A range of new products from Huntsman

Huntsman Advanced Materials (The Woodlands, TX, US) used the 2017 CAMX show to showcase new products from its Advanced Materials and Huntsman Polyurethanes divisions, including advanced composite resin systems and adhesives. Customer parts on display at the show included:

• Automotive “body-in-black” carbon fiber structural honeycomb component produced with trademarked VITROX polyurethane resin in a spray compression forming process produced by Bright Lite Structures (Peterborough, United Kingdom)
• Carbon fiber torque tube for Mercedes AMG-GT R produced by Advanced Composite Engineering GmbH (Germany) using Huntsman ARALDITE LY 8615/ARADUR 8615 composite resin system. The torque tube is 40% lighter than its aluminum counterpart, significantly improving the driving experience of the car, while meeting huge torque loading (700 Nm) and noise vibration harshness (NVH) requirements
• Assembly carrier for Porsche GT3 Cup II produced by TOHO Tenax Europe. Huntsman’s ARALDITE resin system allows for fast serial production of high surface quality parts in less than 5 minutes via high-pressure resin transfer molding (HP-RTM). The formulation was fine-tuned for compatibility with an in-mold coating solution. The finished support for the spoiler and rear fender weighs only 1.5 kg.
• A BOXSTROM carbon hybrid composite wheel produced by DYMAG GROUP Ltd. In addition to a glass transition temperature of more than 200°C, the ARALDITE resin system allowed the design of a wheel with a fully optimized load path to ensure the lowest weight. The 9.1 kg wheel weight is typically 25 to 40% lighter than equivalent aluminum wheels and offers up to 50% lower moment of inertia; all resulting in significant energy savings during driving
• An interior airplane composite panel produced by Huntsman Advanced Materials. The panel was infused with ARALDITE 35710 FST benzoxazine resin system, which enables stronger, higher quality, lighter weight parts. Benzoxazines offer superior performance over phenolics – such as high resin modulus, good lamination and no voids during cure.

The specific products discussed by Huntsman at the show included high-performance resin systems for automotive composites. By combining new, fast-cure ARALDITE epoxy chemistries with a new compression molding process, Huntsman is not only facilitating the simple production of structural composite parts, but is also enabling cycle times as low as one minute without any further post-curing. For high-volume applications such as automotive, this process makes cost-efficient manufacture of high-performance structural parts using thermoset technology a reality. 

The ARALDITE 35710 FST benzoxazine resin system is a new product that provides good fiber wet-out and offers a long working life. The system is flame retardant with low fire, smoke and toxicity (FST) properties and generates no volatile by-products during curing. As a result, it is ideal for fabricating large composite parts with a very low void content and a high quality surface finish for interior and semi-structural transportation and aerospace applications.

EPOCAST 1614 A2 flame retardant epoxy structural syntactic is a new, one-component structural void-filling compound that is supplied frozen and features shelf life stability of greater than 18 months when stored at 0˚F. When stored at -20˚F, the shelf life is up to 24 months. The thawed material has a work life of 24 hours at room temperature. Cured composite parts feature excellent compressive strength at high temperatures and crack resistance even when used in thick sections on large honeycomb composite panels.

EPOCAST 1648 A/B epoxy syntactic adhesive is a new low-density, thixotropic compound for potting fasteners and reinforcing honeycomb structures. It meets FAA FST requirements and is qualified to the BMS 5-28, Type 18, Class 1 specification. The lightweight epoxy is meter/mix extrudable for easy application. It sets quickly and features both good compressive and tensile lap shear strengths.

VITROX HC 98010/SUPRASEC 9801 polyurethane is a low-viscosity, two-component system designed for resin transfer molding (RTM), pultrusion and spray honeycomb methods that enables long working times while retaining snap-cure behavior for fast processing and the high toughness that is characteristic of polyurethane resins.