Aerospace Selector Guide

Product catalog summary

Overview of Hexcel: Hexcel is a leading producer of carbon fiber and composite materials, specializing in advanced material solutions for the aerospace industry. Their expertise includes materials science, textiles, process engineering, and polymer chemistry, focusing on comprehensive composite solutions.

Hexcel in Aerospace: Hexcel supplies advanced composite materials for commercial aerospace, helicopters, space, and defense markets. Their products include carbon fibers, reinforcement fabrics, RTM resins, prepregs, tooling materials, and structural parts, enhanced by honeycomb technologies.

HexPly® Prepregs: Hexcel develops prepregs for aerospace applications, offering resin formulations such as epoxies, BMI systems, phenolics, and cyanate esters, used in civil aircraft, military jets, helicopters, aero-engines, and space applications.

HexFlow® Liquid Resins: Hexcel provides composite solutions with a focus on resin formulations for high-performance applications, including prepregs, RTM, and RFI systems, with various techniques for combining resin and reinforcement.

HexForce® Reinforcements: Hexcel's woven glass, carbon, aramid, and hybrid fiber fabrics are crucial for advanced composites in aerospace, used in radomes, interior paneling systems, secondary structures, and engine components.

Applications in Aerospace: Hexcel's materials are used in civil and defense aircraft, aero-engines, helicopters, and space applications, contributing to weight savings, high mechanical properties, and design flexibility.

Product Data: Detailed specifications for HexPly® prepregs and HexFlow® liquid resins are provided, including attributes, typical applications, cure cycles, and storage conditions, designed for commercial aircraft, interiors, helicopters, military jets, nacelles, engines, and space applications.

Molding Process and Resin Systems: The document outlines resin systems used in molding processes, specifically RTM and infusion methods, with specifications such as outlife at room temperature, storage conditions, and transport restrictions. For example, RTM 651 withstands temperatures up to 285°C and requires a post-cure process at 230°C for 16 hours.

Applications and Properties: Resin systems are tailored for specific applications, such as low FST for aircraft interiors, fireproof panels, and components with excellent ablative properties. Systems like HT93 and 996 are noted for low water pickup, suitable for space and satellite applications.

Fabric Specifications: Detailed specifications for carbon, aramid, and glass fabrics include weight, weave style, fiber count, and reinforcement yarn details. HS Carbon Fabrics are available in styles like plain, twill, and satin weaves, with varying fiber counts and thicknesses.

Primetex® and HexForce® Fabrics: Primetex® fabrics are noted for their smooth, closed weave and enhanced uniform appearance, achieved by flatly woven and spread fiber tows. HexForce® product data details high-strength and high-modulus carbon fabrics for various industrial applications.

Hybrid and Specialty Fabrics: Information on hybrid fabrics, such as carbon-glass and carbon-aramid hybrids, is included, offering balanced properties for specific applications. Aramid and quartz fabrics are detailed with specifications on weave style, fiber count, and reinforcement yarns.

Finishes and Treatments: Various finishes for E and S-2 glass fabrics are listed, including epoxy silane and aminosilane treatments, enhancing compatibility with different resin systems.

HexForce® Product Data Overview: Technical specifications for HexForce® products focus on weave weight, yarn count, and reinforcement yarn details, including material thickness in millimeters.

Finish for E and S-2 Glass Fabrics: Various finishes suitable for different matrix styles are listed, including Z 6040 (Epoxy Silane), TF 970 (Aminosilane), A 1100 (Aminosilane), F 69 (Silane), F 81 (Silane), and HT (Direct Size E or S-2 Glass).

Contact Information: Contact details for Hexcel offices worldwide are provided, including locations in Australia, Austria, Belgium, Brazil, China, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Malaysia, Russia, Spain, the United Kingdom, and the USA, with addresses, telephone, and fax numbers.

Additional Notes: For further information, the document advises contacting the nearest sales office or visiting the Hexcel website.

Catalog excerpts

HexFlow® HiTape® HexMC® / HexTOOL® HexForce® HexWeb® HexMC® / HexTOOL® Selector Guide Aerospace

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About HEXCEL Hexcel is the largest US producer of carbon fibre; the world’s largest weaver of structural fabrics; the number one producer of composite materials such as prepregs, film adhesives and honeycomb; and a leading manufacturer of composite parts and structures. As the most vertically integrated supplier in the industry Hexcel manufactures the full spectrum of advanced material solutions. This means that we can offer enhanced design flexibility and support to our customers worldwide.   Hexcel’s research and technology function supports our businesses worldwide with a highly developed...

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Civil Aircraft Hexcel is the preferred supplier of composite materials to the civil aerospace industry, with materials present in virtually every commercial aircraft currently built in the western world. PRIMARY STRUCTURES SECONDARY STRUCTURES The drawings are generic, to allow the maximum number of potential applications to be identified. The drawings are not intended to represent a specific aircraft. These generic drawings illustrate typical applications for HexForce® fabrics, HexPly® prepregs and HexFlow® Liquid Resins. For information on the full range of Hexcel products for aerospace (carbon...

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Aero-engines By the 1970’s designers had turned to composites for the weight-savings necessary for the large nacelles required by the new generation of large high power turbofans. Today, engine nacelles and thrust reversers include so many major composite components that carbon fibre epoxy prepregs account for typically half the volume of the entire nacelle structure. The next step for aero-engine designers has been to apply composites technology to more complex structures within the engine itself. Defence Aircraft In their quest for superior performance, defence aircraft designers were the first...

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E and S-2 Glass Fabrics Finish For E and S-2 Glass Fabrics

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HEXPLY® RESIN SYSTEM Prepreg Resins DRY TG ONSET (DMA) °C (°F) TYPICAL CURE CYCLE Temp °C (°F) Time (mins) CURE PROCESS AUTOCLAVE/ PRESS VACUUM ONLY FLOW CONTROLLED OUTLIFE AT ROOM TEMPERATURE days STANDARD PREPREG FORMS Liquid Resins HEXPLY® RESIN SYSTEM TYPICAL CURE CYCLE Temp °C (°F) Time (mins) rAvailable in US only. (1) + post-cure

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HexFIow® product data HEXPLY® RESIN SYSTEM

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HS Carbon Fabrics WEIGHT gsm oz/yd2 “PrimeTeX® is a range of carbon fabrics that have been processed for a smooth, closed weave and enhanced uniform appearance: fibre tows are flatly woven and spread in both warp and weft directions. Hexcel supplies PrimeTeX® fabrics with the physical properties mentioned in the technical datasheet. Should you wish to achieve specific cosmetic effects with PrimeTeX®, please contact Hexcel ” TH FIBRE UD PLAIN UD PLAIN UD PLAIN IM-HM-UHM Carbon Fabrics INTERMEDIATE MODULUS FIBRES HIGH MODULUS FIBRES CARBON FABRICS Injectex® Fabrics for infusion or injection...

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Carbon - Glass Hybrid Fabrics WEIGHT gsm oz/yd2 STYLE WEAVE WEIGHT RATE warp % weft BALANCED FABRICS - HIGH STRENGTH FIBRES 135 Carbon - Aramid Hybrid Fabrics WEIGHT gsm oz/yd2 STYLE WEAVE BALANCED FABRICS - HIGH STRENGTH FIBRES WEIGHT RATE warp % weft Aramid Fabrics WEIGHT gsm oz/yd2 WEAVE WEIGHT RATE warp % weft ARAMID BALANCED FABRICS 60 1.77 Quartz Fabrics WEIGHT gsm oz/yd2 STYLE WEAVE WEIGHT RATE warp % weft FIBRE COUNT warp weft yarns/cm picks/cm

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FIBRE COUNT warp weft

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STYLE FINISH DP WEAVE WEIGHT RATE warp % weft E and S-2 Glass Fabrics WEAVE FIBRE COUNT warp weft yarns/cm picks/cm STYLE EU US WEIGHT RATE warp % weft UNIDIRECTIONAL FABRICS Other styles available on demand Thickness: theorical thickness of a cured ply with 50% fiber volume content Finish For E And S-2 Glass Fabrics POLYESTER FABRICS DP : Heat treated-Preformed (On Request)

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