Hexcel at JEC World 2016

Hexcel is exhibiting at JEC World 2016 in Paris on March 8-10 to promote the latest composite innovations for aerospace, automotive and wind energy applications. 

Aerospace Promotions
Hexcel’s products are used in the latest aircraft to take to the skies, and a range of technologies benefiting these new aircraft will be promoted by Hexcel at JEC World. Airbus delivered the first A320neo to Lufthansa on January 20, 2016. Hexcel is a major supplier of composite materials for the A320neo airframe and for both engine options, CFM International’s LEAP-1A and the PurePower PW1100G-JM from Pratt & Whitney. At JEC World Hexcel will display the nacelle inner fixed structure (IFS) for the LEAP-1A that powers the A320neo. The IFS is manufactured by Aircelle using Hexcel’s HexPly® 8552 slit tape prepreg, reinforced with HexTow® AS4 carbon fiber.

The A320neo also benefits from fuel-saving Sharklet wingtip devices that are manufactured by Korean Aerospace (KAL) using Hexcel’s HexPly® M21 and M21E carbon fiber/epoxy prepreg. The Sharklets reduce fuel burn, increase payload range and improve take-off performance. KAL has loaned Hexcel part of an A320neo Sharklet to display at JEC.

Hexcel and Boeing celebrated the first flight of the 737 MAX 8 on January 29, 2016. The 737 MAX is powered by LEAP-1B engines from CFM International. 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 benefits from Hexcel’s Acousti-Cap® technology in which a permeable cap material is individually embedded into each honeycomb cell to create an acoustic septum. This technology is a leading contributor to the reduction of the area of acceptable noise contour of the 737 MAX engine by 40% over the legacy 737 NG, without any weight penalty. An acoustic inner barrel will be on display on Hexcel’s stand.

Hexcel developed HiTape® advanced dry carbon fiber reinforcements for the automated manufacture of preforms at very high deposition rates. The preforms are infused with Hexcel’s RTM6 epoxy resin in a cost-efficient out of autoclave process. The cured structures can be up to 30mm thick and have a fiber volume content up to 60%, allowing them to achieve mechanical properties that are as high as those obtained with primary structure prepregs. Hexcel won the JEC Innovation Award for Aerospace in 2015 for its HiTape® technology.

Since then, Hexcel has continued to develop HiTape® solutions for automated preforming in readiness for application to aircraft programs. Exhibits on the Hexcel stand at JEC World will include a stringer preform and an ECF panel with stringer demonstrating how Hexcel is able to infuse very long HiTape® structures with thickness variations achieving perfect quality, and to incorporate expanded copper foil for lightning strike protection.

Automotive Promotions
Hexcel will also be promoting products for the automotive industry. Hexcel’s innovative CFRP technology has been introduced in the BMW 7 Series to save weight and reinforce the metal shell of the B-pillar that will be featured on Hexcel’s stand at JEC. Hexcel supplies BMW with preforms made of unidirectional carbon prepreg set in various orientations and combined with adhesive. The prepreg is made from Hexcel’s HexPly® M77 resin system that cures in 1.5 minutes at 160°C.

To meet the requirements for series production in the automotive industry, Hexcel has installed a fully automated production line in Austria that converts unidirectional prepreg into bidirectional preforms in seconds. The process allows prepreg plies of different weights and orientation to be combined in the same ply-book and includes automated cutting, camera-assisted ply positioning, integration of adhesive and automated packing. This unique, fully-automated production cell makes B-pillar preforms for up to 500 cars each day allowing Hexcel to meet the high production rates required by automotive manufacturers and the high quality expectations of premium car manufacturers.

Hexcel’s CFRP solutions are used in standalone and hybrid applications to help not only lighten cars, which reduces CO2 and decreases fuel consumption, but also to improve performance and safety through increased strength and durability.

Wind Energy Promotions
Hexcel has been a leading supplier of composites for wind blade manufacture for more than 20 years and continues to develop new technologies to assist with blade design and manufacture. At JEC World, Hexcel will exhibit a wind blade section showing the various carbon and glass materials that Hexcel supplies for this industry. These include HexPly® M79 prepregs optimized for low temperature cure and fast cycle times, HiMax™ dry non-crimp fabrics optimized for infusion technologies and Hexcel’s cured carbon products for load bearing applications

A new product benefiting wind blade manufacturers is carbon laminate technology. Hexcel has manufactured laminates for many years for other markets including recreation (skis, snowboards) and is now expanding that technology for new applications including wind blades. Hexcel manufactures carbon fiber laminates with an areal weight of 1500 g/m² in a range of lengths and widths. The main application for this product is for load carrying spars in wind blades that are manufactured using resin infusion processes or prepreg. The carbon laminates are supplied in a pre-cured state which means there is no risk of generating exothermic heat during blade manufacture. The laminates even store heat for a faster ramp up during the infusion process, leading to potential time savings.

Tim Swords, Hexcel’s Vice President and General Manager – Industrial, explained that Hexcel’s carbon laminates offer a number of benefits compared to pultrusion: “A carbon laminate can be produced in greater widths than pultruded elements which are limited by the width of the die. With pultrusion, widths greater than 200 mm are hard to achieve, which makes it difficult to use this technology for the typical rectangular cross sections needed for wind spars and load-carrying elements in wind blades. A wider load-carrying element can be achieved using Hexcel’s carbon laminates which allows for a more efficient design.”

Hexcel’s carbon laminates are thinner than pultruded elements which means that more plies are required, but the thinness makes it much easier to achieve a smooth drop off toward the blade tip, allowing an even transition of stresses at the end of each ply and avoiding the chamfering that is required with pultruded sections. Another benefit with thin laminates is that the ply adapts easily to the twisted or curved geometry which is often found in large modern wind blades.

Recreation Promotions
Hexcel is a leading manufacturer of composites for sports goods and has launched a new prepreg for ski manufacture, HexPly® M78.1. The fast curing hot melt epoxy resin matrix is available with carbon, glass or aramid reinforcements and is designed for prepreg applications where short cycles at around 110°C are required. It cures in 7 minutes at 120°C, yet it has a long storage stability of 2 weeks at room temperature meaning there is no need for freezer storage, saving energy and time. HexPly® M78.1 is a low tack system making it easy to handle. It also provides excellent adhesion to auxiliary and core materials including aluminum, wood, thermoplastics and elastomers. Customers are finding that this new system provides greater flexibility in ski manufacture, enhancing the process and the quality of the final product.

Acquisition of Formax UK
Hexcel announced in January that it has acquired full ownership of Formax UK Limited after acquiring a 50% interest in the privately-owned company in December 2014. Located in Leicester, UK, the new Hexcel site is a leading manufacturer of composite reinforcements, specializing in lightweight carbon fiber multiaxials and highly engineered glass fiber and aramid fiber non-crimp fabrics. The purchase of the remaining interest in Formax will allow Hexcel to further advance dry reinforcements technology for future aerospace applications and provide scale for growing industrial markets.

At JEC World the Hexcel Reinforcements UK team is running a multiaxials clinic on stand F39 in Hall 6.