Victrex, a leading polyaryletherketone (PAEK)-based solutions provider, is set to deliver cutting-edge solutions to the aerospace and energy sectors at a top exhibition in Europe next month.

The JEC Europe will run from March 10 to 12 in Paris, which will showcase technologies including the new Victrex hybrid moulding technology that will enable strength and design flexibility in aerospace components.

Tim Herr, Aerospace Strategic Business Unit director for Victrex, said: “Our game-changing technology opens up endless design possibilities. Not only are we able to offer a solution with unique performance characteristics, we are able to partner with customers to design by analysis and to move from concept to commercialisation much faster.

“Designing by analysis establishes a framework where the latest modelling software is used to design a part to specific requirements. A prototype is built and the performance of the model is validated in a lab setting.

“By proving the value of this process using our extensive PAEK polymer knowledge, we are now able to expedite future part designs.”

Within the aerospace sector, escalating aircraft backlogs have airframers searching for solutions that can improve efficiency along the entire supply chain as a means to reducing total system costs, said a statement.

The performance demands of aerospace components continue to push the limits of current metal and thermoset materials, it said.

The new hybrid moulding technology will allow engineers to combine the strength of Victrex PAEK-based continuously-reinforced composites with the design flexibility of Victrex PEEK injection moulding solutions.

This overmoulding process will enable the production of a part in minutes compared to the hours it could take for a metal or thermoset equivalent. In addition, achieving high specific strength with up to 60% weight savings as well as consolidating parts to create an elegant, highly-functional component, helps to reduce aircraft manufacturing time and weight.

Meanwhile, Victrex’s second focus during JEC - the oil and gas sector - has a few things in common with Aerospace — most importantly mitigating risks and the development of durable cost-effective solutions, said the statement.

Tom Swanson, Energy Strategic Business Unit director, said: “To push the boundaries of downhole tool performance to new levels, Victrex invests in ongoing and rigorous test regimes to assure that our solutions perform in the most extreme HPHT1 environments.

Victrex is heavily involved with standards committees such as NORSOK2, ISO, and API3 in order to develop a comprehensive protocol for the lifetime prediction of high performance polymers, he said.

“Victrex solutions have been used in more than 75 million sealing systems today. We are the only PAEK solutions provider able to offer 35 years of expertise and a vast portfolio of products to meet the ever-changing demands of downhole environments,” said Swanson.

Productivity is of the utmost importance in the oil and gas industry with tool failures costing $100,000 on average. One further challenge the industry faces is that unconventional reserves are forcing exploration and production (E&P) companies to expose valuable equipment to high pressures as well as corrosive fluids and gases across an extreme temperature range, said the statement.

Victrex has a broad portfolio of solutions used in demanding applications in a variety of industries, from technologies with years of proven performance to new, innovative techniques such as hybrid moulding, it added. - TradeArabia News Service