Carbon prepregs for Silenseas mast

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Composites company Hexcel, has announced the successful completion of a 34m HexPly carbon fibre prepreg mast for the evaluation stage of a commercial sail power project.

The Silenseas project was started by Chantiers de l’Atlantique, Saint Nazaire, France, one of the world’s largest shipyards, to validate its new concept to power the next generation of quieter and more environmentally responsible cruise ships. In combination with dual-fuel engines for ships, the composite sail plan will deliver fuel savings of up to 30%, enabling a significant step toward reducing future greenhouse gas emissions.

The latest Silenseas mast was built in sections using a standardized production process

The HexPly M9.6 prepregs supplied to the Silenseas consortium’s mast section manufacturers satisfied all project quality, mechanical, and processing performance targets delivering a scalable, cost-competitive composite solution to power cleaner, more sustainable transportation using commercial vessels.

Hexcel is a leader in prepreg solutions for large structural components, wind turbine blades in particular, and has supplied composite materials to the marine industry since the 1970s. Its products have been a key part of Silenseas rig structures since the project began and were used for the 34m high demonstrator mast recently installed on land at Chantiers de l’Atlantique’s base in Saint Nazaire. The HexPly M9.6 prepregs were supplied with a range of heavyweight standard modulus carbon fibre unidirectional (UD), woven, and non-crimp fabric (NCF) reinforcements. HexPly materials used in the Silenseas project included special modifications to improve handling, lay-up speed, and consolidation.

The latest Silenseas mast was built in sections using a standardized production process by Lorient-based partners. With future masts intended to be more than two times the size of the top section demonstrator just installed, the Silenseas project team has developed a roadmap for the production scale-up. Hexcel process enhancing prepreg technologies will play a vital role in these next steps, with a long-term objective to use out-of-autoclave (OoA) processing while maintaining the current laminate quality in the thick (>150mm) section carbon fibre parts.

Silenseas now plan to scale up the innovative composite rigs with future vessels intended to carry three 66m high carbon fibre masts, delivering potential fuel savings of up to 30% by 2025.