Brussels - A project aiming to develop commercial processes for large-scale use of carbon-fibre composites in the automotive industry has made "considerable progress" in the further development of the polyurethane-based resins for the purpose.
A report by Prof Jan-Anders Manson of EPFL, Switzerland and Prof Ignaas Verpoest of KU Leuven, Belgium, published in Reinforced Plastics magazine, says the first cycle of resin improvement has been completed and all partners are now working with the improved resin.
Compared with the baseline resin, the new version offers significant improvements in processing, such as reduced resin viscosity and improved reaction kinetics. These allow users reduced cycle time, the researchers say.
The article outlines the objectives of the European project HIVOCOMP (advanced materials enabling high-volume road transport applications of lightweight structural composite parts).
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