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Composites

Composites materials require particles or fibres embedded throughout their structure as reinforcement agents. These reinforcement agents are bound (adhered) intimately into a matrix (a thermoplastic or resin) during manufacture, providing the inherent strength of the resultant composite product. Subsequent impact or load applied to a composite material is dissipated throughout the structure by these fibres or particles.

The interface between the reinforcement agents and the matrix material is critical to providing the material performance of the composite. When the materials separate then the load is not transferred and the composite product is compromised.

Many advanced materials are highly desired for use in new composite materials, such as Ultra High Molecular Weight PE fibre; however these materials have to date, a poor affinity to matrix materials and separate from the matrix during manufacture. In today's mass production environment, carbon fibre is commercially treated during manufacture to enhance its interaction with matrix materials, although this existing method of modifying carbon fibre is complex and inefficient.

Onto® technology can modify fibre and particle surfaces to change their interaction with matrix material through a simple wet coat application. The modification is easily tuned to treat different reinforcement materials and for them to interact desirably with different matrix materials.

We are actively developing surface coatings that can enable those reinforcement agents with the most desirable properties to be adopted into the composites market.