Dow Formulated Systems has developed a polyurethane system for making composites by pultrusion.
Voraforce TP allows production of strong, tough and durable composites as alternatives to polyester or vinyl ester resins.
The business unit of Dow Chemical Co. claims Voraforce's lower viscosity permits higher glass loadings than polyesters or vinyl esters. The higher loadings mean the pultruded shapes approach the properties of aluminum. Another benefit is the ability to reduce pulling forces during processing.
“Major OEMs are looking to urethane resins to permit them to achieve higher mechanical properties when competing with traditional materials, like aluminum,” says Jeff Martin, CEO of Martin Pultrusion Group Inc., a major pultrusion equipment provider based in Oakwood Village, Ohio, in a news release issued by Dow in Horgen, Switzerland.
“During our tests with pultruded polyurethane, we discovered superior toughness, excellent fiber wetting, fast reaction and low emission properties at a significantly higher pultrusion speed,” claims Guido Bramante, research scientist for Dow's composite group.
Voraforce TP is available in Europe, Latin America and Asia Pacific countries and its availability in U.S. markets will be announced later, Dow explained.
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