A water-soluble core material for manufacturing hollow composite sections

摘要

This paper presents the development of a low-cost water-soluble core material, which is suitable for producing hollow composite structures via high pressure moulding processes, such as compression moulding and resin transfer moulding. The bulk material of the core is sodium chloride (NaCl), which is held together by a water-soluble trehalose binder. The composition of the core has been optimised to provide acceptable dissolution rates and mechanical properties for high volume structural composite applications.