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Rats Back Racing
is a small composites company started by three Auburn
graduates; Jeff Soileau ('89), Trevor Soileau ('98),
and Shane Garner ('01). Specializing in composite
parts for street and race cars, they are located in
Marietta, Georgia. The materials chosen for the Solar
Decathlon battery container included Kevlar®,
Divinycell PVC foam core, and Epoxy resin. Using epoxy
resins, the box panels were constructed by laminating
Kevlar® to divinycell foam to form a sandwich
core technology that maximizes strength of materials
without sacrificing weight. Sandwich construction
is analogous to an "I" beam, with the outer
skins serving at the flanges and the foam core as
the web, stabilizing the skins. Epoxy resins are considered
to be the best choice for strength and chemical resistance
as compared to polyester resins. Kevlar® was one
of the first high strength synthetic fibers to gain
acceptance in the reinforced plastic industry. Unlike
the previous synthetic reinforcing fibers, Kevlar®
has a considerably higher tensile strength and modulus
than fiberglass. Kevlar® is usually used for structures
requiring good stiffness, high abrasion resistance,
and light weight.
Current applications
include lightweight boat hulls such as kayaks and
canoes, aircraft fuselage panels and pressure vessels.
It also has a high flame resistance which was a necessity
when designing for electrical purposes.
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