Aramid Honeycomb Material: Application, Supply and Demand, and Development Prospects

The honeycomb sandwich structure absorbing material based on honeycomb core material is an important structural absorbing material. It is mainly used in the field of radar stealth and consists of aramid honeycomb impregnated with absorbent and wave-transparent panels, possessing both excellent mechanical and wave-absorbing properties. For aramid honeycomb sandwich structure absorbing materials, their wave-absorbing performance mainly depends on the specifications and dimensions of the honeycomb itself as well as the impregnating adhesive system. Currently, such materials can achieve strong absorption in the frequency band of 0-18GHz.
 
II. Main Application Scenarios
 
1. Main Application Scenarios of Aramid Paper
 
Based on different functional applications, the downstream application fields of aramid paper mainly include electrical insulation (as insulating material) and honeycomb core material (as structural weight-reducing material).
 
Meta-aramid paper products are mainly used in the electrical insulation field, with a small amount applied in the honeycomb core material field. Transformers are currently the field with the largest consumption of aramid paper in China. Meanwhile, with the electrification of railways and large-scale construction of urban subways and light rails in China, higher requirements have been put forward for related equipment of high-speed trains, including high-power traction transformers.
 
Para-aramid paper products are mainly used in the honeycomb core material field. Compared with honeycomb core materials made of meta-aramid paper, those made of para-aramid paper have significantly improved comprehensive mechanical properties. Their strength is 5 times that of steel of the same quality, while their density is only one-fifth of steel. However, due to its high cost, it is generally used in honeycomb core material fields with high strength requirements.
 
2. Main Application Scenarios of Aramid Honeycomb Core Material
 
Aerospace Field: After being combined with panels to form a sandwich structure, aramid paper honeycomb core material can serve as one of the ideal structural forms and is widely used in the aerospace field. Its main application parts include flaps, ailerons, vertical tail leading edges, rudders, canards, fuselages, blades, radomes, antenna covers, wall panels, hatches, floors and other components, as well as large-rigidity and secondary load-bearing components of aircraft. As the preferred core material for composite honeycomb sandwich structures of aircraft, it can reduce the structural weight of the aircraft and achieve wave transparency, noise reduction and heat insulation of functional components. According to statistics, the domestic Z-9 helicopter has more than 280 Nomex honeycomb panels, covering about 80% of the entire aircraft area; the honeycomb panels of the U.S. F-111 fighter jet account for more than 90% of the total external area; the C919 uses a large number of honeycomb core materials in multiple parts to meet weight reduction needs, and the demand for aramid honeycomb core materials per aircraft is expected to be above 10 million yuan.
 
Shipbuilding Field: The honeycomb sandwich structure can not only reduce the weight of empty ships, improve the maneuverability and impact resistance of ships, but also greatly enhance their corrosion resistance and "stealth" capabilities. In recent years, navies of various countries have also used honeycomb sandwich materials in superstructures such as deck houses, bulkheads and aircraft canopies of surface ships to improve the overall performance of the ships. The U.S. Coast Guard cutters adopted Nomex honeycomb structures instead of asbestos panels, which not only reduced the cutter weight by more than 9 tons but also eliminated potential hazards caused by asbestos; the internal decoration of the Liaoning aircraft carrier uses more than 100,000 square meters of aramid panels, with a price of 1,500-2,000 yuan per square meter. It is understood that major research institutes of China Shipbuilding Industry Corporation have begun to use aramid honeycomb panels for lightweight ship interior decoration projects.
 
Rail Transit Field: Aramid materials can effectively reduce the energy consumption and noise of high-speed trains and have been applied in parts such as side panels, roof panels, seats, partitions, luggage racks and sunroof panels of high-speed train carriages, reducing vehicle weight and increasing train speed. EMUs with a speed of more than 200 km/h require a large amount of aramid paper honeycomb materials. Changchun Railway Vehicles Co., Ltd. recommends using aramid honeycomb materials as the sandwich structure material for high-speed trains in its CRH-5 EMUs, with an annual demand of 50,000 square meters for 10-15mm aramid honeycomb materials. In addition, new models such as standard EMUs, sleeper EMUs and new energy low-floor vehicles have also adopted aramid honeycomb structures in their interior design to meet the needs of lightweight and comfort.
 
In addition, aramid paper honeycomb core materials can also be used in the manufacture of wind turbine blades, marine yachts, racing boats, ski boards, RVs and other products.
 
III. Industry Supply and Demand Situation
 
1. Supply and Demand of Aramid Fibers
 
Currently, the global production capacity of aramid fibers is approximately 140,000-150,000 tons, of which more than 50,000 tons are meta-aramid fibers and 90,000-100,000 tons are para-aramid fibers. For meta-aramid fibers in China, about 60% are used in the relatively low-end industrial filtration field, and only about 10% are used in high-end insulation and honeycomb core material fields. For para-aramid fibers in China, 40% are used for optical fiber reinforcement; 20% for bulletproof protection, such as military bulletproof helmets and gloves; 20% for the automotive rubber industry; and 20% for composite materials.
 
2. Supply and Demand of Aramid Paper
 
Aramid Paper: Statistics show that the global nominal production capacity of aramid paper is about 20,000 tons/year, with an effective production capacity of approximately 12,000 tons/year; the global demand for aramid paper is about 10,000 tons/year, and the main market share is occupied by DuPont. According to data compiled by CITIC Securities Research Institute, global aramid paper is mainly used in electrical insulation and honeycomb core materials, accounting for 64% and 34% respectively. Compared with the global consumption structure, 90.76% of China's aramid paper demand in 2020 came from electrical insulation, while the consumption share of honeycomb structural materials and other composite materials was only 9.24%.
 
At present, the main domestic aramid paper manufacturer is Minshida. As the first domestic aramid paper manufacturer, Minshida currently ranks second in the global market share of aramid paper products, second only to DuPont of the United States.
 
3. Supply and Demand of Aramid Honeycomb Core Material
 
Based on the calculation that 100kg of aramid paper can be made into 3 cubic meters of honeycomb core material, the global theoretical production capacity of aramid honeycomb can reach 2.04 million cubic meters, and the theoretical production capacity of aramid honeycomb in the Chinese market can reach 240,000 cubic meters; the aramid honeycomb core material corresponding to the effective production capacity is approximately 54,000 cubic meters.
 
Currently, the main domestic manufacturer of aramid honeycomb core material is AVIC Composite. AVIC Composite's honeycomb production is mainly distributed in Beijing and Nantong. Among them, the large-size honeycomb production line in Nantong has internationally advanced levels and high automation; its products are mainly for the civil aircraft field, mainly for foreign trade customers such as Airbus, Boeing and Arqiva.
 
IV. Conclusion
 
In recent years, China has continuously increased policy support for aramid fiber materials and aramid paper. Especially in recent years, the rapid development of China's equipment manufacturing industry, such as high-speed trains, domestic aircraft manufacturing and aircraft carriers, has driven the development of aramid insulating paper and aramid paper honeycomb core materials.
 
With the increasing application fields of aramid paper, the aramid paper market is expected to have a good development prospect. According to third-party public data, China's aramid paper consumption has increased from 2,742 tons in 2017 to 4,215 tons in 2021, and the consumption volume of aramid paper in China is expected to reach 12,357 tons in 2028. The honeycomb structure is the best load-bearing structure in the aerospace field and will exist in the structural design of aircraft and spacecraft for a long time.