Cabot have announces the launch of a new technical solution for the bonding paste market.
The new product, (CAB-O-SIL ULTRABOND 4740) is a high-performance treated fumed silica for bonding paste applications. The most common use is the production of windmill blades for wind turbine generators.
Typically, a windmill blade consists of two pieces that are bonded together. Today’s blades are up to 80 meters long and can weigh as much as 15 tons. These two pieces are integrated together with bonding paste.
The challenge in maximising the potential of wind energy is a windmill blade’s length. As the blades get longer they deliver more efficient and more powerful performance. A strong bonding paste can help prolong the life of a blade, and ultimately enable the manufacturing of even longer blades through more sag-resistant composites.
The new fumed silica delivers 25 to 30 percent higher sag resistance (initial and aged), compared to current industry solutions. This improved performance eliminates the need for bonding paste customers to over-design current solutions to achieve stable sag resistance over time.
For bonding paste customers, the new product also reduces the fumed silica content in the bonding paste formulation by 10-15 percent, providing important benefits of lower viscosity and easier applications over the blades.
Finally, it also reduces fumed silica processing time by up to 50 percent during the manufacturing stage, compared to competitive products in the market. This feature substantially reduces the total cycle time and creates the added benefit of improved asset productivity.
Valdemir Prodocimo, Cabot global segment manager, adhesives and composites.
We have created a product that will help windmill blade producers meet the toughest requirements and deliver the highest performance, we have developed this product with extensive input from our customers, industry bodies, institutes, and blade manufacturers across the world.
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