fiber and aramid fiber fabrics.
Hexcel has continued the production of these multiaxial reinforcements under the trademark of HiMax multiaxial reinforcements. HiMax reinforcements allow manufacturers to process multiple layers of unidirectional fibers in a single fabric.
The company is displaying a surfboard made from HiMax carbon fiber multiaxial reinforcements as well as a showcase board of several of the many different available weaves and materials.
HexForce reinforcements have long been a standard for structural composites, used in aerospace, military, transportation and industrial applications. Using a specialized spreading process called PrimeTex, carbon fabrics are processed for a smooth, closed weave and uniform cosmetic appearance.
PrimeTex fabrics are more uniform as the filaments in each tow are spread out creating a thinner and more closely woven fabric that provides better mechanicals and less porosity in a composite. They can also be used to lower the mass in a composite where lighter weight is the key characteristic.
Along with a side-by-side comparison lightbox of a HexForce reinforcement before and after the PrimeTex process, Hexcel is exhibiting a Warrior hockey stick to show the finished appearance of PrimeTex reinforcements in a recreational application.
Automotive
PrimeTex reinforcements are widely used for their aesthetic and structural properties within the automotive industry as well. With a closed weave (0.5% porosity) and uniform appearance, PrimeTex reinforcements have been used on BMW M3, M4 and M5 series car roofs for over 10 years. An example of such a BMW roof made from PrimeTex reinforcements is on display at CAMX.
The vast majority of leaf springs on the market today, used for suspension on heavy vehicles such as vans, trucks and SUVs, are made out of spring steel. Composite leaf springs, made out of glass and carbon composites, offer many advantages over their metal counterparts such as up to 70% weight savings, high corrosion resistance, optimized system integration, improved riding performance and superior fatigue performance.
Hexcel manufactures heavy weight glass UD prepregs with fiber areal weights above 1200 gsm to allow for the fast and effective manufacturing of preforms. Its fully industrialized HexPly M9 resin family offers superior mechanical performance. These M9 prepregs can be press cured for high volume production of composite leaf springs. An example of these composite leaf springs is on display.
