Midland, MI -- The Dow Chemical Company ("Dow") has announced the launch of the Dow AIRSTONE™ 77-T3 adhesive, an epoxy-based adhesive system used to bond half shells together to create finished wind blade structures. The company said Dow AIRSTONE™ 77-T3 represents a natural evolution in the line of Dow AIRSTONE™ 77 adhesives, which are widely used by fabricators to help meet wind energy industry requirements for stronger and lighter weight wind blades. Dow AIRSTONE™ 77-T3 will be highlighted this week at the China Composites Exhibition in Dows booth, A1002-1117, at the Shanghai World Expo and Convention Center.

Dow said Dow AIRSTONE™ 77-T3 offers an optimized balance of 30 percent longer open time and 10 percent faster cure rate compared to previous adhesives, for increased fabrication productivity. The company said the new adhesive is also less thixotropic than traditional wind blade adhesives, which makes it easier to control during application and can reduce the need for follow-up rework to modify or reshape cured adhesive along bonded seams. Easier application can also lower defect and scrap rates, resulting in significant cost-savings, Dow said. Dow AIRSTONE™ 77-T3 optimizes wind blade mechanical performance, providing 30 percent greater fracture toughness for increased blade durability.

According to Jean Luc Guillaume, Dow Global Business Leader for Wind Energy, Dow AIRSTONE™ 77-T3 is the latest innovation within Dows line of AIRSTONE™ Systems™ for Wind Energy. "AIRSTONE™ Systems include adhesives, infusion systems, laminating systems, and mold-building systems," Guillaume said. "Dow AIRSTONE™ 77-T3 and all of our AIRSTONE™ Systems reflect Dows commitment to providing tested and reliable innovation for the wind energy industry. The adhesives technology represented by Dow AIRSTONE™ 77 products continues to provide significant advantages to blade designers, fabricators, and turbine manufacturers, all of whom have a stake in the successful adoption of larger, lighter turbine blades by the wind energy industry."

FORTEGRA™ Epoxy Tougheners

Also highlighted in Shanghai is Dows comprehensive line of FORTEGRA™ epoxy tougheners for composites, as well as structural adhesives, electrical laminates, casting and coating applications. Dow said the three toughener chemistries in the FORTEGRA™ line provide alternative solutions to enhancing epoxy toughness: 100-Series products are based on proprietary Dow block copolymer technology, 200- Series products are elastomer-modified epoxy functional adducts formed from the reaction of liquid epoxy resin and CTBN elastomer, and 300-Series products are stable dispersions of pre-formed novel core shell rubber (CSR) particles in epoxy resin.

VORAFORCE™ Composites System

Dow is also showcasing its range of VORAFORCE™ Composite Systems, which are high performance epoxy and polyurethane-based solutions tailored to modern fabrication technologies such as filament winding, pultrusion, infusion, Reaction Injection Molding (RIM) and Long Fiber Injection (LFI). Specific systems displayed in Shanghai will include our latest winding systems for Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) tanks, reverse osmosis tanks and industrial rollers, high-speed pultrusion systems for insulator rods, as well as fast-curing polyurethane LFI for in-mold, coated structural parts. A common element of VORAFORCE™ Composite Systems is their high level of quality and performance, enabling customers to gain competitive advantage on critical factors such as production efficiency, strength, toughness and temperature resistance.

Source: Dow