Carbon Fiber Technology Center - Oak Ridge National Laboratory

In order for the full utilization of carbon fiber in automotive applications. (Which is necessary to lower weight.) The cost of raw carbon fiber needs to decrease. Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) is taking on this challenge using $34.7 million in DOE ARPA funding; they are establishing a Carbon Fiber Technology Center. According to their website:

The center will be capable of producing up to 80 tons per year of low-cost carbon fiber for evaluation and use by industry and government partners. Primary equipment will include a thermal (conventional) carbon fiber conversion line and a melt-spun precursor fiber production line. Space and utility provisions are planned to add an advanced technology conversion line.

The overall goal of this technology center is to lower the cost of carbon fiber 50%. This could be a major breakthrough not only to the automotive industry in gaining better fuel efficiency, but many other applications of carbon fiber where high-strength and lightweight is crucial.

Photo Credit: ORNL

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Defense Armor Funding - 2011 Requests

2010 was a fantastic year for defense appropriations for composite companies, in particular, composite armor received substantial funding. Even though it is only April, Senators are beginning to announce their 2011 requests. Senator Jim Bunning of Kentucky announced some of his requests, and looks like 2011 will be another stellar year for composite armor funding. Below are Bunning's related requests:

Project: De-Weighting Military Vehicles through Advanced Composites Manufacturing Technology

Amount Requested: $3,200,000

Recipient: MAG Industrial Automation Systems

Location: Boone County, KY

Description:  This is a research and development project for manufacturing of a machine to produce lighter-weight parts for military vehicles.  The project is a valuable use of taxpayer funds because it advances technology that delivers light-weight materials that improve fuel efficiency, cost savings, and enhanced combat readiness.

Project: Enabling Optimization of Reactive Armor 

Amount Requested: $5,000,000

Recipient: Ensign-Bickford Aerospace and Dynamics

Location: Muhlenberg County, KY

Description: These funds will be used to develop a replacement for current reactive armor used by the Army which will be reduced in weight, meet new threats, and increase overall safety. 

Project:  New Specialty Resins for Advanced Composite Armor

Amount Requested: $2,000,000

Recipient: Hexion Specialty Chemicals, Inc.

Location: Jefferson County, KY

Description: Funds will help develop a new range of matrix resins that address shortcomings in existing composite ballistic armor systems.  Achieving a better balance of properties will advance composite toughness, enhance fire, smoke, and toxicity performance to help our servicemen and women. 

Project: Tactical Mobility Consortium (TMC)

Amount Requested: $8,000,000

Recipient: University of Kentucky Research Foundation and M2 Technologies

Location: Fayette County, KY

Description:  The requested funding will advance years of aggressive research and development with the Marine Corps to deliver a critical force protection capability to the warfighter, allowing our military to provide the technical expertise required to assess the intended and unintended impacts of emerging technologies within the context of expeditionary warfare.  

Hopefully the military is actually requesting this research...

Source and Photo Credit: Senator Jim Bunning

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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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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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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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DARPA Composite Armor Development

Some great warfighter technologies come out of the DARPA. Here is a synopsis for the development of composite armor with private company Hardwire.

"In collaboration with the U.S. Army, the Hardwire® DARPA Armor program exploited unique hybrid composite materials in innovative geometries and systems to provide improved military vehicle armor protection at a significantly reduced weight compared to other technologies. This approach to armor design has provided a suite of armor solutions that can be tailored to meet mission and vehicle-specific weight and performance requirements in response to specific and emerging threats. New insights and infrastructure for armor manufacturing has changed hybrid, composite armor production from a labor-intensive, small-quantity process to a quality-controlled, high-throughput operation. The program applied automated high-precision production fabrication technologies to adaptively and rapidly produce panels to specification and at a cost comparable to that of traditional armor. These changes in the composite armor design and production paradigm have made life-saving armor systems available for warfighter vehicles"

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Airplane Bomb Protection: Composite Materials

Photo Credit: Dave Sizer via flicker

The recent Christmas day "Underwear Bomber" failed, but what if he was successful? The folks at the Discovery Channel and the BBC put this to the test, setting off a similar explosive in a retired airframe. (You can watch the preview here.)

Not only would the airframe survive, but it is thought that a next-generation aircraft built with composite materials such as the 787 Dreamliner would do better:

"The BBC also used a decommissioned Boeing 747 and not a newer Airbus A330 for the test. An actual test would be necessary to prove this, but Wyatt and Joseph think that the newer plane, which was made with lighter and stronger composite materials instead of aluminum, would have performed even better.

The newest commercial passenger jet, the Boeing 747 or Dreamliner, which has even more composite materials, would likely perform even better, said Wyatt, although he doesn't know for sure."

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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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End of Life Solution for Plastics and Polymers

Above is a short documentary about a trip to the great pacific garbage patch, a three part series following a voyage to a collection of plastic larger then the state of Texas. The film should create serious questions for anyone involved in the composites, plastics, or polymer industries.

If one thinks about it, we come into contact with plastics constantly on a daily basis, from our toothbrush in the morning, to the synthetic bed we sleep on at night. This dependence is only going to continue. Even our electricity will be created from FRP wind blades and our cars will be manufactured from lightweight polymer composites.

Yet, the composites industry has no end solution for our products. Currently, traditional FRP products goto landfills or incinerators at the end of life. This is unacceptable, and more importantly, unsustainable. The composite industry as a whole needs to continue the search for better materials and further develop a realistic and functional solution for end of life solutions.

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New Composite Building System for Haiti

Below is a guest post by James Bancroft discussing a new building technology:

Rexwall/Aqua Homes (Germany) has developed and is producing a lightweight composite honeycomb-core panels used in both houseboats and land based homes. These are large insulated wall panels, glued into place.

I am not a fan of prefabricated panelized housing systems. Each house needs to be individually engineered, offering limited styles and require special assembly skills. Panelization might offer certain benefits for large housing tracts where the houses are all identical but have limited value for custom construction.

The concept for the lightweight composite building blocks allows for a variety, different sizes and architectural styles of structures without detailed architectural plans. Using only three or four standard, off-the-shelf blocks almost any type of structure can be built--local unskilled labor can easily visualize how they "fit together" and can adapt structures to the local topography.

Key to the success of any high tech building material is its adaptability to incorporate local building finishes--creating structures which fit into the historical context, customs and local design traditions--the use of materials which people have grown accustomed to--houses people want and feel comfortable living in.

Below and above are several illustrations demonstrating how this can be achieved using the composite blocks, rough exterior finishes allowing them to be stuccoed with local cementitious materials (Haiti-colorful Caribbean colors), roof panels reflecting local materials and natural flooring coverings.

For building green issues, the central insulating core could use recycled EPS, the buildings can be easily adapted to changing needs (unstacking and rebuilding) or be completely "disassembled" and recycled into new structures.

The next step in exploring and testing potential of the blocks would be to have a composite manufacture produce a number of prototype blocks, assemble them into a model small garden type house--take it apart and reassemble it several times to work out the details.

For more information contact Jim Bancroft at agatha43@comcast.net.

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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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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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Shell Armor - Biomimicry Composites

Here is a new study on a deep water sea snail who has an amazing shell. It lives by geothermal vents so it experiences extreme fluctuations in temperature and acidity. Yet in this highly corrosive environment this snail shell still provides protection from predators.

It is no surprise that researchers are looking at this type of shell to provide insights for new armor. Biomimicry is one of my favorite topics here as there is much we can learn from mother nature. She has after all been inventing and modifying for millions of years.

What other "animal armor" is out there that perhaps we should look at? Take the desert tortoise for example, much like a Humvee in Afghanistan the tortoise's armor needs to be lightweight, strong, and withstand the harsh environments.

Photo Credit: Ken Wilcox via flicker

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Why we need composite materials?

The continued integration of lightweight composites into automotive and transportation will help alleviate the United Sates dependence on foreign oil. In particular, the US dependence on foreign oil supplied by unstable nations (as seen in the map above.)

Composite materials integrated into aerospace, automotive, trucking, and mass transit will all have fuel saving benefits. Additionally, products manufactured with composites will require less energy to transport or ship then traditional materials.

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Composite Cargo Shipping Containers

Composite cargo shipping containers have always been seen as a no-brainier. They are lighter weight, they are well insulated, and they are non-corrosive. Above is a video of a new (2016 Update, video was removed from youtube) composite cargo shipping container manufactured by a Dutch company. (Skip to 1min mark). This container is collapsible, which is an additional advantage.

Other not so obvious advantages of using composite materials in a shipping container include:

- Transparency, x-ray and other scanning equipment can be used by Homeland Security to inspect as ports.

- Tracking, RFID and GPS tracking systems can be easily embedded in the skins.

- Floating, surprisingly many see-land containers fall off cargo ships in rough conditions and during loading/unloading at port. Supposedly, current containers have a neutral buoyancy and float out of view just under the surface; which is a serious hazard to boats. A composite container would float and allow for easy retrieval.

The major downside to composite shipping containers is their initial costs. This particular container is said to be 3 times more expensive then a steel container. Cost justification with a tangible savings/payback needs to be evident for wide adoption. Additionally, I believe manufactures need to have a well planned end of life solution. Undoubtedly these containers will be damaged beyond repair, and a recyclable solution is needed. Current steel containers are scrapped easily for recycling, and composite containers would need the same.

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Lightweight Composite Medical Device

On this blog I like to point out interesting and novel uses of composite materials. For example, the medical is slowing starting to accept composites, and like the carbon fiber prosthetic legs, above is a video of an interesting option to crutches and wheelchairs.

The freedom leg uses molded composite braces to transfer the load from the upper, un-injured leg, to the ground. It weights a little over 2 lbs, and if I had a broken leg, I'd consider using it...

Make Your Costume From Composite Materials

I've talked before about composite robot costumes, but as Halloween is here, those with the materials and capabilities should construct their families costumes out of composites. It will be lightweight, strong, and will never corrode. (Nobody wants a rusted Storm-trooper costume...)

Here are some more examples of costumes using composite materials:

Halo 3
Star Wars
Hannibal Lecter
Jason

Reducing Aviation Emissions

Interesting article by MITs Technology Review on how the aviation industry can reduce global warming emissions. Obviously, using lightweight composite materials is a start; further carbon reductions can come from improved logistics, improved wing/airplane design, and using bio-fuels.

Read the article here.

Photo Credit: Rob Shenk via flicker

Lightweight Composite Armor

Pictured above is the results from a roadside bomb in Iraq that killed 14 US marines. It should be a reminder that while US troops are fighting overseas, they need to be best protected and armored.

Lightweight composite armor, as discussed before here, here, and here, is playing an important role in troop protection and mobility. Troops need to be protected at the highest level, yet they cannot be overburdened or slowed down by excess weight.

One of the largest US manufacturers of composite armor is Hardwire LLC, they were ranked in the September edition of INC Magazine as one of the fastest growing companies. In a press release from today, Hardwire announced that they plan to double there manufacturing capacity.

In related news, Army Times is reporting that the Army is considering developing a lighter version of the Abrams battle tank. Currently, the Abrams tank weighs in at 75 tons and the new tank would have a goal of 60 tons. Lightweight composite armor would undoubtedly be mandatory in this new tank design.

Additionally here is a press release about General Dynamics new Stryker vehicle. This too would utilize lightweight composite armor.

With no definite end to conflict abroad creating a continued demand from the military, it is no wonder companies like Hardwire are expanding.

Photo Credit : nukeit1 via flicker