FlaxPreComp debriefing

een korte, oriënterende inleiding

Ignaas Verpoest Composite Materials GroupDepartement MateriaalkundeKU Leuven

Established in aircraft, breakthrough in automotive

24/10/20172

BMW i3

… and sports !!!

From very small to very big …

Composieten: marktvooruitzichten

5

Source: CCeV / AVK Market Report 2016

Global Composite Market for CarbonFRP (kT),

Estimation2016 -2022

Source: Lucintel’s market report, “Growth Opportunities in the Global Glass Fiber Market”

What we are used to…

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• Fibres o Carbon

o

o Glass

• Rovings • 2D or 3D-textileso 2D

o 3D

Why using biobased fibres?

SIM-M2i Meeting Materials – 10 May 2016 7

• Natural fibres have enormous potential for LCI-reduction with minor property loss:

Ecological impact of production of composites…

SIM-M2i Meeting Materials – 10 May 2016 8

• …only energy (MJ) to produce 1 lit of material

0

50

100

150

200

250

300

350

400

0 100

koolstof

glas

vlas

Onlypolymer

OnlyCarbon fibres

OnlyGlass fibres

OnlyFlax fibres

Hybrid CF + flax

Different types of natural Fibres

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PLANT / Lignocellulosic FIBRES

Wood Stem/Bast

FlaxJute

HempKenafRamie

Leaf

SisalAbaca

PineappleBananaFique

HenequenPalm

Seed/Fruit

CottonCoconut

Grass

BambooRice

ANIMAL FIBRES

SoftwoodHardwood

SilkWool

Where is flax grown?

Annual production of flax fibres in Europe

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Flax fibre production in Europe (Kt), (2014 data)

Cost range of natural and glass fibres

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… but: flax is ~50% lighter than glass !

What’s really different with natural fibres

• Natural fibres are not homogeneouso Technical fibre � Elementary fibre � Layers � crystalline Cellulose Microfibrils

Technical fibre

Elementary

fibre

Hearle Jws. Journal of Applied Polymer Science. 1963;7(4):1207-23.e

Baley C , Le Duigou A, et al. Bio-based Composites for High-Performance Materials:, 2014.

FLAX

What’s really different with natural fibres

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• Natural fibres are not continouso Adding twist to the yarn seems necessary…

o How to include this in the modelling?

Technical fibre, Length < 80 cm

Elementary fibre

Length ~ 3 cm

Yarn

HacklingScutching Doubling/stretching Roving bench Spinning: TWIST

Weaving: CRIMP

Random mat

2D

Flax: from plant to textile… for composites !

The value chain as it was up to some yearsago….: oriented towards textile markets

The challenge for FlaxPreComp

A MARKET REALITY

24/10/2017 Appendices: Pre-defense Farida Bensadoun 16

2015: “Synthetic by Nature”

An exhibition on designing with natural fibre and biobased composites in the Design Museum Gent

Conclusion: why using natural / flax fibres?

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Ligther and greener

Sustainable, environment-friendly &

CO2 neutral

APPLICATIONS

Nice visualaspect, natural

look and image

Good mechanical properties

Good thermal, acoustic & vibration

damping

Not abrasive and good chemical resistance

Good fatigue and reasonable impact

resistance

Recyclable