Teijin’s Tenax carbon fibre prepreg, which has been developed especially for aircraft applications, is being used in part of a nacelle, or streamlined housing, for next generation aircraft engine for Airbus. A prototype of the nacelle part, which Nikkiso Co is producing for Airbus’s Propulsion of Tomorrow project, will be delivered to Airbus by 2021 end.

The Tenax prepreg used for the nacelle part was developed especially for aircraft applications using high-performance and rapid-curing epoxy resin. The Tenax prepreg can be molded at a lower temperature and in a shorter time than conventional prepregs for aircraft applications. In addition to general autoclave molding, the Tenax prepreg also is suited to press molding for mass production, achieving excellent quality required for aircraft applications. It is compatible with automated fibre placement (AFP) and therefore can be combined with automatic laminating technology and short-time molding to maximise production efficiency.

The excellent productivity and cost efficiency of the Tenax prepreg were key reasons why it was adopted for Nikkiso’s nacelle.

Teijin is accelerating its development of mid- to downstream applications for aircraft, one of the strategic focuses of its medium-term management plan for 2020-2022. The company intends to further strengthen its carbon fibre and intermediate material businesses to contribute to increasing global sustainability.