Hexcel’s Carbon Fiber Prepreg Approved by Germanischer Lloyd for Wind Blade construction

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Hexcel Composites Ltd • Duxford, Cambridge CB22 4QD, United Kingdom • Telephone +44 (0)1223 833141

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Hexcel’s is delighted to announce that HexPly® carbon fiber UD prepregs have been certified by Germanischer Lloyd for use in wind energy applications. The GL Statement of Approval for Hexcel’s prepreg means that wind blade manufacturers and design companies can select certified carbon fiber/epoxy materials that have been approved for blade construction following rigorous testing and data analysis. Customers will have access to the data that can be used for design purposes for proven performance.

Hexcel is a major supplier of prepregs and composite materials to the wind energy industry from dedicated plants in Austria, China and Colorado, USA. Wind blade manufacturers are increasingly turning to carbon fibre composites for their superior mechanical properties, high strength and modulus at lower weight than alternative technologies. In UD prepregs the carbon fibres are all aligned in a single direction to provide optimal strength and stiffness exactly where required in the structure.

Germanischer Lloyd is an internationally recognised and globally operating technical monitoring group at the forefront for materials testing, researching and certification for wind energy.

July 09, 2010