Bookmark 02-28-2018

BYK-C 8013

First Coupling Agent for Carbon Fibers

BYK, Wesel, Germany, will introduce BYK-C 8013 at the JEC show in Paris in March. BYK-C 8013 is a solvent-free, polymeric coupling agent for improving the mechanical strength of carbon-fiber-reinforced, radical-curing systems, and it is the world’s first coupling agent for carbon fibers.

To the manufacturer's product presentation

No coupling effect (© BYK)

Coupling effect with BYK-C 8013 (© BYK)

It is used in vinyl esters and unsaturated polyester resins that are processed to composite parts using carbon fibers. The cross-fiber strength is greatly improved, making far greater design freedom possible. BYK-C 8013 increases both the transverse tensile strength and the flexible strength of the composite by means of improved fiber-matrix bonding. The chemical structure of the additive provides simultaneous adhesion to the fiber and to the resin matrix. This unique property makes changes in the component design possible, and it enables particularly durable components to be manufactured. Especially in hot-curing processes such as SMC/BMC, pultrusion, prepreg or RTM, BYK-C 8013 brings about increases in strength of up to 70 %.

The reactive additive can be introduced to the size during fiber production or to the resin shortly before processing. In subsequent, so-called “second sizing”, BYK-C 8013 can, for example, be applied to the fiber in a spraying process, without the need to remove the first coat beforehand.