Tenax carbon fibre reinforced thermoplastics qualified by Collins Aerospace

Teijin Limited announced that it has qualified its carbon fibre based materials Tenax ThermoPlastic Woven Fabric (TPWF) and Tenax ThermoPlastic Consolidated Laminate (TPCL) by Collins Aerospace, a unit of Raytheon Technologies Corporation, one of the world's leading manufacturers of aircraft structural components.

Tenax TPWF is a woven carbon fibre fabric coated with a thermoplastic polymer and Tenax TPCL are completely impregnated and consolidated sheets made of several layers of Tenax TPWF.

The qualified product is based on woven high strength carbon fibre and polyetheretherketone (PEEK) polymer, which achieves high heat, impact and fatigue resistance, helps to reduce production costs and improve component manufacturing efficiency thanks to the potential of a rapid molding process. This material is suited for large-scale production of parts combined with high mechanical performance, such as structural components for aerospace.

Teijin has an existing strong business relationship with Collins Aerospace. As a proof, a facility of Teijin Carbon America, Inc., the company's core carbon fibre business in the U.S., was awarded Supplier Gold as the only fibre manufacturer worldwide for the supply of an oxidized PAN fiber (OPF) Pyromex for aircraft brake-friction materials.

As one strategic focus of its medium-term management plan for 2020-2022. Teijin is intensively accelerating its development of mid- to downstream applications for aircraft, such as cost-effective carbon fibres with higher-tenacity and higher-tensile modulus, intermediate materials including Tenax Dry Reinforcement carbon fibre materials (Tenax DR), carbon fibre thermoplastic unidirectional pre-impregnated tape (Tenax TPUD), carbon fibre thermoplastic consolidated laminate (Tenax TPCL) and thermoset prepreg. Going forward, Teijin intends to further strengthen its carbon fiber and its intermediate material business as a leading solution provider for aircraft applications, targeting annual sales in this field in excess of USD 900 million by around 2030.