Application development of fiber reinforced thermoplastics
Thermoplastic composites have quickly gained worldwide acceptance and can replace many materials such as die castings, metal assemblies, and traditional plastics in the market, including industrial equipment, automobiles, and consumer products. High impact strength, better surface quality, low product rejection, high rigidity in high temperature and sub-zero temperatures, and creep resistance under harsh environments and constant loads make the thermoplastic composite market more competitive than the thermoset and metal materials markets. profitable. The price/performance advantage makes thermoplastic composites more attractive in the aerospace and defense, transportation, and electrical electronics industries.
Car Application Fiber-reinforced thermoplastics are one of the most promising high-performance automotive lightweight materials available today. They are more competitive than traditional non-renewable thermoset composites and aluminum-magnesium metal materials, while having composite and part structures. The outstanding advantages of design and molding manufacturing integration are more energy-saving and environmentally friendly. In automotive applications, FRTP parts include intake manifolds, air cleaner assemblies, valve covers and engine covers, and composite suppliers believe that FRTP should have a wider range of applications around the engine, such as air intake system components. , oil basin and transmission housing. Currently, BASF, Celanese, RTP, PolyOne, SABIC, DSM, DuPont, Aymans, Milacron, Arburg, Engel, KraussMaffei, Diffenbacher, Vision, etc. Chemicals, molding equipment, molds, online inspection, product design companies, etc., respectively, or jointly launched FRTP (GFRT and CFRT) automotive parts, products and online testing tools, and formed a complete technology development, automated production and equipment, The complete industrial chain of online testing, product design and other series.
The BMWi3 and BMWi8 pure electric vehicles jointly launched by BMW and SGL carbon fiber companies have successfully adopted a large number of carbon fiber composite materials (CFRP and CFRT) for the manufacture of key bearing parts for automotive interior and exterior. Promote the application of carbon fiber composite materials in automobiles.
Aerospace Application FRTP is not only the preferred lightweight material for the automotive industry. In recent years, the aviation industry has also begun to pay close attention to the feasibility of developing CFRT applications. Prior to the advent of the A350XW, Airbus invested heavily in the development of CFRT and component manufacturing technologies. More than 1,500 different aircraft components were produced using CFRT, such as the continuous braided CF/PPS composite door; the US stealth fighter also Non-metallic fasteners are made of CF/PEEK composite material, which absorbs electromagnetic waves well and achieves stealth effect. TenCate has introduced a range of TenCate Cetex® materials to the market, including carbon fiber, fiberglass and spandex reinforced PEEK, PEI and PPS resin unidirectional fiber prepregs. Airbus's faucet product The A380's wing leading edge and the smaller A340 use a PPS-based composite material to ensure high impact resistance. Gulfstream Aerospace's G650 business jets feature thermoplastic composite rudders and landing gear, and are constructed from TenCate Cetex carbon fiber reinforced PPS prepregs.
In aerospace, thermoplastic composites are becoming more widely used. For example, with the development of communication remote sensing satellites, it is required to increase the optical aperture to improve the resolution of the remote sensor. Mirrors (spherical and aspherical) and optomechanical scanning space remote sensors are included in the main optical system of various space cameras. Mirrors made of metal materials all have problems that cannot be achieved by a design that is too heavy, and that thermoplastic composite materials can be effectively solved.
Wind power Application Reinforced thermoplastics also have a lot of room for growth in renewable energy structures. For example, relatively short mold cycles and relatively simple repair and recyclability of thermoplastic composites have attracted the attention of wind turbine blade manufacturers. Ireland's EireComposites Teo works with Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Oslo Fiberglass and Cyclics Corporation. A 12.6 m (85 ft) long wind turbine blade was produced using cyclic butylene teraphthalate (CBT), a liquid molded glass reinforced thermoplastic. The R&D project is part of the company's Greenblade project to develop large thermoplastic composite blades that are lighter and less expensive than the currently dominant thermoset composite blades, and that it It is faster to produce and can be recycled after the end of its useful life.
Other Application At present, FRTP has become the new favorite of the construction industry. The GFRT building formwork, the GFRT cover plate for the sink, and the CFRT building column reinforcement are widely used. Recently, Fiberlite has been widely used in the manufacture of color manhole covers using continuous glass fiber woven fabric GFRT.
In addition, the demand for FRTP in the oil and gas industry, machinery manufacturing, sporting goods, medical technology and other consumer goods categories is also increasing. The Dutch Abbonne Oil and Gas Company recently announced the superiority of its thermoplastic composite pipe in its briefing. The thermoplastic composite down pipe and the jumper pipe can reach the oil and gas wells in the deepest water, and workover operations can be carried out to improve the performance of the oil and gas well without High cost riser workovers. The thermoplastic composite transfer line effectively solves the corrosion problem while reducing costs.
Topolo New Materials invest CFRT composites production lines, composites sandwich panel lines and experimental equipments.
