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| Hardwire
reinforcements are all based on twisted wire cords. Why??? Because Hardwire
works to blend somewhat contrary characteristics together to make an engineering
material that combines the ultimate quality, strength, stiffness, handle-ability,
and bond with the resin systems that make up Hardwire reinforced composites,
plastics and cements. To make the highest strength wire possible, ultimate quality steel must be drawn down to very fine wire diameters. It is only at ultra fine diameters that steel can be transformed in to the ultimate steel microstructure of pearlite. Further, when the wire is drawn down, the grains, or single crystals of steel, contained in the pearlite micro structure are oriented in the wire drawing direction, further increasing the directional strength of the wire while balancing the off axis properties so critical to toughness and fatigue. The process used to draw the fine wires is so brutal that only the highest quality steel can survive to become Hardwire. Individual filaments are then twisted together into cords where the specific twist angle is precisely controlled. Anywhere from 2 individual wires to 50 wires are twisted together during this step. Last, for some products, a wrap wire is added to the twisted bundle to add specific characteristics for handling or bonding to highly viscous resins. The twisted wire cords are basically bundles of the ultra tensile wires….pre packaged, to handle and have flexibility like small wires (and the insane strength of 450KSI), but also have the economic handling benefits of a larger wire size. The cords are varied between those highly twisted cords for optimum tensile strain to allow for better ductility, slightly twisted cords which are more open to allow resin penetration, yet still maintain cable like properties and straight cords with a twisted over warp to provide balanced tensile and compressive behavior. |
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