Carbon fibre self-adhesive tape for rapid structural repairs (CarboTape)

管道胶带被用作一种快速简便的方法来加固和修复家庭和轻工业中的无数物品，仅欧洲市场每年就价值1.45亿英镑。然而，由于它是由棉或玻璃纤维布制成的，具有低性能聚合物涂层和简单的接触粘合剂，因此性能有限，因此不能用于许多要求更高的结构维修，如汽车零件，运动设备，船舶和军事应用。在市场上，高性能胶带存在明显的缺口，可以在这些要求更高的应用中提供临时或永久的加固/修复。为了满足这一市场需求，我们将在制造和材料的优先领域开发一种高度创新和潜在颠覆性的产品，特别是在出口市场。我们的方法是开发一种结构性自粘胶带，其概念类似于管道胶带，基于高强度碳纤维和结构粘合剂。我们将使用一种新的方法来生产超薄，灵活的碳纤维带，预先与工程级热塑性树脂粘合，并在一面涂上粘合剂。这种高性能胶带的硬度和强度分别是棉基胶带的20倍和7倍，同时比目前的碳纤维环氧树脂修复材料更快、更容易和更安全。该项目将显著提高Composites Evolution的增长和全球竞争力，从而增加营业额和创造就业机会。

Duct tape is used as a quick and easy way to reinforce and repair countless items in households and light industry, and the European market alone is worth £145 million per year. However, being made from cotton or glass fibre cloth with a low performance polymer coating and simple contact adhesive, it has limited performance so cannot be used for a host of more demanding, structural repairs such as automotive parts, sports equipment, marine and military applications. There is a clear gap in the market for a high-performance tape which can provide temporary or permanent reinforcement/repair in these more demanding applications. To meet this market demand, we will develop a highly innovative and potentially disruptive product, in the priority area of Manufacturing and Materials, with major opportunity for growth, especially in export markets. Our approach is to develop a structural self-adhesive tape, similar in concept to duct tape, based on high strength carbon fibre and a structural adhesive. We will use a novel method to produce ultra-thin, flexible carbon fibre tapes, pre-bonded with an engineering grade thermoplastic resin and coated on one side with an adhesive. This high-performance tape will be 20 times stiffer and 7 times stronger than cotton-based duct tape, whilst being much quicker, easier and safer to use than current carbon fibre-epoxy repair materials. The project will significantly enhance the growth and global competitiveness of Composites Evolution, leading to increased to increased turnover and job creation.