AGY, Kaneka develop transparent fiber-reinforced composite

Glass fiber specialist AGY (Aiken, S.C., U.S.) and resins and chemicals specialist Kaneka Aerospace LLC (Benicia, Calif., U.S.) have announced the development of a transparent composite material that combines an epoxy-based resin system reinforced with an AGY continuous S-2 Glass fiber fabric.

Versions of the material developed so far are comprised of multiple plies of woven S-2 Glass yarns or rovings and feature high transparency, low haze and a high level of impact performance. Kaneka says the epoxy is a formulated resin that can be chemically tuned to change the refractive index of the resin to match that of the S-2 Glass fibers, which maximizes the transparency without significant reduction in mechanical properties.

The material is currently available for infusion only, but the companies report that a prepreg version is undergoing development and testing. Potential applications of the material include ballistic shields, machine guards or any part that requires a high level of transparency along with excellent impact performance.

For more information, contact Dr. Ekaterina Ryjkina, general manager of Kaneka Aerospace, or Iain Montgomery, global director of new business development at AGY.