Fire test of high temperature polyimide composites
| Reference number | |
| Coordinator | Swerea SICOMP AB - Swerea SICOMP AB, Mölndal |
| Funding from Vinnova | SEK 300 000 |
| Project duration | March 2017 - December 2017 |
| Status | Completed |
| Venture | Innovair/SMF |
Important results from the project
The project is part of Innovair SME-Flyg, with the overall aim of contributing to improving the possibilities for Swedish subcontractors to establish themselves as suppliers to the aerospace industry. In this specific project, the purpose has been to evaluate the fire properties of a carbon fiber composite made of a polymer provided by Nexam Chemicals to see if the fire resistance is sufficient for use in aircraft engine applications.
Expected long term effects
The technical results of the project have been in par with expectations, i.e. very good. The composites made with Neximid MHT-R exhibit extremely good fire properties, superior compared to traditional composites. Overall, the results indicate that there are well-motivated conditions for continued evaluation and development of technologies for using these materials in parts of an airplane engine that is subject to fire resistance requirements.
Approach and implementation
In the tests, samples have been exposed to 50 and 70 kW / m2 of heat flow in cone calorimeter tests. The results show that at lower heat flux, the materials do not ignite at all while it takes up to 3 minutes for ignition at the higher heat flux. This can be compared with an ignition time of about 40 seconds for conventional carbon fibre composites. Once ignited, the new composites burn with 80% lower intensity than traditional epoxy composite.