Hexcel : Multiaxial Fabrics Reinforce Dasyc’s Transportable Composite Hangars

Hexcel Corporation • 281 Tresser Boulevard, Stamford, CT 06901 USA • +1 (203) 969-0666

August 8 2016, Leicester, UK: Hexcel's HiMax™ glass fibre fabrics were selected by Greek company Dasyc SA for the manufacture of its Composite Modular Transportable Hangar (CMTH®). Constructed from prefabricated composite sandwich panels, this innovative structure can be employed in a wide variety of civil or military applications. The use of Hexcel quadaxial reinforcements enabled Dasyc to manufacture a composite structure with a strength equivalent to that of a concrete or steel building.

Dasyc developed the composite hangar to address a need for mobile storage, parking and housing structures. The patented design enables rapid transportation, assembly and disassembly in any location. Possible applications for the structures range from housing aircraft, helicopters and military vehicles, to the storage of equipment at construction sites or airports. Field hospitals, on-site office space and disaster relief/emergency response facilities are just a few further examples. Dasyc has already delivered three hangars to the Hellenic Air Force (HAF) and is now promoting the product internationally.

To create the CMTH® hangar the composite panels are assembled together to form arches. The length of the hangar is dependent on the number of arches used. The panels are manufactured at Dasyc's production plant in Markopoulo using a vacuum assisted resin transfer moulding (VARTM) process. They are 80 mm sandwich structures consisting of a hard polyurethane core material between two laminate skins of glass fibre reinforced polyester resin.

For this project Dasyc required reinforcements that would form a composite structure with a strength similar to that of a concrete or steel building and capable of withstanding the same structural loads as specified by the Eurocodes building regulations. To provide the required mechanical properties Hexcel Reinforcements UK (formerly FORMAX) supplied its HiMax™ FGE112 1200 g/m2 quadaxial fabric, consisting of four layers of E-glass fibres aligned in the 0°/-45°/90°/+45° orientations and stitched together with polyester thread. Four layers of FGE112 were used in each skin. In addition to imparting excellent structural support and stiffness to the laminate, quadaxial fabric is a cost effective solution for reducing labour in the lay-up process as it is possible to apply multiple layers simultaneously. The isotropic properties exhibited by the quadaxial fabric also facilitated the development and analysis process for the hangar structure since it was easier to apply the standard building codes and gain customer acceptance.

Hexcel supplied approximately 40 tonnes of glass fibre reinforcements for each of the hangars delivered to Helllenic Air Force. The majority of material supplied was the FGE112, with a smaller amount of 450 g/m2 continuous filament mat also being provided to aid resin flow during the infusion process.

For further information view the full Daysc case study: http://www.hexcel.com/Resources/Documents/Hexcel-CS-Dasyc-Jul2016-v4.pdf.

Hexcel Reinforcements UK Ltd (formerly Formax) is a leading manufacturer of composite reinforcements, specialising in lightweight carbon fibre multiaxials and highly engineered glass fibre and aramid fibres. Hexcel acquired full ownership of Formax on 5 January 2016, following the acquisition of a 50% interest in the privately-owned company in December 2014.

Hexcel Corporation is a leading advanced composites company. It develops, manufactures and markets lightweight, high-performance structural materials, including carbon fibers, reinforcements, prepregs, honeycomb, matrix systems, adhesives and composite structures, used in commercial aerospace, space and defense and industrial applications such as wind turbine blades.

Hexcel Media Contact:
Rachel Owen
+44 (0)1223 838370
rachel.owen@hexcel.com

8 August 2016

The composite hangars can be customised according to the client's requirements and are quick and easy to install.

An extensive testing programme was performed to validate the performance of the composite panels.