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HOME » COMPOSITE APPLICATIONS » FEATURES » A STITCH IN ITS TIME: FABRICS SEW UP DIVERSE COMPOSITES MARKETS

A stitch in its time: fabrics sew up diverse composites markets

9 January 2008 | Vicki P. McConnell

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Features
The breakout of material forms within the 18 billion
Composite
lbs of reinforced plastics forecast in global production
applications
by 2010 encompass carbon, aramid and glass fibres
Composites
(as filaments, yarn, tow), resins (thermoset and
Energy
thermoplastic), dry forms (including roving, two- and
three-dimensional fabrics in flat sheet and rolled Surface science
goods, preforms, braid and mat), prepregs (the dry
forms wetted out with matrix resin), and finally,
laminates. When it comes to reinforcement fabric,
innovative weaving and stitching technology now 3TEX manufactures 3D non-crimp fabric
makes it easy to tell one's warp from weft, bias from preforms for various composite and high
performance armour applications.
You might also like…
gauge, and to capitalise on the best properties of
  NEWS
both woven and nonwoven selections. Strategically
combining continuous fibres through weaving,
Joining materials together at the
stitching and knitting into fabric provides atomic level
handleability, mould conformity, and stabilises the
Sewing patches of crystals seamlessly
reinforcement architecture as designed for specific
together at the atomic level to produce
performance.
atomically thin fabrics.

Patterns of distinction 28 March 2018 | Laurie Donaldson

Woven fabrics are made on looms with two sets of Comment now
reinforcement threads interlaced at right angles of
  NEWS
0°/90°, which is warp to weft, or length to width.
Plain, satin, twill, harness and other weave patterns
Chomarat receives award for stitched
determine the ratio of warp to weft interlace points.
reinforcement
These points improve impact resistance but can
Chomarat has received a JEC Innovation
cause fabric to bend or crimp. Woven fabric can
Award in the Sports & Leisure category for its
capitalise upon uses
Our website unidirectional
cookies strength properties, as
C-PLY Hexagonal with visual & structural
well as provide thin, light weight and uniform weight
Cookies stitching.
fabric pliesenable us to provide the best
in a laminate.
experience possible and help us understand 30 October 2017
3TEX body armour inserts are
how visitors use our website. By browsing
Conversely, nonwovens are made from successive manufactured from a hard face of
Materials Today, you agree to our use of ceramic backed with 3WEAVE. Comment now
layers of stitched or knit fibres aligned with load but
cookies.
at different angles among the layers (usually 0°, 90°   NEWS
and ±45°). These layers are then sewn together, each
overOkay,
the next rather than interlaced
I understand Learn moreas with wovens. This can provide benefits such as: New technique can ‘sew’ crystals
together seamlessly
 non-crimping of fibres (designating such A new technique can ‘sew’ two patches of
nonwovens as non-crimp fabrics or NCFs); crystals seamlessly together at the atomic
reduced ply count, which reduces cost; level to create atomically-thin fabrics for use
in electronic devices.
tighter nesting of reinforcement bundles, which
boosts overall fibre volume and reduces both 21 March 2018
labour and cost;
Comment now
hybridised fibre types in a single stitched layer or
entire fabric, as well as hybridised material forms
in a lay-up such as fabric skins with mat or core, ADVERTISEMENT

and unidirectional with multiaxial reinforcement in

one fabric; and
special flow channel design to optimise resin flow
and processability.

Both woven and nonwoven fabrics vary in thickness,

areal weight (weight per unit area), and may be
coated with sizing or binder. SAERTEX GmbH of
Saerbeck, Germany, utilises specially-formulated
SAEFIX bonding agent as an option on its standard
fabrics to promote self adhesion. The SAEFIX
eliminates spraying up an adhesive, such as might be An engineered VWeb carbon reinforced
fabric from V2 Composites.
used in boat hull manufacture, but still allows
rearrangement of the fabric during lay-up, contains
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no solvents, and reduces the overall amount of
adhesive necessary. The fibres within the fabric stay
stretched, producing no waviness.

SAERTEX's standard stitchbonded fabrics (glass,

carbon and aramid) include 0° and 90° SAERuni
unidirectional and SAERbid bidirectional in 30 mm to
3600 mm width, and SAERMax nonwoven multiaxials,
with angles between 22.5° and 90° and 30 mm to
2540 mm width. In a 'stitchbonded fabrics versus
woven fabrics' explanation of its products, SAERTEX
states that stitchbonded fabrics can provide lower
weight and less reinforcement material for the same
mechanical characteristic value as woven fabric. The
supplier makes NCFs in unidirectional, biaxial, TRANSONITE is a pultruded, 3D
triaxial, quadraxial and pentaxial fabrics. composite sandwich made by Martin
Marietta Composites, and consisting of
fibre reinforced polymer laminates made
'Pound for pound, non-crimp reinforcements are 30%
with 3TEX 3WEAVE fabric skins.
stronger than woven fabrics' is the position taken by
Vectorply Corp of Phenix City, Alabama USA, which
makes both multiaxial NCFs and woven roving. From
a cost standpoint, the company's E-QXM 4008 40
ounce (1.24 kg) quadraxial fabric combined with
chopped mat offers a single ply replacement for a
laminate using two fabrics – 17 ounce (0.53 kg),
double bias and 18 ounce (0.56 kg) biaxial.

In 2006, SAERTEX tripled the floor space for its

SAERTEX USA LLC in Huntersville, North Carolina,
specifically to boost its manufacturing capacity for
glass, carbon and aramid NCFs. Vectorply increased
its Alabama floor space by 30% to accommodate four
additional multiaxial reinforcement manufacturing V2 Composites creates fabric from single
Our website uses cookies fibre types or blended in hybrids,
machines. depending on the strength/modulus
Cookies enable us to provide the best properties required in the final part.
High energy possible
for NCFsand help us understand (Kevlar is a trademarked fibre from
experience DuPont).
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taking advantage of NCFs. Both SAERTEX and Vectorply list wind energy among their key market segments,
as does glass producer, Owens Corning (OC), Toledo, Ohio, USA. All three suppliers report that their wind
energy customers
Okay, want to make
I understand Learn larger
more blades, but also to offset the corresponding higher load with
lighter weight and lower cost material.
OC has invested in adding glass fibre knitting lines
over the past several years in Brazil and India
specifically to provide glass reinforcement fabric to
its wind energy customers. Its WindStrand knit fabric
is based on OC's HiPer-tex glass reinforcement, made
with the supplier's next-generation glass melting,
fiberising and sizing technology. On a performance
basis, OC claims WindStrand has 35% higher tensile
strength than E-glass and 17% higher stiffness.
Compared to competing glass/carbon fibre hybrid
fabric, WindStrand can offer a 20% cost reduction.

Perhaps the biggest news at OC is its acquisition of St.

Gobain's Reinforcements and Composite Fabrics
businesses for €431 million (US$640 million),
finalised 1 November of this year. The combined Hybridising carbon, aramid and glass
assets give OC “a growing global fabrics business,” reinforcement in a fabric capitalises on
according to Chuck Dana, president of OC Composite the best properties of each fibre. (Source:
V2 Composites.)
Solutions. The company has also announced
expansion plans beginning in 2008 at facilities in
Gous-Khroustalny, Russia, and Hangzhou in China.

Another leading glass reinforcements supplier, PPG

Industries, of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA, formed
a 50/50 joint venture earlier this year with Devold
AMT of Alesund, Norway, to manufacture
unidirectional and multiaxial glass reinforcement
fabrics for the North American wind energy market.
The venture, PPG-Devold, is based in Shelby, North
Carolina USA, and combines Devold's stitched
reinforcement technology with PPG's established US
market presence, giving both companies a stronger
position in this 74 000 MW wind energy segment.

Non-crimp E-glass fibre reinforced fabric

A four-year strategic alliance between METYX represents the highest poundage
Composites, Istanbul, Turkey, and Devold AMT produced by V2 Composites, but the
announced this summer also has market emphasis in company designs fabric to each
wind energy. In its product mix of engineered fabrics, individual customer's needs.
METYX offers a triaxial fabric suited to the root area
where the wind turbine blade joins the hub, with
blade length at 90° angle and torsional rigidity
provided by ±45° angle plies.

METYX Composites has developed customers in

additional markets, such as construction and marine
applications, including the Class 40 sailing yacht
helmed by Alex Bennett for part of this year's
Transatlantic Jacques Vabre race in November.
Bennet comments that “the METYX Composites
3TEX's ZPlex 3D woven foam core
fabrics have been easy to handle during the wetting sandwich provides the strength and
out process of the build, and have proven particularly stiffness needed in the ATLAS hovercraft's
easy to use when taping in various structures within curved housings for lift fans and thrust
nozzles.
the boat.”

Growth spurts

Hexcel Corp, headquartered in Stamford, Connecticut, USA, is applying advanced materials technology to
high-performance
Our website uses yachts. In May, the company tested its HexForce carbon fibre woven fabric relative to
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the in-plane shear requirements of thick, load-bearing marine structure such as hull girders, bulkheads
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and booms.enable us to provide
In a three-ply, the bestdouble bias (±45°) fabric, HexForce NC2 In-ply Symmetric CDB400,
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a traditional two-ply asymmetric double-bias fabric, the new fabric is 10%
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of in reduced risk of shear wrinkling and curling.
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If new model commercial aircraft, such as the Airbus A380 and Boeing B787, that are utilising up to 50%
composites by weight represent
Okay, I understand Learn the
morehigh-performance yachts of the skies, Hexcel is locked into this
growing market. HexForce fabric, including carbon/glass and carbon/aramid hybrids, can be found in
primary and secondary structure on civil aircraft,
from fuselage frames and engine fan blades to floor
panels, ducts, galleys and stowage bins, and on
structure, stabilisers, rotor blades and interiors
aboard helicopters.

Helsinki-based reinforcement supplier Ahlstrom

reports in its January-September 2007 operations
summary that its Fiber Composites business segment
is expected to grow 6–7% this year. In 2006, the
company's net sales reached €1.6 billion (US$2.4
billion), of which Fiber Composites' share was €808.2
million ($1.2 billion), with €52.3 million ($77.5 million)
in profit. The company also ramped up production at
its new speciality fibreglass reinforcement plant in
Bishopville, North Carolina, USA, serving the wind
energy, marine, building and transportation markets.
A new plant serving the glass nonwovens business
area will soon be opened in Russia.
SAERTEX's SAEfix bonding agent
Ahlstrom has developed multiaxial, multilayer and promotes self adhesion and helps avoid
fabric waviness during lay-up.
hybrid fabrics for diverse applications, featuring
unique channel structure, self adhesive and high wet-
out properties for closed mould processing, as well as high heat-resistant basalt multiaxials. The
multiaxials are stitched and laid down flat in unidirectional to quadraxial fabrics with high glass content
and superior surface finish.

The 'textile area' of Sweden is the way Andreas Josefsson, CEO of Oxeon AB, describes the location of the
company's new facilities in Boras, which are five times larger than the previous plant in Frolunda. The
move in March allowed for larger scale production equipment installation. This, plus 'strong investors and
support from universities, institutes and other textile companies has increased our capacity drastically,'
Josefsson says, to the point that Oxeon has shipped out 10 000 m2 of its TeXtreme fabric this year (as of
mid-November). The woven 0°/90° fabric, available in areal weights from 80 g/m2 and width to 1500 mm,
is made from large-tow (12k, 24k) carbon fibre using Oxeon's proprietary spreading and weaving
techniques.

Josefsson describes TeXtreme fabric as significantly lower in areal weight than most NCFs, and designed
as replacement for traditional fabric requiring 1k, 3k and 6k carbon fibre, which is in relatively short
supply. Among customers evaluating the fabric are sporting goods manufacturers, particularly bicycle
original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) looking to reduce weight and raise performance.

Ballistic protection

The security/safety market for personal, vehicle and building armour represents another growth area for
reinforced fabric. PPG Industries has developed new binder chemistries for its E-glass fabrics used in
armour, along with the addition of a high-strength fibre (undisclosed) to its woven fabric portfolio. Gerald
Marino, Director of Marketing for Thermosets in PPG's Fiberglass Business Group, cites ballistic
protection, light weight and low cost as driving factors in the design of these end products utilising PPG's
fabric.

The company also works closely with fabric partners such as 3TEX (see next section) to develop new
ballistic material solutions.

V2 Composites of Auburn, Alabama USA, manufactures fabrics with glass, carbon and aramid
reinforcement tailored to the mechanical and economic requirements of its individual customer needs.

“We've experienced triple-digit growth since its founding in 1999,” reports Kevin Horne, president and
Our“and
CEO, website usesmanufacture
typically cookies from 3 000 000 lbs to 5 000 000 lbs a year, with capacity for twice that
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a quadraxial NCF combined with an existing woven fabric that produced a panel with superior ballistic
performance to panels using 100% of either fabric, and at a lower raw material cost.

Okay, I understand Learn more

Such hybridising, says Horne “has become a natural choice for boat builders, but we are seeing the
benefits for ballistic applications as well. The combination of high-performance fibres can offer unique
 reactions to projectile or blast energy, and actually perform better than non-hybrid materials.”

A new V2 Composites fabric, VWeb unidirectional NCF, is heat bonded onto glass scrim and 'offers
exceptional cover in very light areal weights,' according to Horne. Though designed for a broad range of
applications, VWeb has proven a good choice 'for adding critical strength and stiffness to structures and
for blast hardening and armour, through the efficiency of the unidirectional architecture.'

A hybrid's hybrid

On 15 November, 3TEX of Cary, North Carolina USA received a $2 million appropriation from the US
Department of Defense for further development of its trademarked 3WEAVE composite armour
technologies in combat vehicles. This technology might be considered the ultimate, or hybrid's hybrid, in
that 3TEX uses patented textile preforming processes to weave its three-dimensional (3D) fabric with fibre
orientations in the X, Y and Z directions.

To date, the company has produced fabric with carbon, glass, aramid, polyethylene, steel, ceramic and
hybrid combinations in thickness up to 2.54 cm and width to 182 cm. Higher raw material cost is offset by
process efficiency, along with reduced labour and higher performance – to the point that 3TEX states,
“when compared on a cost per square foot of finished composite structure, 3WEAVE reinforcements
consistently outperform traditional two-dimensional (2D) materials.”

“3WEAVE fabric does not involve the building up of layers one at a time,” explains Mansour Mohamed,
founder of 3TEX. “Rather a single unit of the whole thickness is formed during each weaving cycle.
Further, the absence of interlacing between warp and weft yarns allows them to remain straight, and the
fabric to bend and internally shear rather easily without buckling within the in-plane reinforcement. This
capitalises on integral through-thickness reinforcement, increasing interlaminar strength, resistance to
crack formation, and the ability to bridge interlaminar cracks once initiated."

The conformability of 3WEAVE preforms can also result in reduced labour and faster cycle times,
regardless of the composite fabrication process, which is important in deep draw and complex curvature
moulds.” Mohamed continues. “In light of the trend toward closed moulding and resin infusion, the
radically increased permeability and ease of wet-out in 3WEAVE fabrics compared to stacks of 2D
materials is perhaps its greatest benefit, especially in processes such as VARTM. The structural regularity
and internal openness of the 3WEAVE fibre architecture – which is defined somewhat by the Z-yarn
placement – explains this effect. The Z yarns act as capillary channels to transfer resin into the preform
interior from the outer surface, translating directly to reduced cycle time (30%) and labour (50%).”

In ballistic applications, 3WEAVE fabric reduces blunt trauma transmitted to the wearer, and increases the
armor's ability to withstand multiple strikes. With virtually no crimp, delamination is eliminated, even in
edge hits. On shipboard armour, 3WEAVE fabric panels made with phenolic matrix resin can stop high
velocity, high caliber ammunition. In pultruded blast resistant panels that are part of Martin Marietta
Composites' Transonite line, integrated 3WEAVE fabrics have been tested to withstand five pounds (2.3
kg) of C4 explosives at 36 inches (0.9 m). Mohamed points out that 3WEAVE is not a traditional 3D fabric,
such as angle interlock, so it can deliver better mechanical properties, a high degree of conformability and
rapid composite fabrication speed in resin infusion processes.

Additional markets served by 3TEX include transportation and marine, hybridised to some extent in a
hovercraft project with All Terrain Land and Sea Hovercraft (ATLAS) of Green Cove Springs, Florida, USA.
The company has taken a clean sheet design approach to building its 150-passenger vehicle, which rides
on a cushion of air. When finished, the 30.48 m long by 15.24 m wide by 9.14 m tall (100 ft long by 50 ft
wide by 30 ft tall) AH-100-P marine transport will travel over water at 60 mph (96.6 kmh). 3TEX's
trademarked ZPlex, an integrally 3D woven foam core sandwich, provides the strength and stiffness
needed in the hovercraft's curved housings for lift fans and thrust nozzles. ATLAS reports that the
structure is built and the engines are being installed. Sea trials are expected next year.

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