Racecar Engineering – September 2019

86 http://www.racecar-engineering.com SEPTEMBER 2019

TECHNOLOGY – COMPOSITES

intrinsic properties of the fibres,’ says Fischer.

‘These properties mean it does not make

sense to build a chassis out of natural fibres,

because carbon fibre sandwich composites

are so effective. We focus on thin-shelled

parts, typically monolythic single-skin or thin

sandwich applications up to 2mm thick for

which our solution provides the equivalent

stiffness of a sandwich core.

‘Where we see significant potential is in the

non-critical, semi-structural areas of a racecar,

such as the bodywork,’ Fischer adds.

For certain applications, AmpliTex and

PowerRibs can also be combined with carbon

skins to create a hybrid structure which then

outperforms pure carbon fibre whilst achieving

a weight saving of up to 25 per cent.

Laying up

The manufacturing processes that use AmpliTex

and PowerRibs are similar to those of carbon

fibre, if not easier. When using prepregs, a layer

of fabric pre-impregnated with pre-cured resin,

ubiquitous to composite manufacturing, the

PowerRibs can simply be added dry on top of

the laminate, and the processing pressure will

drive the liquid resin from the substrate for

complete impregnation. In vacuum infusion

the dry PowerRibs act as their own flow media

to help with the infusion of larger surfaces,

removing the need for ad hoc, wasteful

consumables such as those commonly used in

carbon fibre manufacturing.

The first racecar that featured Bcomp

materials was the Electric GT Tesla P100DL,

which has bodywork made from AmpliTex

and PowerRibs that has helped to achieve a

500kg weight saving compared to the road

car version. There was also a full-natural fibre

bodied car, the Gillet Vertigo, which raced up

Pikes Peak in under 11 minutes in 2018.

Splinter resistant

To compete in high level motorsport, materials

have to pass the FIA crash safety tests, and this

is another advantage of the Bcomp products.

The nature of flax fibres, with the structure of

PowerRibs, means that these composites do

not splinter like carbon, which can causes all

sorts of issues on track such as tyre punctures.

‘During the drop tower tests where a 2.2kg steel

ball is dropped from two metres, the carbon

composite plate shatters, generating sharp

debris,’ says Fischer. ‘Whereas the composite of

AmpliTex and PowerRibs is not as fragile, and

while it still breaks, the softer debris remains

attached to the main structure with the help of

the PowerRibs, which help dissipate the energy.

Therefore, flax composites can, in a sense,

be deemed ‘safer’ than carbon fibre. This has

‘I want our materials to be fitted on to the rear wings of racecars,

because this will show the world that this is tomorrow’s tech’

caughttheeyeofGTracepromoterSROand

it is nowintheregulationsthatanyGT4cars

homologatedafterJanuary 2019 mustfeature

bio-basedcompositeswithintheaeropackage,

withsyntheticfoamcoresbanned.

AsBcomp’smaterialscontinueto

integrateintothemotorsportsector,itsalso

implementinglight-weightingsolutionsinto

roadcarsaswell.Naturalfibrecompositesare

nowusedinsomeinteriorpanels,withtheuse

ofPowerRibsreducingweightbyaround 40 per

centaswellasreducingtheuseofplasticsby

80 percent,whencomparedtoa standard

injectionmouldedpanel.

‘Peoplesometimessay:“Christian,you’re

buildingthisgreentechstory,butthenyou

gointomotorsports”andI say“Yes,because

motorsportis stilltheplatformoftomorrow’s

technologies”,’Fischersays.‘I believethat

wheneveryoucanplayintheChampions

League,thenyougoplayintheChampions

League.SoI wantourmaterialstobeonthe

rearwingsofracecars,becausethiswillshow

theworldthatthisis tomorrow’stech.’

‘Butcustomersshouldn’thavetopaya

premiumforgoinggreen,’Fischeradds.‘You

buyanorganicapplebecauseit’sgoodfor

youandyourconsciencebutif it doesn’ttaste

good,you’renotgoingtobuyit anymore.Thisis

whyourmaterialshavetoout-performcarbon

andglassfibre,whichis whatAmpliTexand

PowerRibsallowsustoachieve.’

The Gillet Vertigo, a full-natural fibre bodied racecar, competed at Pikes Peak last year, getting to the top in under 11 minutes

A natural fibre composite door panel for a VLN Porsche; these materials are best suited to semi-structural areas on the car