Technology - What are Advanced Composites?

The phrase “Advanced Composites” is used to describe many varying composite construction techniques and is quite deceptive in that not all “Advanced Composites” are created equal. We will attempt to put these variations into perspective for the reader to better explain the technological level of our proprietary construction and design methods. Any composite is comprised of a matrix (resin) and embedded fibers. These fibers may be Glass, Kevlar, Boron, Carbon, Spectra etc. The resins systems typically seen are of polyester, vinylester or epoxy based. Polyesters are not typically used in high performance applications because of their poor mechanical properties. Vinylester offers a step up from polyester and is widely used in the marine industry. Epoxies are the ultimate resin system with regards to strength and durability. They are a significant step up from Vinylester.

A simple way to quantify this would be:

There are two predominant factors that make high temperature cured Epoxy Pre-Pregs a superior technology over the other resin systems. One is its better mechanical properties and the other is what we call “Out Time”. “Out Time” is literally the amount of time you have to work with a given resin system after it has been mixed. Room temperature cure systems regardless of whether they are Vinylester, Polyester or Epoxy all have limited out times that will not exceed 240 minutes and it is typically about 120 minutes.

On the other hand, Epoxy Pre-Preg requires the addition of heat (oven or autoclave) to cure and out time is measured in days and weeks. This increased out time gives RAC the ability to fabricate large monolithic structures which are the ultimate in strength and durability while yielding the lightest strength to weight ratios.

What this gives you as the owner is the fastest and strongest vessel possible today.

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