JEC COMPOSITES MAGAZINE - Issue #67 - August/September 2011 - 47

Luxury motor cruiser sets the standard for marine bonding
One of the world’s most luxurious motor cruiser projects is using structural bonding technology from Huntsman Advanced Materials. Araldite® 2015 has been exclusively specified in the construction of the Neptys First Life 27 – a high-tech, semi-rigid powerboat made from a vinyl ester infusion resin.

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bonding

LAURENT POURCHERON, MARKETING MANAGER SPORTS & LEISURE AT HUNTSMAN ADVANCED MATERIALS

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eveloped by AirNautics France, a leading Marseille-based manufacturer of marine composite components, and designed by Jean Michel Angileri, manager of the company, and Olivier Philippot, naval architect, the Neptys First Life 27 is now setting the standard for structural bonding in the marine industry.

Impact and vibrations
Due to its short length (8.50 m) and speed (over 50 knots), the Neptys First Life 27 is subject to impact and vibrations. As a result, the designers had to be sure that the bonding characteristics of the selected adhesive combination could withstand the stress of the environmental conditions at sea. For this high-tech powerboat, a strong, technical solution was needed. After prototypes were made using RenShape® BM 5460, the project moved on to the assessment of adhesives, where a number of formulations from Huntsman Advanced Materials were trialled. In order to achieve the best price-toperformance ratio, Olivier Philippot, who is also an engineer in composite materials, decided to search for an alternative to methacrylate adhesives. One of the key objectives for the boat’s construction was

to find a solution that would not involve the use of machinery in the dosing and application process. Samples of the vinyl ester infusion resin to be bonded were sent to Huntsman’s newly equipped laboratories at Basel, Switzerland, where the Material Testing Department took these along with the specified marine qualification criteria to conduct an extensive characterisation capabilities evaluation programme. Using cutting-edge testing equipment, the emphasis was placed on identifying a formulation capable of providing good

reactivity for the materials used in the boat construction. Huntsman produced a comprehensive technical report, including material samples and photos, recommending the use of Araldite® 2015 based on its ability to meet the performance characteristics required for this type of marine application.

Offering high resistance to water, humidity and chemicals, Araldite 2015 was used to bond the deck to the hull, including the internal components

No67 August - September 2011 / jec composites magazine Araldite® 2015 is a leading, two-component epoxy adhesive paste that cures at room temperature. The designers found this adhesive far superior to other formulations

Superior to other formulations

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Feature marine
JEC COMPOSITES MAGAZINE - Issue #67 - August/September 2011

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of JEC COMPOSITES MAGAZINE - Issue #67 - August/September 2011
