Investing In Composite Materials

Investing in composite materials is likely a good idea, it seems that their is a daily news report about a product utilizing composites or carbon fiber. The truth is, more and more products are integrating composite materials because they are higher performing. Additionally, as the composites industry further matures, manufacturing costs should continue to decrease.

The fact of the matter is, the composite material industry is a growth sector.

Annual Global Sales of Composite Materials:

2011 - $16.1 billion
2015 estimated - $28.2 billion
2020 estimated - $48.7 billion
(Source: Materials Technology Publications)

Part of the reasoning behind the success and predicted growth of the composite material industry, is the fast integration into almost every single major industrial sector. Think about all the industries that have adopted composites:

• Aerospace
• Defense
• Space
• Mass transit
• Heavy trucking
• Sports and leisure
• Oil and gas
• Marine

All it will take is GM, Ford, or Toyota to adopt composites and suddenly automotive is on this list. So the question is, how can one take part in the potential upside of composites? Well, there are publicly traded companies which are entrenched in composites, here are a few:

• Hexcel Corporation (NYSE: HXL)
• Cytec Industries Inc. (NYSE: CYT)
• Toray Industries Inc. (TYO: 3402)
• 3M Co. (NYSE: MMM)
• Illinois Tool Works (NYSE: ITW)
• Zoltek Companies Inc. (NASDAQ: ZOLT)
• SGL Group (PINK: SGLFF)
• Nippon Carbon Co., Ltd. (TYO: 5302)

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Photo Credit: Titanium22 via Flickr (Creative Commons)

Strongwell Looking at Green Composite Materials

The demand for environmentally friendly materials is growing and will continue to grow. Strongwell, perhaps the world's largest pultruder, recently announced their Green Initiative. This is a fantastic move in the correct direction. Products made with composite materials are in fact environmentally friendly. Composites are inherently lightweight and non-corrosive, which is why they are used in wind blades, automotive, and aerospace.

The life cycle of composites needs to be closely analysed. For example, although a steel structure can be recycled at the end of life, the life span may be shorter, and thus, the overall environmental impact could be greater over time. This all needs to be measured on a analytical and straight forward level.

This being said, FRP composites must figure out a recycling solution. Yes composites are "recyclable", but no company is doing it on a large practical scale... Yet...

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Lockheed Martin F-35 Joint Strike Fighter

The clip above demonstrates why the new Joint Strike Fighter needs to be as lightweight as possible. Carbon fiber is undoubtedly playing a role in reducing the weight. I caught a fascinating NOVA episode on the competition between Lockheed and Boeing in designing the F-35. It goes into a surprising amount of detail of the composite construction and even discusses how Boeing attempted to use a thermoplastic matrix. If you have Netflix, you can watch it instantly for free, or you can get the episode from Amazon below:


I highly recommended anyone interested in aerospace composites or this military program to check it out.

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Composite Prosthetic Limbs

Here is an interesting article about a company called GENER8. They have developed a composite prosthetic leg out of what appears to be carbon fiber. Unlike similar composite prosthetic legs which can cost between $700 - $5,000 each, GENER8 is shooting to provide their design at a price below $500. Their current target market is developing countries where affordable options are not currently available.

Although, in countries like India, where the average income is 38,084 Rupee's a year, or $2.34 a day, even a non-subsidized composite limb at a couple hundred dollars is probably still unaffordable for the average person. But, it is a move in the right direct...

Photo Credit: GENER8

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This came up on a web search, some good information...

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Aluminum Bats vs Composite Bats

Composite baseball bats are gaining popularity in softball and little leagues world wide. Using carbon fiber and epoxy, these composite bats are said to have such good performance, that they are now banned for use in NCAA play. Much like other composite products, the big draw to the bats is their lightweight yet powerful capabilities.

What is interesting though, is that while most composite products dread delamination and fiber-breakage, composite bats desire it. It is said that composite bats get better with use. The theory goes, as fiber breaks and delaminates in the bat barrel, the bat becomes more flexible producing more power when you hit the ball.

In 2008, the University of Massachusetts at Lowell put this to the test. Although their sample size was relatively small, they concluded:

"A set of six “high-performance” composite baseball bats and one aluminium baseball bat were tested to see how their respective batted-ball performances would evolve with use. None of the bats showed a significant change in the resulting batted-ball-speed performance using the NCAA BESR performance testing protocol. Three of the six baseball bats failed with less than 100 hits—implying that some of the composite bat designs are not durable."

A high-end composite bat, weighing less the 30oz, can retail for over $300... Not too shabby.

Photo Credit: ertemplin via flicker

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Composites vs Metal

Above is a helpful material property comparison of composites and metals. Below is an interesting graph comparing the fatigue strength of composites vs metal. Enjoy...

Source: Advanced Composite Materials Technology Research Centre at The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology.


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Life Cycle Assessment

We have talked before about life cycle assessment (LCA) of products manufactured with composite materials. Here is a paper discussing the life cycle of a surfboard. A surfboard is more or less a composite sandwich structure. The core is either a polyurethane foam core or eps foam core. A wood stringer is added down the center for stiffness. The skins are generally woven 4oz fiberglass, often 2 layers on top and one on the bottom. Resin is epoxy or more commonly polyester.

In the life cycle analysis paper, the author cites more carbon emissions are created driving to and from the beach then the life of the surfboard will ever produce. Recently, companies have been experimenting with greener surfboard materials. In particular, bio-based resins, fabric, and foam. However, at least from a greenhouse emissions point of view, the composite construction of the board is a moot point in comparison to the emissions surfers generate driving to the beach.

I imagine similar studies for other products manufactured with composite materials will find similar statistics. It also exemplifies that we need greener transportation, and composites will play a role in reducing automotive weight and increasing fuel efficiency.

Photo Credit: Hot Tamale Surfboards

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Recycled Plastic as a Building Material

There are a few building materials already using recycled plastic; some composite decking products use recycled polyethylene grocery bags. The video above describes a whole new building product. Here, it appears the variety of ground up plastics are held together by a thermoset. If this is the case, the plastic will act as the reinforcement in the new composite material...

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Recycling Composite Materials

For many reasons, composite material products need to have a better solution for their end of life. Thermoset composites have difficulties in reprocessing, however thermoplastic composites are showing some promise. Technology Review discusses some breakthroughs in recycling PET, which may provide some foundation for recycling fiber reinforced PET in the future. Essentially, researchers at IBM have figured out how to chemically break down PET to their original parts, which then can be used again. Traditional recycling of PET uses heat and pressure to melt down the plastic.

Although recycling composite materials is necessary, composites still provide valuable environmental savings during their life. In composite transportation products such as marine, rail, aerospace, and automotive, the fuel saving and carbon reduction benefits can outweigh the downside of not being able to recycle. Here is a Swedish study of a Life Cycle Analysis (LCA for short, and likely an acronym we hear often) of fiber reinforced composites.

In the study, the researched compared the LCA of a steel ship with composite sandwich structures. Even though steel is recycled in the end, the emission reductions and corrosion benefits of using composite materials outweigh the recycling benefit.

Now, imagine the LCA comparison when fully recyclable composites are used...

Photo Credit: jsbarrie via flicker

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International Defense Use of Composite Material

Obviously the US Department of Defense is one of the largest customers and users of composite materials, however, as technology advancements and military budgets expand in countries such as China and India, so will the demand for composite materials.

Above is a video describing how the large multi-national company ThyssenKrupp is integrating advanced composite materials into the Indian Navy.

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Boeing 787 Dreamliner - Composite Materials

The composite industry as a whole is interested in the success of Boeing's new 787; it is one more step towards mass acceptance of composite materials. Despite all the problems and the current 28 month delay in production, in the end, the weight savings on the 787 will help contribute to a 20% fuel efficiency.

Here is a great post by MIT's Technology Review on the problems and the future of the Dreamliner. A worthwhile quick read for anyone following the 787 saga.

Photo Credit: Dave Sizer via flicker

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Fire Laws and Composite Materials

In Kansas, they are trying to pass a law that requires the installation of fire sprinklers in small residential complexes. This would add additional and unwanted costs to builders. According to this article:

"Ron Ewing of the Firefighters Association said the trend is to require sprinklers in new construction because of increased use of lightweight and composite materials.

Older wood-built homes could burn for about 20 minutes before they began to collapse. With new homes, that "burn time" shortens to five minutes because of the different materials used, he said."

Now what he means by "composite materials" is probably different then what we commonly think of composite materials, i.e. FRP.

Photo Credit: dvs via flicker

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Acceptance of Composite Material

Not everyone is thrilled with composite materials. Watch the video above; a small town complains about a new composite poll installed. Apparently, they would rather have a tilted old wooden pole, treated with harsh heavy metals, and fixated with a steel guy wire; over a clean tapered composite pole that is self supporting and could last over 50 years.

Acceptance of composite materials is slow and steady process...

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Spider Web Composite Armor - Biomimicry

I love biomimicry, and in particular, natures' ability to manufacture superior composite materials. Spider silk, known to be one of the strongest materials per unit of weight has made news yet again. A start-up called EntoGenetics has recently received a grant to produce spider silk from a silkworm:

"EntoGenetics has developed a method for transferring a spider's silk production gene into the common silkworm, creating for the first time a commercially viable method of spider silk production. This fiber will provide soldiers with life-saving vests that are tougher, lighter and more comfortable to wear than current vests made of Kevlar and other similar fibers. It will also be used in promising medical, aerospace and composite applications."

More Info:  NC IDEA

Photo Credit: photofarmer via flicker


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Marine Industry and Composite Materials

Yesterday President Obama said it best in a speech given at a high school in New Hampshire: "You don't go buying a boat when you can barely pay your mortgage."

Once a primary use of composite materials, the marine industry has since been hit hard by the economic downturn. What the President describes, is exactly what boat builders are experiencing right now. Boats are no doubt a luxury good, and right now, people are not buying luxury goods.

With this being said, European luxury yacht builder Emocean just announced plans for a 200m super yacht as seen above. They still need someone to buy the $500-$900 million dollar yacht before they will start building. This thing is a serious haus. 100ft pool, room for two 98ft "day boats", helipad, nightclub, and casino. Yet it will still maintain 28 knots, which is pretty good for a boat that size.

Photo Credit: Emocean

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Green Composite Material Gets Funding

According to earth2tech.com, New York based company e2e materials has raised $3 million in funding. The company, a spin-out from Cornell University, "is a clean technology company in Ithaca, New York that produces petroleum-free, biodegradable composites that are stronger, lighter and cheaper than composites filling landfills today." This is according to their website.

Now the claim of cheaper and lighter may have some merit, but saying their products are stronger then "composites filling landfills today" might be a stretch. Granted, there are many composite materials this product is stronger then, but the composites people think of most often, FRP composites, fiberglass and carbon fiber in particular, it is doubtful a bio-based composite has near the structural properties.

This being said, I am all for green composite materials and bio-based composites. The composite industry and the world needs to move in this direction as a whole. There are a myriad of applications natural fiber reinforcement is ideal for, however, we are still a long ways away from natural fiber replacing fiberglass, carbon, or aramid fibers. Hopefully e2e Materials and their new funding will help lead this charge.

Photo Source: e2e Materials

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Carbon Fiber UAV

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Composite Armor at the Superbowl

I don't usually find composite material information from gossip web sites, but TMZ is reporting that celebratory Kim Kardashian, girlfriend of Saints running back Reggie Bush, will be riding to the big game in an "Armor Horse" limo as seen above. Supposedly this limo is protected with "composite ballistic panels."


Photo Credit: Armorhorse.net 

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Composite Materials in the Winter Olympics

It's no secret, technology can help win gold medals at the Olympics. During this coming winter Olympics composite materials will play a large roll. Composites will be used in skis, snowboards, bobsleds, luges, lightweight aerodynamic helmets, ski poles, hockey sticks, and perhaps even curling equipment.

In racing events where seconds can be the difference between a gold medal and not placing at all, a technology equipment advantage could be the deciding factor. Here is an article about a small composites company in Canada which has designed a snowboard for the giant slalom out of carbon fiber. By dialing in the weight, shape, flex pattern, and balance, they are hoping their snowboards will be that difference to when a medal at home.

Not only will composite materials be used during competition, but Canadian aerospace company Bombardier has manufactured the torches out of composites (I'm guessing carbon fiber). In all, they manufactured 12,000 torches, you can see it here.

Photo Credit: Webdevil666 via flicker

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