Pultruded profiles in composite materials

A contraction of the verb "to pull" and extrusion, pultrusion is one of the few "continuous" composite transformation processes. Highly automated, it requires little manpower and energy, and therefore guarantees low processing costs. This technology, presented in the [AM3730] dossier, can also be used to create profiles with even complex geometries, with limited tooling costs, offering the products manufactured interesting specificities:

• almost infinite combinations of reinforcement/matrix combinations, giving designers free rein to their imagination and giving finished products extremely varied properties;

• very high levels of reinforcement, with well-controlled orientation, guaranteeing first-rate mechanical properties;

• the possibility of integrating "in-line" complementary technologies for production finishing, such as coextrusion, painting and machining.

With cross-sections ranging from a few tenths of a mm ² to over 1500 × 300 mm ² , and weights varying from a few grams to tens of kilograms per metre, or even more, composite pultruded sections offer a wealth of design possibilities for a wide variety of applications.