ARKEMA group’s subsidiary, Altuglas International has unveiled the new Altuglas ShieldUp acrylic sheet, which is a lighter substitute for glass. The material has a mesh structure and it combines transparency and strength irrespective of temperature.
These properties extend the conventional uses for polymethylmethacrylate (PMMA) and provide potential applications in industries like safety glass, photovoltaic, automotive and aerospace.
Altuglas ShieldUp is more transparent and is lighter than glass by 50%. Hence, it is suitable for application in challenging environments like constructing side windows and panoramic roofs for the automotive sector. Without disturbing the performance, the material reduces the vehicle weight by 100 kg and decreases fuel consumption by 0.4 L and CO2 emissions by approximately 1 kg for every 100 km.
Other benefits offered by the new nanostructured acrylic sheet include shock resistant, resistant to chemicals and allows creation of complex design structures. Altuglas ShieldUp uses Arkema Group's BlocBuilder polymerization technology, which provides full control over polymer architecture at the nano level. This leads to a creation of a sheet with high shock resistance property and transparency. The acrylic sheet is resistant to aggressive chemicals such as alcohol and other cleaning products. Altuglas ShieldUp is thermoformed and helps designers to produce complex shapes without changing the materials’ properties, especially optical properties.
Source: http://www.altuglasint.com/