Oxeon, the market leader in Spread Tow reinforcements, has developed a new and improved version of its TeXtreme® Spread Tow carbon fiber fabric, with increased damage performance that outperforms carbon fiber reinforcements currently used in several key categories.
Improved damage performance from TeXtreme in aerospace research study.
“We invest a lot of time and effort into understanding this type of material in depth, and in the process we have collected an extensive amount of unique data on Spread Tow fabrics. This knowledge we’ve acquired through research projects and working closely as partners with our customers is what sets us apart in making world-class products that improve performance. With our offerings including FEA analysis, lay-up optimization and manufacturing support, this serves as a guarantee of high quality,” says Henrik Blycker, CEO of Oxeon, the makers of TeXtreme®.
TeXtreme® has over ten years of experience manufacturing and testing real-world applications of Spread Tow reinforcement technology. This knowledge combined with flexible production capabilities plus access to the largest global capacity of Spread Tow fabrics means rapid delivery of tailor-made fabrics to customers, and reduced time-to-market for their products.
Damage assessments of composites in the aerospace industry are more demanding than ever, and simulation of impact damage and damage growth has become increasingly important given the high cost of testing manufactured parts. Thus, the use of reliable simulation models is essential considering the expense of the materials used in this industry.
Due in part to its interest in TeXtreme® Spread Tow reinforcements’ outstanding performance using ultra-thin plies, the European Air TN DAMTEX project developed analytical and FE models to predict impact damage and damage propagation in thin woven composites. Extensive testing has been performed to feed and validate the material models through characterization of fiber failure, delamination and residual strength following an impact event in a drop tower test.
As a result of further testing on these novel materials, a new TeXtreme® variant with improved damage performance was developed. Test results from this new material demonstrate improved interlaminar strength, limited damage and excellent CAI results that outperform the current standards in carbon fiber reinforcements.
