Industrial
A major industry that is introducing high-end thermoplastic composite materials is oil & gas. Currently it is still very much dominated by traditional metals, but because the oil rigs are moving further outwards to deep waters for oil drilling, thermoplastic composites constitute an attractive innovative alternative with clear benefits due to specific stiffness and strength and temperature stability.
Read moreChallenging conditions
The current oil industry is placing more and more demands on the materials used for oil extraction. Materials used in the oil and gas industry are subjected to extremely challenging conditions with high temperatures and aggressive chemicals, while the self-weight must be low because of the extremely long pipe lengths that are needed for off-shore drilling. High-end thermoplastic composites are well suited to applications in such environments, as they are lightweight and have high chemical resistance. Modern manufacturing technologies allow automated manufacturing of endless, spoolable and lightweight pipes suitable for offshore applications.
ThermoPlastic composites for industrial applications
The TPRC concentrates on high-end research in the field of thermoplastic composites that comprises all the characteristics and challenges of thermoplastic composites in order to meet the specific requirements of the oil & gas industry.
Characteristics
- High usage temperature
- Affordable processing of specialty composites
- Lack of standardized test methods for composite applications
- (Long-term) Chemical – mechanical interaction in advanced thermoplastics
Challenges
- Excellent chemical resistance (no corrosion)
- Impact resistance
- Good fatigue properties
- Lightweight compared to traditionally used metals
