Key Facts
Sectors covered: Technological innovation in textiles and clothing
Innovation priority: Smart, high-performance materials
Start: September 2021
ELIIT funding: €70 000
The textile engineering company Texfire and the Leitat Technological Centre are implementing the OLAF project. Both partners are involved in the surface treatment of carbon fabrics. Low-cost and environmentally friendly atmospheric pressure glow discharge (APGD) plasma technology is used.
This improves the mechanical properties of carbon fibre-reinforced thermoplastic composites (CFRTC). As a result, the compatibility between fibre and matrix of the thermoplastic prepregs is increased, through mainly focusing on polyamide polymer.
What's the goal?
Objectives include developing – at technically feasible speeds and power levels – optimised and reproducible APGD plasma surface treatments for carbon fibre-woven fabrics. Improvements in the flexural strength and flexural modulus of PA6 and CFRTC laminates is also a goal - without significantly changing their elongation at break.
Compared to the rest of the thermoplastic prepregs on the market, the improved mechanical properties after the APGD plasma surface treatments gives a competitive advantage. Texfire can differentiate them with a new range of mechanically improved or premium products, which will be ideal for all applications where an improvement in bending the composite is sought.
Further goals are defining a business strategy through close collaboration between the partners for target markets, such as the sports goods or automotive sectors.
Key challenges
The key challenge is making the best use of the identified solutions to achieve the project goals. Among these solutions are the low-cost and innovative surface treatment of carbon fibres using APGD technology and continuous PA6 and CFRC laminates to offer a more sustainable solution to the composites sector.
This approach offers thermoplastic prepregs with improved bending properties. They are also recyclable materials thanks to the use of thermoplastic matrices.
How has ELIIT helped?
ELIIT support has been essential for the successful development of this project and achieving the set objectives.
Thanks to ELIIT, it was possible to have the resources to carry out the project, from carbon fibre fabric manufacturing to the final composite manufacturing and testing. APGD plasma treatments were optimised to obtain a high degree of surface modification. This enabled better interfacial adhesion between CF and thermoplastic matrices.
The mechanical characterisation of the resulting CFRTC laminates provided the results to validate the effectiveness of plasma technology in improving the mechanical performance of CFRTC. In addition, it was possible to study the effect of ageing on plasma treatments and its impact on mechanical performance.
The most appropriate way of protecting the intellectual property rights (IPR) of the project has been evaluated using ELIIT cross-mentoring services. The impossibility of considering reverse engineering for APGD-treated carbon fabrics favoured managing IPR with a letter of intent.
The strategy agreed between partners for promoting technological transfer after the project is based on maintaining confidentiality and collaborating in
- up-scaling projects to develop specific industrial products (starting from sports goods), including APGD-treated CF fabrics
- finding new opportunities for developing R&D projects to validate APGD technology for other CF fabrics combined with other polymeric films used as matrix. Texfire increases the knowledge of its products thanks to the transfer of plasma technology in collaboration with Leitat.
Thanks to the mentoring sessions, it was possible to define the marketing roadmap for these products. The Blackfabric brand was created, with its website and social media channels, to promote the new Texfire product line in the composites sector and differentiate it from its usual high-temperature work. Texfire has yet to see a notable improvement in its market position.
However, it expects to expand its product range to encompass areas such as sporting goods and the automotive sector in the coming years through this project. Thanks to mentoring sessions, a business model canvas to was drawn up to detail channels, value propositions, customer segments and key partners, activities, and resources. A value proposition canvas was also developed to identify product and customer aspects.
In addition, ELIIT allowed us to participate in the Techtextil fair, where we could present the project and network with other ELIIT participants and fair visitors.
Meet the partners
Established in 1998, Texfire is a textile engineering company that develops, produces and commercialises customised textile solutions for high-temperature applications. It links its expertise with customers’ needs.
The company has a bonding plant, weaving plant and R&D laboratory, which is also used for quality control. In 2019, Texfire launched a new line of long fibre-reinforced textile composites, focusing mainly on thermoplastic carbon and glass fibres.
This year, Texfire has consolidated its new products in the composites line and created a new brand called Blackfabric, dedicated solely to thermoplastic prepregs. It has also developed new marketing and business strategies to promote these products in markets such as the sports and automotive sectors.
With over 110 years of experience in industrial innovation, Leitat is a private, non-profit research and technology organisation employing almost 350 people. It has participated in over 100 Horizon 2020 projects and 20 international collaborations.
Leitat’s 4 main business units are applied chemistry and materials, energy and engineering, the circular economy, and health and biomedicine. Its activities cover many sectors, technologies and applications, supported by state-of-the-art laboratories and facilities.
SME: Texfire
Country: Spain
Founded: 1998
Tech provider: Leitat
Country: Spain
Founded: 1906