Zome Skins

UBC Capstone Menu:
Skin | Core | Connection | Window | Door | Hallway | Floor

Goals :
1. 4 Seasons, Canadian-winter ready
2. Lightweight, modular
3. Canadian Made, Affordable/Scalable

Flax Fibers

BCOMP - POWERRIBS FIBERS

“At Bcomp we decarbonise the world through high-performance bio-based materials. Join us on our journey and see how natural fibre composites can help you create more sustainable products.”

Flax fibre quality

The flax fibre quality, yarn thickness and twist are all highly engineered for optimal mechanical properties in the final composite part. The fibres are specifically treated to optimise the fibre-matrix interface. We use European flax and the fibremix is thoroughly controlled for consistent quality over time.

Sustainability

powerRibs™ and ampliTex™ are made from flax fibres that grow naturally in Europe without competing with food crops. By optimising the properties of the fibres mechanically and through fabric architecture, less material is used. At the end of their life, parts can be ground down into a new base material or used for thermal energy recovery without residual waste in the standard waste management system.

lightweighting

Designing parts to be manufactured with a combination of ampliTex™-PP, NFPP and powerRibs™-PP as an additional reinforcement, allows you to make the most of Bcomp’s sustainable lightweighting solutions. Replacing conventional IMPP components with our large-scale natural fibre technologies allows for up to 50% weight reduction, up to 70% less plastic use in the component and up to 60% lower CO2 emissions from cradle to gate.

Cutting-edge reinforcement fabrics

AmpliTex™ reinforcements allow you to create lightweight parts and components without compromising performance. To combine the best of both worlds, we can develop custom hybrid reinforcement fabrics that combine natural fibres with glass or carbon.

The needs of our customers are as diverse and unique as themselves. Therefore, we do not confine ourselves to a standard portfolio only but offer a vast range of customisation for our ampliTex™ reinforcements. Depending on your application and the specific requirements (e.g. fire-resistance), we can provide you with a fully customised composite package that meets your expectations and unique needs.

The award-winning powerRibs™ technology is an extremely lightweight, high-performance natural fibre reinforcement grid. Inspired by leaf veins, powerRibs™ add maximal stiffness at minimal weight by creating a 3D structure on one side of a thin walled shell element. This enables using less base material, decreasing weight as well as consumables and therefore cost in production. The proprietary technology is perfect for high-performance applications such as replacing or reinforcing carbon fibres in motorsport bodywork or making stiff and lightweight structures for anything from luggage to architectural design elements.

PowerRibs™ can triple the flexural bending stiffness and thereby decrease both material use and weight, while improving vibration damping. When powerRibs™ are combined with our ampliTex™ technical fabrics it creates a full natural fibre layup that matches the performance in weight and stiffness of thin-walled monolithic carbon fibre structures. powerRibs™ also work excellently to reinforce carbon fibres and glass fibres.

Basalt Fibers

“Basalt Fibers for composite construction provide an interesting set of mechanical properties, equal or above to those of Glass Fibers, with advantages in terms of cost effectiveness and production to vegetable based Natural Fibers. Basalt fibers offer some advantages versus current materials, it is fireproof, requires no material addition, has better mechanical properties than most types of E-Glass, and it is cheaper than Carbon Fiber.”

See: Mechanical behavior of basalt fibers in a basalt-UP composite

Paul Dhé from Paris, France, was the first with the idea to extrude fibers from basalt. He was granted a U.S. patent in 1923. Around 1960, both the U.S. and the former Soviet Union (USSR) also began to investigate basalt fiber applications, particularly for military hardware, such as missiles.

Extrudability of basalt was later investigated in the northwestern U.S., where large basalt formations are concentrated. 

Basalt fibers are produced from basalt rocks by melting them and converting the melt into fibers. Basalts are rocks of igneous origin. Basalt fibers are classified into 3 types:

  • Basalt continuous fibers (BCF), used for the production of reinforcing materials and composite products, fabrics, and non-woven materials;

  • Basalt staple fibers, for the production of thermal insulation materials; and

  • Basalt superthin fibers (BSTF), for the production of high quality heat- and sound-insulating and fireproof materials.

Manufacturing process

The technology of production of basalt continuous fiber (BCF) is a one-stage process: melting, homogenization of basalt and extraction of fibers. Basalt is heated only once. Further processing of BCF into materials is carried out using "cold technologies" with low energy costs.

Basalt fiber is made from a single material, crushed basalt, from a carefully chosen quarry source.[1] Basalt of high acidity (over 46% silica content[2]) and low iron content is considered desirable for fiber production.[3] Unlike with other composites, such as glass fiber, essentially no materials are added during its production. The basalt is simply washed and then melted.[4]

The manufacture of basalt fiber requires the melting of the crushed and washed basalt rock at about 1,500 °C (2,730 °F). The molten rock is then extruded through small nozzles to produce continuous filaments of basalt fiber.

The basalt fibers typically have a filament diameter of between 10 and 20 μm which is far enough above the respiratory limit of 5 μm to make basalt fiber a suitable replacement for asbestos.[5] They also have a high elastic modulus, resulting in high specific strength—three times that of steel.[6][7] Thin fiber is usually used for textile applications mainly for production of woven fabric. Thicker fiber is used in filament winding, for example, for production of compressed natural gas (CNG) cylinders or pipes. The thickest fiber is used for pultrusion, geogrid, unidirectional fabric, multiaxial fabric production and in form of chopped strand for concrete reinforcement. As of 2018, one of the most promising applications for continuous basalt fiber is making rebar that could substitute for traditional steel rebar in construction.[8]

See also: Basalt fibers: An environmentally acceptable and sustainable green material for polymer composites

Elium® Thermoplastic resin for recyclable composites

Elium® resin is particularly suitable for the building markets: sanitary facilities, facade panels, street furniture, etc. Its implementation is done here using conventional techniques, mainly on machines dedicated to casting technology, with polymerization at temperature ambient, in composite molds. It can be used in many areas requiring the use of a liquid resin mixed with mineral fillers (quartz, ATH silica, etc.). It has many advantages, including excellent resistance to shock (including thermal), chemical agents and scratches. It also offers superior longevity over time thanks to its excellent UV resistance which limits yellowing. In addition, it allows you to obtain a very silky surface appearance which gives the finished piece a very pleasant touch.

Our Elium® thermoplastic resin is used for thermoplastic composites that are used in the main structure of buildings, replacing steel frames. These composite rebars offer excellent corrosion resistance. Elium® resin can also be used to make façade panels on the exterior of buildings, as well as sanitary furniture (worktops, washbasins). 

suitable for casting processes

Currently, the majority of resins used are thermosetting resins, which have a number of drawbacks, notably the presence of styrene, which requires special precautions to be taken by operators. In addition, cross-linking during the polymerization phase makes them difficult to recycle.
 

Elium® resin, on the other hand, contains no solvents of this kind, and offers exceptional performance. Thanks to its low viscosity and specific formulation, it is possible to achieve very high fill rates and very short cycle times. As a thermoplastic, it can be thermoformed once the part has been produced. All these properties mean that it is used in the most demanding applications, both indoors and out.

Elium® resin offers many advantages:

  • low toxicity, no styrene, BPA or cobalt salts

  • sustainable recycling (finished parts and production waste)

  • high scratch, impact and UV resistance

  • stable and durable

  • easy to color, silky finish and quality of touch

  • adjustable and compatible with all desired mineral fillers and manufactured parts (size, design, complexity)

  • low viscosity and reactivity at room temperature.

See more info: Elium® thermoplastic resin for casting processes | Arkema Global

Structural Foam Core (Gurit Kerdyn)

Kerdyn™ is a thermoplastic foam developed to respond to the growing need for structural core materials and reduce product’s carbon footprint and materials waste. Based on recycled PET and fully recyclable material, Kerdyn™ is a highly stable and adaptable core material with good mechanical properties, lower resin uptake, and then an excellent balance between performances, cost, density and processability. Kerdyn™ is compatible with mostly all resin systems including vinyl ester, epoxy, unsaturated polyester and usable with a wide range of processing technologies including vacuum infusion, prepreg, wet lay-up, bonding, kitting, thermoforming

■ Density from 80 to 300 kg/m3

■ Up to 100% recycled PET based product range

■ Fully recyclable product

■ Wide range of thicknesses

■ Low resin uptake performance

■ Wide processing temperatures range

■ Good mechanical properties

■ Excellent chemical resistance

■ Good adhesion skin to core

■ Plain, finished, kitted sheets

■ Sealed surface available

■ DNV Certified

See Data sheet:

https://www.gurit.com/wp-content/uploads/bsk-pdf-manager/2023/10/PDS-Kerdyn-12-1023.pdf