PET foam core material is mainly composed of polyethylene terephthalate, commonly known as polyester resin. PET can significantly reduce the density of the material through foaming, but also has a high degree of rigidity, heat insulation and heat preservation, anti-fatigue and other excellent properties, and PET foaming material can be completely recycled, and can be used for foam production of recycled materials, which is conducive to the promotion of the development of the circular economy, and has become the hotspot of the industrial community and the academic community research.

▶▶1. Application in wind power field

In the field of wind power, PET foam as a structural core material has achieved a very wide range of applications, and is expected to further replace the traditional core materials such as balsa wood, PVC foam and styrene-acrylonitrile copolymer (SAN) foam, so as to achieve the structure of the core material of the entire use of PET foam.

Most of the wind turbine blades use epoxy resin as the base resin, resin curing for the exothermic reaction, improper control due to the high temperature makes the core material burnt, resulting in the scrapping of the blade. The use of PET foam heat-resistant temperature increased by 20 ~ 30 ℃, the curing process is easier to control, PET foam adhesive absorption is low, can reduce the weight of the blade.

At present the world's largest wind power host manufacturer Vestas, LM, etc. has designed the completion of the whole PET core material wind turbine blade and carried out trial operation, the effect is good. Although the wind turbine core materials market is still relatively new to PET foam, this thermoplastic can provide a variety of advantages, and is expected to be widely used in the turbine blade manufacturing process, is the ideal material choice in this field.

▶▶2. Applications in UAVs

Foamed materials meet the requirements of lightweight UAVs, enabling higher speeds, longer range, and greater payload capacity, while improving dynamic performance, which makes them ideal for use in areas that require shock and vibration resistant loads, energy savings, and increased payloads. Spongy, lightweight foams are good materials for UAVs to use as sandwich materials.

PET foam structural core material's excellent high strength, weight ratio, and cost-effective performance make it an ideal foaming material for civil UAVs, commercial UAVs, and military UAVs, among others.

▶▶3. Applications in the marine industry

PET foam has excellent flame retardant, low smoke, non-toxic performance, high temperature performance, excellent fatigue resistance (better than some of the PVC foam core), good mechanical properties and chemical corrosion resistance, and its excellent acoustic and thermal insulation properties and low water absorption can better meet the specific functional needs of the military or civilian ships, usually used for hull wall panels or structural materials, and its recyclability can also meet the specific functional needs of military or civilian ships, and its recyclability can also meet the specific functional needs of military or civilian ships. Its recyclability also meets the needs of environmental protection.

Foamed core materials are used as filler materials in boat propellers to improve strength and toughness. It is also tightly bonded to the carbon fibre composite material, which enhances the performance of the product.