3D woven matting info

Hi Guys,

I am trying to find out a bit more about 3D woven fibreglass.

I am actually building a light aircraft (2 seater aim for 350kgs) but seems reasonable to assume you boat building guys are probably at the front of practical fibreglass useage.

I in fact went to a highly respected boat builder who has built a couple of small planes and he was very helpful and offered me the matrix below as being suitable with the unidirectional on the left being first down, then the fine 45 weave, a 4mm thick non-absorbent foam core with bleed holes and the final weave.

I did some tests with this and it was quite strong but a little on the heavy side which led to further investigation and finding the 3D woven materials which looks promising with it's 30% less weight claims. Possibly some of you have an opinion on an improved matrix?

So is their opinion on this please?

Some more info here ...

http://www.parabeam.nl/

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FSAgsiFp_G4

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_RxxQauuhz4

What resin would you think I should use with it? I am looking for strength but not overly rigid, similar to a boat, again that's what led me to thinking you guys would be possibly the most informative.

Thanks for any replies!

 

ok guess time . poly is real basic and there different types of polyesters that are even rubbery , we uses a flexable polyester resin for sealing balsa wood years ago and was impossible to peel any type of glass off a balsa core even trying to chisel was absolutely hard work and a grinder wasn't much better . so you really cant just group polyester into a small packet and condem it straight off !!

Vinylester would be my choice . reason is its toughness and resilience !! there again there not just one resin on the shelf there's a long list and you need to speak with a resin builder (Chemist ) and let him take you by the hand and lead you to the land of understanding what resins are all about what you see and already know is just a small sampling of what's being used in other industries already .
I mentioned Toughness because this is what's needed when things start to break . a resin system that hangs on and wont let go , some resins give up the moment they hit and just shatter and have virtually no holding power what so ever . and even contribute further to the breaking of the fibres with sharp broken edges that cut .

Epoxy's the same !there not just one epoxy on the shelf there's hundreds to chose from and to get proper advice to need to get up close and chat with a resin chemist . tough epoxy are awesome products and rubber fortified .there stick ability is unbelievable to almost any material the world of adhesives and resins these day is very very complicated as they used in so many industries and so many products are being stuck together in preference to welding or using mechanical fastenings such as clips ,screws ,and bolts and nuts .

researching and finding information then finding people that are able to help . most every person I have meet in industry specially chemists are always looking for some one to help !!

 

Need special glassed to work with it ??

that 3D woven materials look impressive but there's more to it than first meets the eye I reckon . you would have to get some and do some good comprehensive testing of your own . I would say ! I am always very weary of animated programs advertising materials because there no actual feed back and you only seeing what they want you to see!. but if it does just half of what they boast it will do id be looking for sure !!
Time has a way of sorting what works and what doesn't and if it does work then how well ?? everything has limitations and its those limitations you need to know and understand to work within !!

 

I have laminated some pieces with parabeam. It's flat until wetted out, and pops up. It's very easy to build relatively thick and light laminates, but I never found any real use for it. It is more brittle than pvc/san cored laminates in my experience.

Resin should be specified in the plans usually?

 

Thanks Guys,

There are no plans susho, it's a scratch design - use lots of fibreglass and you end up scratching!