Provisional Variant Datasheet

SE 84LV FLAX
LOW TEMPERATURE CURE EPOXY PREPREG

¬ Versatile, high-strength prepreg system

¬ Curable at temperatures as low as 80°C (176°F)

¬ Can be processed with vacuum-only processing

¬ Excellent tack

¬ Low Viscosity – Ideal for use with heavy fibre weights

¬ Available with a range of flax natural fibre reinforcements

INTRODUCTION
SE 84LV is an exceptionally versatile hot-melt, epoxy prepreg. It can be cured at temperature as low as 80°C (176°F), or can
be used for faster moulding of flax components at 100°C (212°F). This is achieved with an extremely good outlife of up to 8
weeks at 18-22°C (64-72°F). It is a toughened system, and offers excellent mechanical properties on a wide variety of
reinforcing fabrics and fibres.

SE 84LV is commonly used in vacuum bagging, press-moulding, autoclave and other pressure moulding processes.

SE 84LV is a very low viscosity system used with heavy fibre weights where low-flow processing conditions (vacuum bag pressure
and minimum cure temperature), are likely to be used. With its high compressive strength it is widely used in large heavily loaded
components, such as yacht hulls, and spars. It has been selected for use by various America’s Cup syndicates and boats racing in
the Volvo Ocean Race.

SE 84LV is widely used in sandwich structures with honeycomb, foam and balsa cores, primarily with the toughened SA 80 Adhesive
Film.

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 PROCESSING NOTES - GENERAL PROCESSING NOTES - CURING
PREPARATION CURE CYCLES
When preparing the lay-up the prepreg should be removed from the For a good balance of composite properties, it is recommended
freezer and allowed to thaw in a sealed bag. This may take 6 to 24 that the laminate is cured at 80°C (176°F) for a minimum of 12
hours depending on roll size. This prevents atmospheric moisture hours.
from condensing on the prepreg which may cause voiding on cure.
The mould surface should be release coated and must have been SE 84LV with Flax may be cured at higher temperatures for a
tested for vacuum integrity prior to lay-up. shorter time. At a maximum cure temperature of 100°C (212°F)
cure can be achieved in 3 hours.
LAYING-UP
The following procedure is recommended for preparing vacuum It is not recommended to cure SE 84LV under vacuum
cured laminates. pressures of less than 85%. If a ramp rate of less than 0.3°C/min
(0.5°F/min) is used, users should satisfy themselves that this
1. Place the lay-up on a tool or caul sheet which has been treated allows adequate flow.
with a release agent or film. Insert a thermocouple into the lay-up near
the centre ply of the thickest edge section, outside the net trim line. A
separate prepreg nylon peel ply is available for covering a mould tool
prior to lay-up in order to leave a clean, textured surface for
subsequent bonding.

2. Apply a peel ply to the surface of the lay-up. Note that for good
secondary bonding of a peel-plied surface of an SE 84LV prepreg
laminate, a nylon peel ply, such as Gurit’s Stitch Ply A, is strongly
recommended. This is particularly important where the cure
temperatures are in excess of 90°C (194°F). Cover the peel ply
entirely with a perforated release film. Normally, no edge resin CURING AT 80°C (176°F)
bleeder system is used. For thin sections, Gurit WL3600P90 grade When curing at 80°C (176°F) it is important to ensure the
release film are recommended, while for sections of 4mm and above, temperature is monitored off the trailing thermocouple. 80°C
Gurit WL3600P release film is also suitable. With WL3600P the (176°F) should be treated as the minimum cure temperature for
amount of resin bled away is controlled by the number of dry plies of SE 84LV; 70-75°C (158-167°F) will not generate adequate
resin bleeder cloth placed over the perforated release film. mechanical properties.

3. Install a vacuum bag by standard techniques. Insert at least two

vacuum stems through the bag connecting one to the vacuum source THIN LAMINATES
and the other, at a point on the part furthest from the source, to a When using very thin laminates (e.g. with a total laminate fibre
calibrated vacuum gauge. Position part in the oven and apply vacuum weight of less than 300gm 2), care needs to be taken to avoid
to check for bag or system leaks leave part under vacuum for an extracting excessive amounts of resin during the cure process.
extended period before applying heat. To avoid this, a microporous release film can be used, and for
particularly critical components, a prepreg peel ply should be
4. Commence the heat-up cycle, typically between 0.3°C(0.5°F)/min used.
and 2°C(3.6°F)/min to the final cure temperature. At 85°C (185°F),
the temperature should be held up for 10 hours. Faster cures may be
obtained at elevated temperatures, e.g. 6 hours at 90°C (194°F) or 3
hours at 100°C (212°F). All temperatures measured by the previously
installed thermocouple. When curing at 80°C (176°F) a minimum of
12 hours is recommended. Vacuum should be maintained as high as
possible, with a minimum of 85% throughout the cure cycle.

5. Upon completion of cure, turn off heat and cool until part
temperature has fallen below 60°C (140°F). When fully cooled, the
part may be debagged, trimmed and machined as necessary. A post-
cure is not required.

CORE BONDING
This product can be used in conjunction with typical core materials. Representative test panels should be made to ensure that the laminate
construction, curing method and other variables allow full filling of any cuts or slits in the foam. The cure cycles given in this datasheet are
for typical monolithic flat panels and may not be appropriate for sandwich panels.

When using Nomex™ or aluminium honeycombs, the separate SA 80 adhesive film is recommended and full details of use are provided on
the separate SA 80 data sheet. This adhesive film is supplied on a lightweight glass carrier, or in some cases it can be supplied directly
coated onto one face of the SE 84LV prepreg.

The system is fully compatible with Ampreg wet layup epoxy systems and therefore all types of cores may be bonded to a first skin by using
a separate ‘wet-bonding’ operation. In this case, the addition of filler powders to the appropriate resin system is required to provide the correct
paste-like consistency.

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 PRODUCT INFORMATION
AVAILABILITY
SE 84LV prepregs are available in a variety of fabric forms and collimated unidirectional tapes. Please contact Customer Support to discuss
specific requirements and availability.

PREPREG PROPERTIES
RHEOLOGY DATA TRANSPORT & STORAGE
SE 84LV resin viscosity profile conducted at 1°C (1.8°F) per minute. When stored sealed & out of direct sunlight.
PROPERTY VALUE STORAGE TEMP UNIT VALUE

Minimum Viscosity 2.9 Pa.s 28.8 P -18°C 0°F months 24

Temperature at Minimum Viscosity 99°C 210°F +18-22°C +64-72°F weeks 8

All prepreg materials should be stored in a freezer when not in

10000
use to maximise their useable life, since the low temperature
COMPLEX VISCOSITY (Pa.s)

reduces the reaction of resin and catalyst to virtually zero.

1000 However, even at -18°C (0°F), the temperature of most freezers,
some reaction will still occur. In most cases after some years,
100 the material will become unworkable.
When not in use SE 84LV products should be maintained at -
10 18°C (0°F). To avoid contamination on their surfaces, allow rolls
to reach room temperature before unwrapping.

1 HEALTH AND SAFETY

30 50 70 90 110
Please refer to product SDS for up to date information specific
TEMPERATURE (ºC)
to this product.

MINIMUM CURE TIME & TEMPERATURE

Recommended minimum cure is 12 hours at 80°C (176°F) using vacuum bag processing.

PROPERTY OVEN / VAC BAG TEST STANDARD

Typical Laminate 8 plies of SE 84 RF300T prepreg with 60% resin content -

Typical Ramp Rate 1 – 2°C (2 – 4°F) per minute -

Cure Temperature 85°C (176°F) -

Cure Dwell Time 12 (hours) -

Cure Pressure -1bar (14.5Psi) -

De-mould Temperature < 60⁰C (140°F) -

Dry Tg1 (DMA) 75⁰C / 167°F** ISO 6721 (DMA)

** Tg1 is dependent on fabric style being used and moisture content of fabric, therefore Tg can be variable

CURING LARGE STRUCTURES

Gurit provides detailed processing notes for large structures to be built using SE84LV / SA 80; these notes are available from the Technical
Department on request.

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 MECHANICAL PROPERTIES
Cured using standard vacuum bag processing techniques and a minimum cure time of 12hrs at 80°C (176°F). Values are representative of
the typical properties to be expected but do not constitute a guaranteed specification.

CURED RESIN PROPERTIES

PROPERTY SYMBOL SE 84LV RESIN CAST TEST STANDARD

Tensile Strength T 82 MPa ISO 527-2

Tensile Modulus ET 3.9 GPa ISO 527-2

Flexural Strength F 123 MPa ISO 178

Flexural Modulus EF 3.5 GPa ISO 178

Compressive Strength C 163 MPa ISO 604

Glass Transition Temperature Tg1 115°C ISO 6721

WOVEN LAMINATE PROPERTIES

Cured using standard processing techniques and standard cure of 12 hours at 80°C (176°F). Where test directions are provided they are with
respect to the warp direction of the roll.

PROPERTY SYMBOL UNIT SE 84LV / RF300T TEST STANDARD

-
Resin Content % 56 ASTM D 3171 Method II

-
Cured Ply Thickness mm 0.52 ASTM D792

-
Fibre Volume Fraction % 37 - 39 ASTM D 3171 Method II

0° Tensile Strength* XT MPa 143 ISO 527-4

0° Tensile Modulus* Et GPa 13.8 ISO 527-4

0° Compressive Strength* XC MPa 138 SACMA SRM1-94

0° Compressive Modulus* Ec GPa 12.1 SACMA SRM1-94

0° Flexural Strength XF MPa 195 ISO 14125

0° Flexural Modulus EF11 GPa 11.5 ISO 14125

ILSS M MPa 20.6 ISO 14130

*Normalised to 40% fibre volume fraction

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 NOTICE
All advice, instruction or recommendation is given in good faith but the selling Gurit entity (the
Company) only warrants that advice in writing is given with reasonable skill and care. No further duty
or responsibility is accepted by the Company. All advice is given subject to the terms and conditions
of sale (the Conditions) which are available on request from the Company or may be viewed at Gurit’s
Website: www.gurit.com/terms-and-conditions.aspx

The Company strongly recommends that Customers make test panels in the final process conditions
and conduct appropriate testing of any goods or materials supplied by the Company prior to final use
to ensure that they are suitable for the Customer’s planned application. Such testing should include
testing under conditions as close as possible to those to which the final component may be subjected.
The Company specifically excludes any warranty of fitness for purpose of the goods other than as set
out in writing by the Company. Due to the varied nature of end-use applications, the Company does,
in particular, not warrant that the test panels in the final process conditions and/or the final component
pass any fire standards.

The Company reserves the right to change specifications and prices without notice and Customers
should satisfy themselves that information relied on by the Customer is that which is currently
published by the Company on its website. Any queries may be addressed to the Technical Services
Department.

Gurit is continuously reviewing and updating literature. Please ensure that you have the current
version by contacting your sales contact and quoting the revision number in the bottom left-hand
corner of this page.

TECHNICAL CONTACT INFORMATION

For all other enquiries such as technical queries:

Telephone + 44 1983 828000 (08:30 – 17:00 GMT)

Email technical.support@gurit.com

24-HOUR CHEMICAL EMERGENCY NUMBER

For advice on chemical emergencies, spillages, fires or exposures:

Europe +44 1273 289451

Americas +1 646 844 7309
APAC +65 3158 1412

E customer.support@gurit.com

W www.gurit.com
All trademarks used or mentioned in this document are protected by law.

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