Duesseldorf, Germany -- At JEC Europe, the biggest composites exhibition in Europe, Henkel, a leading producer of adhesives, will present its Loctite MAX2 polyurethane for the resin transfer moulding process.
This new PU composite matrix resin enables improved economics and throughput in processing, said Henkel. Compared to standard epoxy matrix resins, the new PU type cures significantly faster. During injection, it also enables more efficient impregnation without stressing the fibres due to the lower viscosity of the resin.
Another PU product, the adhesive Macroplast UK 1340 will help raise productivity and cut costs in manufacture of wind energy blades. Henkel said in rotor blade production, an obvious way of accelerating the process would be to use polyurethane-based adhesives for rotor blade bonding, although these represent a very recent development in the wind power industry.
Traditionally, blade shells and spars have been bonded using two-component epoxy resins, and while these materials reliably meet the extremely high mechanical specifications, they are rapidly reaching their limits in terms of automation of manufacturing.
New technologies are therefore needed to speed up and automate production. Henkel will showcase a solution in the shape of Macroplast UK 1340. As a specialist in high-performance polyurethane adhesives, the group has succeeded in developing a PU adhesive that satisfies the specific mechanical requirements for use in the wind power industry and makes rotor blade production more efficient.
Polyurethane-based adhesives react much faster than the traditional epoxy resins used, and also produce substantially less reaction heat. As a result, this two-part adhesive considerably reduces both the duration and the temperature of the cure phase.
Henkel will be at booth R 45 at the JEC event, being held 27-29 March in Paris, Porte de Versailles.
PIC: In a long-term test (four months) an ENERCON rotor blade bonded with Macroplast UK 1340 was subjected to stresses and strains that would normally occur over a period of 20 years. The bonded joints of the 40-m blade passed the static and dynamic tests specified in IEC 61400-23 to determine the rated load and fatigue behaviour of the blade.
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