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Hexcel Corp. (Stamford, Conn., U.S.) has leveraged its experience in aerospace and wind energy to develop a novel technology for out-of-autoclave (OOA) processing. It is reported to deliver significant reduction in process time and cost for marine manufacturers without compromising mechanical performance.

Hexcel’s G-Vent technology targets OOA processing of highly loaded, thick section marine structures such as masts, foils and wind-assisted ship propulsion (WASP) components. Hexcel’s full range of marine prepregs are now available with integrated G-Vent technology, reducing the requirement for debulking steps and ensuring very low porosity (<1%) irrespective of the laminate thickness, according to the company.

To evaluate G-Vent, Hexcel completed a test program with Q.I. Composites Srl (Piverone, Italy), a company that performs non-destructive testing (NDT) in performance marine applications. The program evaluated HexPly 40-layer prepreg samples prepared with G-Vent technology. Carbon fiber panels made with no debulking revealed approximately three times less porosity than those using a typical 10-minute debulk with every second ply. Ultrasonic and computed tomography (CT) scan analysis by Q.I. Composites confirmed the void content results with porosity levels in line with state-of-the-art autoclaved carbon prepreg foils. Hexcel also notes that key tensile, compressive and interlaminar shear strength results were also higher for the G-Vent panels.