Use of Kevlar as an alternative for seawater strainers

[BParky]

I am looking to use composite materials, such as Kevlar, in place of CuNi for the containment body of strainers in a seawater system. The strength and density makes it very appealing, but I'm not sure of the qualities such as forming or molding Kevlar in the required shapes. Has anyone had any experience with composites that can provide some info. The system has pressures of approx. 700 psi and flow of approx. 280 gpm. If Kevlar is not an option, is there another compsite that may do the trick? Any info, including vendors that manufacuter using composites would be helpful. Thanks

 

[GregLocock]

Kevlar is a fibre, and its use is pretty much the same as glass fibre or carbon fibre, ie you can lay strands of it in a mould and cast resin over it, or you can make cloth out of it and do likewise, or you can chop it up into little pieces and injection mould it.

The latter process is probably what you want, but frankly it is a waste of money using kevlar, a glass reinforced polyurethane is probably the way to go. GE Plastics have a range of PUs with different glass fill ratios, with progressively more strength and worse moulding properties as the fill ratio increases.

Is your application strength limited? How many do you need (large injection moulding tools are sickeningly expensive)?


Cheers

Greg Locock