JEC COMPOSITES MAGAZINE - Issue #41 - June 2008 - III

The offering will include linear and cross-linked PVC foams, copolymer foam, thermoplastic polyethylene (PET), industrial urethane foams (PUR), fibre-reinforced polyurethane and high-performance PEI foams as well as balsa-cored materials. Besides this impressive range of core materials for structural sandwich applications, Alcan Composites Core Materials is now also present with a local sales and technical services organization to maximise growth opportunities in the fast developing Asian Pacific market. www.alcanairex.com DRDO achieves critical missile technology breakthrough with composite rocket motor casings The Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) scientists announced a major technological breakthrough with the successful development of composite rocket motor casings. Built from composite materials, these casings will drastically reduce the weight of missiles and enable them to reach longer ranges with heavier payloads. Working under pressure, scientists from DRDO's Advanced Systems Laboratory (ASL), Hyderabad, developed the technology in just four years in an attempt to overcome the crippling effects resulting from the restrictions imposed by the missile technology control regime. So far, this technology has been the exclusive preserve of the United States, Russia and a European consortium. The first large composite motor with carbon filament winding was built after having been subjected to full qualification and static tests. The flight trial of a missile equipped with the CRMC technology should take place shortly. Most missiles have metallic rocket motor casings made of maraging steel or other varieties of steel. Composite carbon filament-wound motors have a decisive advantage in that they can reduce the weight of a rocket casing by 40%, enabling the missile to carry heavier payloads. What results through this technology is that the payload, equivalent to the weight reduced, may go up in a missile or its range may be increased. Alternatively, a combination of both may also be implemented. Other critical benefits include better performance and longer storage due to the non-corrosive nature of the material, in addition to the fact that the costs are halved in comparison with metallic casings. Source FRP Today facturing unit. This unit is part of the Celanese complex in Nanjing, China, and seven operating units are expected to be online by mid-2009. Celstran LFRT is a Ticona engineering thermoplastic produced by pultrusion technology in which the long fibres are fully impregnated to deliver optimal reinforcement to the plastic matrix that can be formulated with different polymer feedstocks, from polypropylene and nylon to polyurethane. The combination of mechanical properties, impact and creep resistance, and low warpage imparted by these LFRT products makes them ideal candidates for automotive or other applications that require large, strong, lightweight components or assemblies. The Celstran LFRT facility is part of a multi-year investment by Ticona in China and throughout Asia. In addition to the LFRT facility, Ticona is establishing other manufacturing units in China that will produce advanced engineered polymers and compounds for customers throughout Asia www.ticona.com New Celstran® LFRT production facility starts up in China On April 17, Ticona, the engineering polymer business of Celanese Corporation, announced the successful commissioning of its Celstran long fibre reinforced thermoplastic (LFRT) manu- 2008 / Special JEC Composites Asia III

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JEC COMPOSITES MAGAZINE - Issue #41 - June 2008

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of JEC COMPOSITES MAGAZINE - Issue #41 - June 2008