Belgian chemical and plastics group Solvay (Brussels; www.solvay.com) has developed new technology to aid the high-rate and cost-efficient manufacture of composites for automotive, aerospace and industrial structures.

Its rapid cure thermoset prepregs for automotive applications include “MTR” 760 and “MTM” 710-1. The MTR 760 resin system, which was developed specifically to make resin impregnated carbon fibre blanks, is said to offer very good processing properties, superior toughness and excellent dynamic loading characteristics that enable the cured part to pass crash and head impact tests without splintering. The part’s finished surface also allows a Class-A paint finish without requiring any additional surface film, Solvay noted. The Belgian firm has produced an automotive hood with MTR 760, which was 40% lighter than an aluminium version, for German manufacturer BMW’s high-performance car "M4 GTS".

Developed for high-rate, high-volume manufacture of structural components that use hot compression moulding processes, MTM 710-1 is an epoxy resin prepreg matrix. Depending on cure temperature, the material can be used to make components with a total cycle time of three minutes.

In addition, Solvay has introduced liquid resin infusion technology for aerospace primary structure applications, which includes its dry tape “TX” 1100 and resin system “EP” 2400. The company said the technology allows the design and manufacture of a large, complex and integrated part structure faster and more efficiently, gaining capacity flexibility and reducing capital intensity.

To back up its claims, the infusion technology has been used to make the wing and wing box of Russia’s "MC-21" aircraft. Solvay said this model is the only single-aisle passenger plane with composite wing structures made using out-of-autoclave infusion technology and automated fibre deposition, arguably representing the most technologically advanced wing design in the commercial aerospace sector.