Product types and benefits of major thermoset prepregs

Overview of carbon fiber thermosetting prepregs

Teijin Tenax™ thermoset prepregs are based on high-performance Tenax™ carbon fibers impregnated with a variety of thermoset resins. Teijin offers a wide range of thermoset polymers for low or high temperature applications.

Tenax™ thermoset prepregs are available in a variety of forms including unidirectional, woven or non-woven, and many more, these prepregs come in different forms for traditional hand layup, automated tape layup and fiber layup. In addition to carbon fiber prepregs, aramid prepregs are also available, with fibers from Teijin Aramid and all other fiber materials currently on the market.

Tenax™ thermoset prepregs are used in a wide range of applications, from tailored high-performance body materials to traditional products for golf and fishing rods. Teijin state-of-the-art Tenax™ prepreg is currently manufactured in Japan, the US and Vietnam.

This article mainly introduces Conventional Prepregs (traditional prepregs), Rapid Cure Prepregs (rapid curing prepregs), High Temperature Prepregs (high temperature prepregs) and Towpreg (filament prepregs) of Teijin Tenax™ Thermoset series. and other four prepregs.

Traditional prepregs

Tenax™ thermoset traditional prepregs are primarily based on epoxy resin systems, preferably reinforced with Tenax™ carbon fibers. These products are widely used in aerospace, wind energy, rail and industrial applications.

The main advantages of this product include:

1. high mechanical properties

2. Excellent chemical and solvent resistance

3. Tailored processing performance to meet user needs

4. Width up to 1.5m

5. Meet REACH requirements

Rapid curing prepreg

Tenax™ thermoset fast-curing prepregs were originally developed for aerospace secondary structures to replace traditional 180°C/2 hour curing systems and offer customers significant advantages in emissions and processing costs, with its unique Characterized by full cure after 20 minutes at 160°C, no post cure required. Traditional prepregs often require a cure cycle of up to several hours, followed by a separate post-cure to achieve the proper level of crosslinking.

Tenax™ fast-curing prepregs can be processed by press or autoclave and can also be used for custom vacuum bag curing. Teijin also offers an improved version of FST for aerospace or rail/transportation interiors with a total cure time of 15 minutes without the need for post-curing; in addition, a product type with a total cycle time of less than 5 minutes for automotive applications.

The main advantages of this product include:

1. Excellent heat/humidity properties

2. High humidity Tg

3. Designed for high-speed production

4. Monolithic and sandwich parts

5. Low process cost compared to standard cured materials

6. No post-curing required

7. Shelf life comparable to traditional epoxy resins

8. Excellent part quality

High temperature prepreg

Tenax™ thermoset high temperature prepreg, a proprietary technology provided by Renegade Materials Corp, a 100% wholly owned subsidiary of Teijin Group, to support aerospace applications with higher temperature requirements. The resin systems used include cyanate ester, bismaleimide (BMI) and polyimide with high performance and heat resistance.

Tenax™ thermoset high temperature prepregs maintain excellent performance at service temperatures up to 345°C and peaks up to 400°C and can be used in a variety of fabrics and fibers, including carbon fiber, quartz and S2 glass. These products are widely used in civil and military jet engines.

The main advantages of this product include:

1. High temperature resistance up to 345°C

2. Excellent heat/humidity performance in airframe and propulsion applications

3. Excellent damage tolerance at high temperatures

4. Excellent chemical and solvent resistance

5. REACH compliant

Filament Prepreg Tape

Tenax Corporation™ Thermoset Filament Prepreg Tapes are specially developed for industrial and filament winding applications. The aim is to use this fiber-matrix combination to improve composite properties, reducing non-productive machine time compared to liquid impregnation methods.

Filament prepreg tapes are primarily based on Tenax™ ITS50 24K fiber and an optimized epoxy resin system. Tg is about 140°C. Other types of filamentary prepreg tapes are being developed for applications in the winding field.

The main advantages of this product include:

1. high-speed processing

2. Controlled width and resin content

3. Long shelf life (1 month at room temperature)

4. Fully REACH compliant