Solvay Showcasing Thermoplastics & Thermoset Composites Tech

At this week’s JEC, Solvay will represent an even broader front in composites after last year’s acquisition of Cytec.

 

At the big international JEC composites show in Paris this week,  Belgium’s Solvay Specialty Polymers (U.S. office in Alpharetta, Ga.) will have an even broader presence in the overall arena of composites; the result of its mid-2015 acquisition of U.S.-based carbon fiber and prepreg manufacturer Cytec Industries, Woodland Park, N.J.

 

Cytec’s composites materials business sector now accounts for two-thirds of its sales and its principal market is primary and secondary structures for aircrafts. As part of the newly-formed Composites Materials (previously Cytec), this new Solvay global business unit is further accelerating the development of new technological applications for composites in automotive. Its aerospace prepregs and resin systems portfolio includes: thermoset prepregs; thermoplastic prepregs; and, preforms and resin-infusion systems.

 

At JEC, Solvay is showcasing synergies to further drive lightweighting innovation in both the aerospace and automotive markets, thanks to this acquisition. These range from thermoset and thermoplastic prepregs, structural and 3D-moldable foams, adhesives and surfacing films, resin and compound systems, impact modifiers, carbon fibers, textiles, tooling, and vacuum-bagging consumables.

 

In the thermoplastic composites arena, Solvay is highlighting its “Tegralite Thermoplastic Lightweighting Solutions” launched last year and initially targeted to the aerospace industry, but which is also expected to be transferable to automotive. Tegralite is a new family of semi-finished thermoplastic lightweighting materials that Solvay is developing and commercializing together with its alliance partners—Aonix Advanced Materials, JSP, and 3A Composites, including foams, composites and sandwich materials manufactures out of Solvay’s extensive portfolio of polymers.

 

Among the products being showcased is Tegracore PPSU foams (formerly Radel foams) for heavy-duty sandwich applications ranging from aircraft interiors to structural parts that require superior resistance to damage, fire, and liquids, including water. Sandwich materials made of Tegracore and sulfone-based prepregs manufactured by Aonix, for example, are being used in a new generation of highly damage resistant and tolerant airline service trolleys.

 

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