Hexcel Secures DNV GL Type Approval for HexPly M9 Prepregs, Enhancing Maritime Composite Solutions

Hexcel Corp. (Stamford, Conn., U.S.) announced on Feb. 1 Type Approval Certification of its HexPly M9 prepreg materials by DNV GL (Oslo, Norway). The addition of the HexPly M9 prepreg range to Hexcel’s comprehensive DNV GL-certified portfolio (the company received HexPly M79 prepreg certification back in June 2020) is said to offer ship and boat builders with optimal prepreg processing options.

According to Hexcel, HexPly M9 prepregs enable short cure cycles at 100˚C and above. Offering processing ease and high mechanical performance, the product is available in high tack and medium tack variants, as well as a wide range of unidirectional, woven and multiaxial reinforcement options. Partnered with Hexcel’s HexTow IMC2 and HexTow HM54/HM63 fibers, the company says designers and engineers can optimize highly loaded composite structures such as masts, wing sails and foils with increased glass transition temperatures (T_g) and improved long-term fatigue performance. 

Hexcel adds that the HexPly M9 certification was in response to the rapidly increasing demand for type-approved, high-performance prepreg materials for large composite structures in the commercial marine craft. 

Hexcel’s collaboration with Chantiers de l’Atlantique on its new Silenseas cruise ship concept — a concept that uses composite Solid Sail propulsion as well as dual-fuel engines to reduce emissions and operating costs — is one such application. In this case, DNV GL type approval provides third-party assurance of the product’s quality, performance and consistency, and also helps to streamline the approval of composite parts that replace traditionally metallic structures, Hexcel says.

“Our latest Type Approval Certification is an important part of our strategy to provide the most complete package of DNV GL-certified composite materials for the marine sector,” says Andreas Sageder, product manager at Hexcel. “With the addition of our M9 prepreg resin systems, mast, ship and boat builders have an expanded range of processing and cure options available for parts requiring higher T_g and improved fatigue performance.”