JEC COMPOSITES MAGAZINE - Issue #94 - January/February 2015 - 38

marine

For the Albatros, a carbon multiaxial
fabric with high added value
The Finot-Conq group opted for C-PLY™, a line of carbon
multiaxial reinforcement fabrics by Chomarat, for its new
ballasted centreboard sailboat Albatros. The reinforcement
is being used for the hull and deck of the boat, which just
entered into production.

By
Jean-Marie Finot
Founder, CEO
Groupe Finot-Conq

T

he 4.3-metre Albatros is designed
to make the pleasure of smooth
sailing accessible to more people.
The use of C-PLY™, Chomarat's carbon
multiaxial reinforcement (also called
non-crimp fabric, or NCF) contributes
to make the Albatros a fast, robust and
easy-to-handle boat with a hull that
weighs only 28 kg and a deck that weighs
only 22 kg. The parts are dense but
lightweight, and range from two to 6 mm
in thickness..

High technology for all
The manufacturing process for C-PLY™
is such that it optimizes design in terms
of fibre angle and ply weight, making it
possible to create composite solutions

A fast-sailing underwater hull that is broad,
flat and V-shaped

that are strong, lightweight and costeffective. The combination of different
C-PLY™ reinforcements in a monolithic
laminate functions as a sandwich structure, providing 25-30% more stiffness
than a stack of standard reinforcement
plies.
For other specific types of structure that
require even more demanding properties
(parts with a main loading axis, Class A
surface panels for the Carbon industry,
or compressive loads in aerospace), it
is possible to develop innovative new
multiaxial materials at lower cost by
eliminating the fibres in C-PLY™ that
are perpendicular to the main loading
axis and/or using extremely thin plies
(50 g/m²). This new carbon multiaxial
is made from unidirectional layers that
are stitched together mechanically. The
non-crimp fabric can have plies as thin as

The deck and hull Albatros' skin are thermomoulded at 80° in a compression press

38 jec composites magazine / No94 January - February 2015

50 g/m², thanks to a special fibre spreading process. Following the development
of some notable aerospace applications,
C-PLY™ is now attracting attention in the
boating sector with the Albatros.

A boat designed for
the high volume market
Because C-Ply™ can be handled without risk during the RTM process and
drape-formed into the part shape, it is
compatible with high-volume production. This carbon reinforcement was
chosen because it can be used with a
vinylester resin, which is more resistant

Focus
Established in 1898, Chomarat is an
independent industrial group with a
name in the textile world. It operates
internationally in the composite material and engineering textile sectors, with
four manufacturing sites in Europe, the
Mediterranean Basin, the United States,
and Asia that support the development
of international groups in the Carbon,
aerospace, sports, energy, boating,
protection, and building & civil industries. It also works for demanding markets that require expertise and creativity,
such as luxury.
JEC COMPOSITES MAGAZINE - Issue #94 - January/February 2015

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