Technology
When time is money
Hexcel’s new range of G-Vent pre-pregs solves many of the biggest challenges for composite yacht and component manufacturers... including allowing a much-accelerated production process
Hexcel is one of the world’s leading carbon fibre suppliers with a multi- billion-dollar annual turnover. Their largest research and technology centre for resin systems and adhesives is at Duxford in Cambridgeshire, UK, with strong links to a number of the UK’s leading universities. The fibre they supply is used extensively within the latest generation America’s Cup and Imoca fleets as well as within the aviation, defence, energy and automotive industries, and naturally when a company with such a reputation says it has developed a game-changing technology, we listen carefully. Hexcel announced the launch of
G-Vent pre-preg in March this year, and instantly solved many of the biggest complicating factors of pre-preg manufacture. An unlimited number of layers of pre-preg can now be laid on top of one another without debulking, and then do not need to be cured in an autoclave.
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This drastically reduces the build time for thick section carbon fibre components such as foils and opens up the construction of cutting-edge composite parts to the vast majority of boatbuilders without access to a large autoclave. G-Vent also enables the building of huge ultra-high- quality carbon fibre structures that would not be commercially feasible to produce in an autoclave. G-Vent itself is a microscopically
thin layer of material integrated within the pre-preg carbon fibre that acts as a network of pathways to let the material “vent”. As the resin cures, any air trapped inside automatically leaves the composite component via these pathways, leaving a compacted composite component without the use of a high-pressure autoclave or debulking steps. The G-Vent layer weighs between two and six grams per square metre of pre-preg, but it is so efficient at removing air from
a
selection of the Ultim masts, which are all built by Lorima from Hexcel materials. Carbon fibre masts will be much easier, cheaper and quicker to produce with Hexcel’s new G-Vent technology, which eliminates the need for autoclaves and debulking
composite material that the finished product has mechanical properties matching the cutting-edge results produced using traditional carbon fibre pre-pregs with debulking and an autoclave. Stefano Beltrando is widely recognised as an industry leader in the quality control of composite parts. He is the founder and CEO of QI Composites, leaders in non- destructive-testing (NDT) within the marine industry, and currently quality control manager for the Luna Rossa America’s Cup team. QI Composites carried out independent testing of thick composite components produced using G-Vent, and the results were conclusive. ‘We evaluated the quality of thick
laminates produced with G-Vent and found that they are comparable with laminatesmade in an autoclave as per best practice in themarket. Even more impressive, they were achieved with no debulking.We noticed that
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