At the time of writing, the two Dutch sailing yachts competing in the present edition of the Volvo Ocean Race are sailing exceptional well. After four legs the two ABN AMRO-sponsored boats are first and second in the ranking. The five other boats in the race have seen a lot of problems. In generallightweight hulls are made of a sandwich constructio - two stiff, strong skins with a lightweight core in between. The thicker the core is, the higher the structural stiffness. For the VO60s aramid fibres were used in the skins and foam for the core. The VO70s are made from even lighter and stiffer materials. The skins are made from carbon fibres and epoxy resin and the core is Nomex honeycomb. By using these materials the total hull structure becomes not only lighter but also stiffer. The carbon laminate is made by piling up thin layers of prepreg. Stacking these layers and the Nomex goes relatively easy and is realised in about five days. After the positioning of all the layers of preopreg and the Nomex, the hull is packed in foil and vacuum is applied. It is then cured in the oven for 15 hours and 85 deg C. It is quite difficult to get good adhesion between the Nomex and carbon laminate. During the curing process the skins and core can move away from each other. Although the hull is completely packed in foil and vacuum bagged, there is still some air present in the honeycomb cells. During the cure process this air expands and in this way the air can push the carbon layers away and thus destroy the adhesion with the Nomex. This can be avoided by pricking small holes in the carbon layers with a roller do that the air can escape out of the cells via the prepreg.
Technology dominates Volvo Ocean race
Reinforced Plastics ; 50 , 5 ; 46-50
2006
5 Seiten, 10 Bilder, 2 Tabellen
Article (Journal)
English
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