Clean and Efficient Processing of Fibre Reinforced Composites: Processing of Thermosets

The primary aim of this project is to further develop a new manufacturing process that involves thermosetting resins and the production of reinforcing fibres. The existing manufacturing processes involving thermosets dictate the need for large volumes of solvent to be used and also results in generation of significant volumes of waste resin. The associated problems in terms of environmental pollution and health related issues with regards to exposure of the workeforce or contact with the resin systems is of major concern. This project offers a generic and a highly cost effective solution to these problems. The preliminary results on the basis on site trials at industry were outstanding. The fibre reinforced manufacturing process that has been selected to implement this new manufacturing technique is filament winding. However, the technology is generic and can be readily applied to all manufacturing processes that use thermosets.