SAERTEX SUPPORTS HYFIVE RESEARCH PROJECT
NEW JOINING TECHNOLOGIES FOR MARITIME LIGHTWEIGHT CONSTRUCTION

SAERTEX^® supports the BMWi-funded research project HyFiVE (Hybrid joining technologies for connections in maritime use), in which five industrial companies and three scientific institutions develop new technologies and evaluate them for maritime use.
 
Lightweight construction, as a key technology for sustainable transportation solutions, is difficult to establish in shipbuilding due to inadequate joining technologies between fiber composite materials and steel. Another complicating factor are the high fire protection requirements and the lack of standards for the use of fiber composite materials for ships at sea.

Therefore, relevant companies and institutes joint together in the research project HyFiVE to evaluate new and efficient adhesive-free joining technologies for different applications in shipbuilding and to develop new processes and methods. These will be verified by using demonstrators and fire tests. The aim is to meet the time and cost requirements of shipbuilding production and to strengthen the competitiveness of the industry.

In addition to administrative management, SAERTEX® supports the project by providing material and engineering in the field of fire protection. The three SAERTEX products LEO COATED FABRIC and LEO System as well as the 3D-reinforced foam SAERfoam will play a major role within this research project. All products meet the highest fire protection standards and will be used depending on the application. LEO COATED FABRIC, a SAERTEX fabric equipped with an active fire retardant covering layer, pyrolysis in case of fire and protects the component. The LEO system is based on a specially equipped fabric, a suitable resin system in combination with a fire protection gel coat. SAERfoam, which can be adapted on the load cases, will be used as reinforcing core material, where the mechanical strength properties can be adjusted by selecting the amount and direction of glass bridges in thickness direction.

Further more information to the project will be available soon at www.hyfive.net.