Pursuing its strategy to lead the innovation of glass fibre solutions for the transportation sector, 3B-the fibreglass company (3B) is launching HiPer-tex™ H2020 high performance roving (long, narrow bundles of fibre) to meet the needs for lighter and cheaper high pressure cylinders. The HiPer-tex™ H2020 roving, made of a new glass formulation, offers more than 25% higher strength than standard glass by reaching 1420 MPa in a typical unidirectional laminate (average glass volume fraction 60%).
3B claims that due to the H2020 fibre’s exceptional strength, high fatigue performance and acid resistance, it is presently the only glass fibre that can be used as sole material in the manufacturing of fully wrapped composite cylinders that are approved as per the United Nations ECE R110 regulation.
“HiPer-tex™ H2020 provides an answer to the evolving requirements of the gas transportation market looking for large volume cylinders much lighter than steel cylinders and much cheaper than the ones designed with carbon fibre. HiPer-tex™ H2020 is the solution to address these needs. Compared with steel pressure vessels, HiPer-tex™ H2020 allowed cylinders achieve up to 50% weight saving for the same compressed natural gas cylinder (CNG) designed under the ECE R110 standard,” says Eric Debondue, Automotive Market Manager at 3B.
Building upon the most recently developed sizing technology, the new HiPer-tex™ H2020 is specifically engineered for epoxy polymer systems used in filament winding processes.
Debondue explains the fibre is now in continuous production, advising NGV Global News: “H2020 is twice less expensive than the former product while displaying the same performances in both chemical resistance and mechanics. Thanks to this it will help to the development of light weight, lower cost cylinders.”
(Source: 3B Fibreglass)
