Hy-Bor® is highly tailorable to fit your application needs

Combining Specialty Materials' boron fiber with carbon prepreg, Hy-Bor® is a high-performance material with exceptional properties that offers a great carbon fiber augment or reinforcement.  Our first generation (Gen1)  Hy-Bor® product utilizes Mitsubishi Rayon’s MR40 carbon fiber and Newport 301 (NCT301) 250°F-cure epoxy resin and our 4-mil diameter boron fiber.  However, Hy-Bor® can be manufactured to incorporate any commercially available carbon prepreg. By altering the spacing of the boron fiber in the prepreg, performance properties and material costs can be tailored to meet the needs of a variety of demanding applications. A second generation (Gen2) of Hy-Bor is currently in development with newly developed Toray resins and prepregs. Read on to find out more.

Hy-Bor® Compression Strength minimizes Composite Ply density and Manufacturing Costs

No other composite material has the high compressive strength properties of Hy-Bor® composites. When using Hy-Bor®, a designer can reduce ply count, resulting in higher performance at reduced weight. Hy-Bor® can reduce manufacturing costs by lowering the number of processing steps and while reducing material weight as compared to pure carbon composite solutions. Hy-Bor® is used in the spar caps of General Atomics’ Predator drones for these reasons.  Hy-Bor® is used in space applications due to its high compressive strength and stiffness combined with its zero Coeffient of Thermal Expansion (CTE). Hy-Bor® can also be tailored by using different types of carbon fiber and resin systems.

Collaboration with NIAR and Newly Developed Resins allow for Higher Temperature Applications and Improved Mechanical Properties

Specialty materials is currently collaborating with Toray and the National Institute for Aviation Research (NIAR) at Wichita State University (WSU) to qualify several versions of Gen 2 Hy-Bor® for the National Center for Advanced Materials Performance (NCAMP) database. Gen 2 Hy-Bor is 40% Boron fiber (> 400 ksi compression strength), Toray’s T1100 Carbon fiber, and 5 new resin options. These resin options from Toray include:

• TC380 which is a newly developed toughened epoxy with enhanced hot/wet properties

• RS-8HT, a 400 °F cure BMI with excellent elevated temperature properties

• TC420, a cyanate ester with enhanced resistance to mircrocracking

• RS-3C another cyanate ester resin with a balance of toughness and hot/wet performance

• RS-51, a polyimide with excellent elevated temperature properties.

The table below shows a comparison of max use temperatures and mechanical properties for the various hybrid composites;

To learn more about how Hy-Bor® can be tailored solve your compression strength problems, visit www.specmaterials.com.