Leeds University, UK has developed a composite material entirely of compressed PP fabric that has greater toughness than glass reinforced composites.

BP, a well-known petrochemical company has acquired the patent rights from the University and has initiated development work. It has trademarked the new products as Curv. These products can be produced either from fibers or stretched tapes from several polymers including PP. BP currently makes it from PP.

The process for making Curv products is:

Tapes are extruded and drawn to a high stretch ratio of almost 18:1 to obtain higher mechanical properties. The tapes are woven into a fabric. The fabric is heated and compressed while the tape surface gets metled but the core remains soild due to higher melting points. The orientation in the core is therefore retained. The resulting compressed blocks are then moulded into finished products using compression moulding. The Curv products have excellent toughness. BP has evaluated the new products and compared them with other products.

Curv based laminates could have excellent potential in automobiles for energy absorbing interior components. More information could be obtained on www.curvonline.com.