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New Generation of Graphene Reinforced Carbon Fibre Prepreg Products

Product News Thursday, March 10, 2016: Haydale Ltd.

Haydale Composite Solutions (HCS) has announced the launch of three graphene enhanced carbon fibre pre-impregnated (prepreg) products in collaboration with SHD Composite Materials Ltd (Sleaford, Lincolnshire, UK) using epoxy resins from Huntsman Advanced Materials.

The products to be launched by SHD and HCS include a structural component carbon fibre prepreg, a prototype “Out-of-Autoclave” curing carbon fibre tooling prepreg capable for fast composite part production in autoclave processing and a higher operating temperature prepreg for enhanced life and very high accuracy tooling.

The primary drivers in the development of the structural component prepreg were to increase the impact resistance and compression after impact performance of carbon fibre reinforced epoxy components through the addition of graphene nanomaterials. It is anticipated that this will enable designers to develop lighter and more efficient carbon fibre reinforced epoxy structures where impact is the principal design consideration. Key target applications for this new prepreg include aerospace, automotive and high performance sports goods such as bike frames, fishing rods and racing boats.

Development of the higher operating temperature prepreg is targeted at producing tooling systems with increased thermal conductivity ( to reduce process cycle times) , significantly reduced spring-back and greatly improved accuracy, improved surface finish and hardness, better impact resistance and finally increased resistance to micro-cracking through life over currently available prepreg materials.

These new graphene enhanced prepreg materials are currently going through extensive evaluation and are available as prototype products to interested companies for their particular areas of application. The Technical Support teams from SHD and HCS will offer assistance in material selection and initial development of parts and tooling to interested companies and organisations planning to gain market leadership in the aforementioned sectors.

Nick Smith Technical Director of SHD Composites Ltd commented “As part of our commitment to remain at the forefront of composites technology we feel that it is vital to explore the benefits that graphene can bring to our products. We see great potential in this exciting material to enhance the performance of our range of component and tooling materials.”

Haydale Composite Solutions Commercial Director Nigel Finney added “This has the potential to be a real game changer for the composites industry.   We are very excited about the significant improvements in thermal and mechanical performance of graphene enhanced carbon epoxy prepreg structures and look forward to further developing a novel generation of carbon fibre  epoxy prepreg materials. We believe we are on the verge of a whole new range of graphene based polymer nanocomposites with some exciting and unique properties, which we believe will be of significant interest to the composite market always looking for enhanced performance.”

For further information relating to this project, or use of graphene resin composites, please visit www.haydalecompositesolutions.com or contact Haydale Composite Solutions Ltd. on +44-1509-21007 or info@haydalecs.com.

Haydale Composite Solutions Ltd is a wholly owned subsidiary of Haydale Graphene Industries plc. (Haydale). Haydale has developed a patented and proprietary scalable plasma process to functionalise graphene and other nanomaterials enabling them to be dispersed efficiently into liquid resins to form concentrated master batches which can then be diluted down into formulated resins designed to meet a specific electrical, mechanical, thermal and physical property performances. Haydale Composite Solutions (previously known as EPL Composite Solutions Ltd) has developed a reputation for delivering innovative solutions in the commercial applications of advanced polymer composite materials working with global companies over more than 20 years. Haydale Composite Solutions are developing new markets and applications for graphene enhanced nanocomposite materials across a broad range of industries.

SHD Composite Materials Ltd (www.shdcomposites.com) is a fast growing company whose management team have many years of experience in the manufacturing of prepregs, enabling the company to provide first class technical support in all aspects of the business. By working in dynamic partnership with their clients, SHD Composites offers exceptional levels of service and flexibility. This, coupled with a wealth of experience within the composite industry, ensures that SHD Composites provides high quality composite materials. Continued investment in Research and Development and a commitment to develop innovative materials means that SHD has the understanding and ability to develop bespoke products to suit individual client and market sector needs.


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