Cores in sandwich construction are specified by designers and architects to increase stiffness and reduce the weight of a composite structure. Corecell™ is the leading structural foam core material, which has become widely accepted for the construction of large, high performance structures. It is the latest in foam core technology and although originally developed for the marine industry, it is now used in other applications such as wind turbines and sub sea vessels.

Corecell™ uses SAN polymer base, resulting in unique high toughness and impact resistance characteristics. The foam acts as a 'shock absorber' between the two skins - absorbing the impact without failing, distributing the stresses evenly within the core and, in the case of a boat, ensures it remains watertight even after high point impacts.

Corecell™ foams provide low weight, excellent stiffness, and structural integrity under dynamic loads. They have high shear elongation and retain their mechanical properties even in the higher ambient temperature range. The insulation values are constant over time due to controlled, CFC-free foaming process.

Corecell™ foams are compatible with polyester, vinylester, and epoxy resins. However, we recommend appropriate tests are carried out to check the bond/compatibility with any resin system used. Epoxy resins bond well to the Corecell™ foam, but through a mechanical bond; as there is no chemical interaction the integrity of both the epoxy and the core is maintained.

Corecell™ is type approved by the American Bureau of Shipping (ABS), Lloyds Register of Shipping, Det Norske Veritas (DNV) and Germanischer Lloyd (GL).

Corecell M-Foam

Corecell A-Foam

Corecell P-Foam

Corecell S-Foam

Corecell™ A-Foam - Structural Foam Core

Corecell™ A-Foam - The Original Corecell

Corecell™ A-Foam is the original Corecell™ material, developed because of frustrations with inadequate PVC core technology in marine sandwich structures. Corecell™ A-Foam is well known for it’s incredible toughness and resistance to cracking, which comes from its high ductility. Corecell™ A-Foam can elongate up to 65% in shear before failure, making core shear failure in a laminate almost impossible. Tests and experience show that Corecell™ A-Foam is the most reliable core material for dynamic loading situations where PVC and balsa may fail due to poor shear elongation properties. This reliability has made Corecell™ A-Foam the preferred choice amongst offshore yachtsmen for twenty years.

For the manufacturer, Corecell™ A-Foam offers the benefit of high resistance to styrene and other chemicals and better thermal stability than linear-PVC foam. Corecell™ A-Foam is also highly thermoformable, which is useful in many applications where cutting the core material is undesirable.

Corecell™ A-Foam is available in every resin infusion format and is compatible with polyester, vinylester and epoxy resin systems. The low resin absorption characteristics ofCorecell™ and it’s unique knife cut formats deliver higher performing infusions, low resin cost and low weight. Gurit’s global technical team have 10 years experience in resin infusion and offer on-site support for Corecell™ customers. This combination makes Corecell™ the most reliable resin infusion package available.

  Corecell A-Foam

Corecell™ P-Foam - Heat stabilised for prepreg processes

Corecell™ P-Foam - A Development of A-Foam for use with Prepreg and SPRINT

Corecell™ P-Foam is a development of Corecell™ A-Foam, intended for prepreg and SPRINT® manufacturing processes.Corecell™ P-Foam has incredible toughness and resistance to cracking, which comes from its high ductility. Corecell™ P-Foam can elongate up to 65% in shear before failure, making core shear failure in a laminate almost impossible.

For the manufacturer of prepreg or SPRINT® structures, especially yacht hulls, Corecell™ P-Foam removes the problems of outgassing inhibition or thermal stability.Corecell™ P-Foam is also highly thermoformable, which is invaluable in the construction of high performance prepreg or SPRINT® structures.

 Corecell P-Foam

Corecell™ S-Foam - Specialist Core for sub-sea applications

Corecell™ S-Foam - For Sub-sea Buoyancy Applications

Corecell™S-Foam has been designed specifically for use in sub-sea buoyancy applications. Its resistance to crushing means that it can withstand depths of over 900m, and its closed-cell structure gives it a high water resistance that ensures buoyancy is maintained over time. With its very high compressive strength,Corecell™ S-Foam can also replace other materials, such as plywood, when creating high strength inserts for through-bolting in composite laminates.

Having the smallest cell size of all the Corecell™ products, Corecell™ S-Foam absorbs very little resin in lamination processes, thus minimising weight gain. The small cell size and the product’s inherent toughness also contribute to the excellent machineability of Corecell™ S-Foam. Complex shapes can be created inCorecell™ S-Foam using a variety of milling, routing, sawing and drilling techniques.

Corecell™ S-Foam is available at lower densities that can be achieved with a syntactic, with standard products ranging from 150 to just over 300kg/m3.

  Corecell S-Foam