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CHOMARAT presents A NEW COMPOSITE REINFORCEMENT at JEC Europe 2012!
2/21/2012 |
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Chomarat will give the 2012 JEC Europe a preview of the latest technical advances and the first parts obtained with C-PLY™ Bi-Angle, which makes use of innovative fibre orientations within the composite.
By eliminating the fibres placed perpendicular to the main loading axis and/or using extremely thin plies (75G/M2), it is possible to develop completely new multiaxial materials. C-PLY™ Bi-Angle is a carbon reinforcement that makes it possible to manufacture even lighter and stronger composites more rapidly and cost effectively.
C-PLYTM BI-ANGLE: A SOLUTION FOR SIMPLIFIED PRODUCTION OF LAMINATES
C-PLY™ Bi-Angle is a non-woven carbon reinforcement (non crimp fabric, or NCF) that was launched in 2011 by Chomarat in partnership with a research group of manufacturers and academics working under Professor Tsai from Stanford University. At the 2012 JEC Europe, Chomarat will present the latest advances and the first industrial parts produced using C-PLY™ Bi-Angle. The range is expanding and developing, since it is now possible to produce C-PLY™ Bi-Angle from glass or glass/carbon hybrid, and to alternate thin and thick plies at angles as low as 20º. "The 20º angles give laminates optimum performance: producing them is simpler, up to three times faster, and there are fewer ply placement errors," said Philippe Sanial, R&D Manager at Chomarat.
NEW APPLICATIONS IN THE AEROSPACE SECTOR
To meet demand from aerospace builders and equipment manufacturers, the C-PLY™ Bi-Angle range is expanding to include constructions that will allow optimizing all composite aerospace parts. The thin plies (50-75 g/m²) in C-PLY™ Bi-Angle are a key element in the performance of the composite used for the fuselage. Other parts, like the beams, can also benefit from this multiaxial assembly at shallow 20º or 30º angles, which allows exceptional weight savings - up to 30% compared to a standard carbon construction. The final use of this development concerns composite parts that require greater strength in certain directions (anisotropy). A two-layer multiaxial with one layer at 0ºand the other at +20º, like C-PLY™ Bi-Angle, establishes a bend twist coupling that makes the material work in a revolutionary manner: the interaction of the bending and torsional stresses actually works to keep the part from bending or twisting. In the aviation sector, this material is being tested in parts like wings, wing components and engine blades. The research team is currently working on a project to make a demonstrator for a lightweight sports aircraft incorporating all
these innovations.
C-PLYTM BI-ANGLE ALSO OFFERS NEW DESIGN POTENTIAL IN THE WIND ENERGY SECTOR
The material is also being tested to open up possibilities for a new wind turbine blade design, in the expectation of significant weight reductions. Hybrid shapes are used to increase the material's bendtwist coupling effect. The team is working on the weights of material used for individual directions, and on the use of different types of fibre, e.g. carbon or glass. The weight-reduction prospects offered by these materials in wind turbine blades would have been unimaginable before the development of C-PLY™ Bi-Angle.
These research projects in high-technology sectors will also be applicable in the automotive industry, where performance and weight-reduction issues are a challenge.
FIFTY YEARS OF COMPOSITE INNOVATIONS
Chomarat has developed unique know-how in the composite industry and has always involved itself in innovation networks with its customers or with research institutes to find high-tech solutions for concrete issues. C-PLY™ Bi-angle, for example, grew out of a meeting of the minds between Professor Tsai (Professor Emeritus at Stanford University) and Michel Cognet, Managing Director of the Chomarat group, and resulted in the filing of a joint patent. "For more than a century, Chomarat has been investing in R&D to meet new market requirements and to stay at the forefront of innovation: our hope is to be consistent with Chomarat's history by pioneering and remaining a standard setter. In recent years, the group has endeavoured to find new industrial solutions to meet the increasingly stringent requirements for performance, weight reduction and energy consumption. At Chomarat, we turn these constraints into sources of innovation", observed Michel Cognet. |
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Related Exhibition:
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JEC Show Europe 2012
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JEC Composites Show in Paris: the biggest composites exhibition in Europe and in the world !
3/27/2012 - 3/29/2012
Venue: Paris expo Porte de Versailles, Paris, France
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