Envalior EcoPaXX CFRTP UD tape enables H2 tanks to withstand high-pressure loads
UD continuous fiber tape wraps polyamide liners for robust H2 storage, achieving 2.2 GPa tensile strength, 20% savings and easier processing without curing or hazardous chemicals.
Envalior (Düsseldorf, Germany) launches a high-performance, unidirectional (UD) continuous fiber thermoplastic tape for high-pressure, all-fiber-reinforced thermoplastic H2 pressure vessels. UDea EcoPaXX Q20HTC60 can be used to wrap and mechanically reinforce polyamide liners, enabling tank systems to withstand high pressure loads that occur during tank filling and storage.
The UDea EcoPaXX grade is based on a partially bio-based polyamide 4.10 (PA4.10) and reinforced with 60% by weight (60 wt%) of UD continuous carbon fibers. Alternative carbon fibers increase the tape’s tensile strength in fiber direction by more than 15% to around 2.2 GPa compared to equivalent materials reinforced with lower-strength carbon fibers. Thus, the tape ensures high strength and stiffness of the tank wrapping and high structural integrity of the entire tank.
One method to apply the CFRTP tape is via laser-assisted tape placement. This can be done using the start-stop principle, reinforcing the liner only in those areas that are essential to withstand high pressure. Non-load-bearing carbon fibers can be removed from the composite structure, which cannot be done with a wet winding thermoset process. This results in weight and cost savings of up to 20%, Envalior reports.
In addition to more sustainable recyclability practices, wrapping the liner does not require any curing or handling of thermoset chemicals for which special occupational safety measures and cleaning protocols are required.
“The tape completes our broad portfolio of thermoplastic materials for the manufacture of H2 pressure vessels, which also includes impact-modified PA6 compounds from our Durethan and Akulon brands for blow molding, injection molding and rotational molding of tank liners,” says Bert Keestra, advanced engineering manager at Envalior.
Applying a PA4.10-based tape to a liner made from a PA6 compound, for example, causes the laser-generated melts of both polyamides to form a melt-melt contact at the interface, creating a monolithic structure with strong material bonding. “Therefore, the liner is not able to deform independently from the composite structure when exposed to mechanical or thermal loads, resulting in less risk of buckling, as well as cleaning and maintenance of the pressure vessels in service life,” says Giacomo Perfetti, sales and business development manager for UDea.
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