The extraordinary growth in the use of advanced composites (especially fiber reinforced plastics) is justified by their impressive features and properties, such as amazing strength-to-weight and stiffness-to-weight ratios, high static strength, good fatigue/damage resistance, excellent dimensional stability under a wide range of temperatures, and many others.

This graph shows how composite usage in aircraft has increased over the years. How high can we get? Will we ever reach 100%? Let us know your opinion in the comments!

Bibliographical Reference:

Advanced Composite Materials for Aerospace Engineering – Processing, Properties and Applications, Page 2.

The post The usage of composite materials in large transport aircraft is growing exponentially! appeared first on Managing Composites.

Let’s kick off our newsfeed with very exciting news: a project that aims to pioneer the use of natural fiber composites in the wind energy industry!

The project Green Nacelle is commissioned by DOT (Delft Offshore Turbine), a leading wind turbine R&D innovator who are part of the DOB-Academy based in Delft, Netherlands. Manufactured by NFC specialists Greenboats®, with composite materials from Sicomin and Bcomp, and engineering support from Judel/Vrolijk & Co, the Green Nacelle is reported to be the largest NFC structure built to date.

Greenboats has specialized in the engineering and manufacturing of natural-fiber composites for the last ten years, inspiring companies to rethink their composite solutions and move towards more sustainable options. With the Green Nacelle, the company and its customer DOT Power have demonstrated that the state of the art in renewable and bio-based composite materials, coupled with efficient composite processing techniques, can lower energy consumption in manufacturing and significantly improve the sustainability of large-scale wind energy components.

Based on the extensive NFC processing expertise developed in-house, Greenboats can reduce the CO2 emissions of a typical glass fiber-reinforced composite (GFRP) part by 60-80% over the product life cycle. In the case of the Green Nacelle, energy consumption in manufacturing has also been reduced by over 50% compared to a nacelle made with existing GFRP technology. These important sustainability benefits are all realized without compromising the performance, quality, or durability of the final composite structure.

https://www.jeccomposites.com/news/the-green-nacelle-pioneering-natural-fibre-composites-in-wind-energy/

Amazing, right? Definitely a step in the right direction!

Now, let’s talk about composite materials in the automotive industry! We have selected two news that cover groundbreaking projects!

Automotive Industry:

BMW

Let’s start with a banger: 3D printing and AFP join forces in automotive demonstrator!
Bavarian auto industry and TU Munich research how to reduce molding costs by combining continuous fiber and 3D-printed composites!

In 2019, engineers from BMW began a collaboration with Technical University of Munich to investigate how to use additive manufacturing (AM) to reduce injection molding costs in such parts. TUM had been conducting various research projects on how to combine more traditional composites manufacturing like layup via automated fiber placement (AFP) with 3D printing that uses continuous fiber reinforcement. “Injection molding tools are quite expensive,” explains Franz Maidl, technology development engineer in BMW’s Lightweight Construction and Technology Center. “Our goal was a fully comparable solution to the MAI Skelett technology but much less costly via additive manufacturing.”

For this next evolution of the Skelett roof frame, two different demonstrators were built using two different AM methods combined with continuous CFRTP materials. The front roof frame demonstrated in the MAI Skelett project was revised using selective laser sintering (SLS) and injection or AFP while the part shown in this article combined extrusion-based 3D printing and AFP to produce a mid-roof frame, located at the B-pillar connection between the chassis side frames. Both frames are slightly curved and close out the chassis “box,” providing stiffness and resistance to torsion. However, the front roof frame also requires mating with the windshield and multiple attachments for interior parts.

Interested to know more about this project? Check out this link:

https://www.compositesworld.com/articles/3d-printing-and-afp-join-forces-in-automotive-demonstrator

Artura GT4

On another note, we have an excellent display of what carbon lightweight design can achieve: McLaren has unveiled the Artura GT4! A model which builds on 570S GT4 and 720S GT3 competition cars with a carbon fiber monocoque for lightweight, precise handling characteristics and enhanced durability.

The new Artura GT4 shares much of its technology with the new McLaren Artura road car, which debuts the McLaren Carbon Lightweight Architecture featuring a carbon fiber monocoque. This motorsport-inspired chassis design and construction is an ideal platform for a race car, McLaren notes, as a rigid structure enables a wider setup envelope for the driver as well as providing a strong and safe driving environment.

The minimization of weight is a key element of the Artura road car, and this philosophy continues in the race car — with a compact V6 engine and ancillaries including the exhaust system, all weight-optimized, the GT4 car is more than 100 kilograms lighter than the outgoing 570S GT4!

https://www.compositesworld.com/news/newly-debuted-artura-gt4-features-mclaren-carbon-lightweight-architecture

Aerospace Industry:

Aero Design Labs’s ADRS-1 kit includes revised fairings and vortex generators to save $12,000 in fuel and >40 tons of CO2 per aircraft per month!

Designed by a team led by ADL’s chief technology officer (CTO) and airframe drag-reduction specialist, Eric Ahlstrom, the modification kit was refined using proprietary computational fluid dynamic (CFD) algorithms that were tested on supercomputers in the U.K. and U.S. “Our proprietary software has embedded artificial intelligence that will significantly shorten future run times,” founder of ADL, Lee Sanders, says. “What used to take us five months to develop a product we can now get done in a matter of a few weeks.”

The ADRS-1 kit consists of a revised wing-to-body aft fairing, modified flap track fairing tips, updated wheel-well fairings, revised aerodynamics around the environmental control system (ECS) pack ram air exit duct and several strategically placed vortex generators. The modifications are particularly tailored to address areas of interference and parasitic drag around the fuselage that have never previously been tackled or only partially treated over the life of the aircraft.

Made predominantly from composite structures, the kit weighs 180 pounds but results in a net gain of only 110 pounds. after replacement of the original structure. ADL says future weight reductions are being studied but adds that the current material set is designed to “far exceed FAA standards and airline rigor.” The kit is expected to require around 150 work-hours to install. “We feel that the kit is minimally impactful from an out-of-service time perspective,” Martin says.

https://www.compositesworld.com/news/new-composites-based-drag-reduction-kit-for-boeing-737-ng-receives-faa-stc-cuts-fuel-burn

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So, let’s start with a complex topic: Biomimicry braiding of fiber-reinforced node structures! An interdisciplinary research team from the University of Stuttgart and the German Institutes of Textile and Fiber Research has developed a spatially branched, braided, carbon fiber-reinforced, high load-bearing supporting node as well as a process for manufacturing such complex structures!

Pretty cool, huh? We think this concept is absolutely amazing! I mean, look at this picture! Check out the link to learn more about this impressive tech!

Now, let’s talk about sustainability in the composites industry! We have selected three news that cover groundbreaking projects!

A partnership between the companies Cecence, National Composites Centre (NCC), and Gen 2 Carbon has yielded spectacular results: using recycled carbon fiber they managed to reduce 84% of the carbon emissions when manufacturing airplane seatbacks!

This breakthrough could reduce CO2 emissions by more than 320 tonnes during the aircraft’s service life, paving the way for more environmentally friendly air travel!

Check out the full story.

On another note, we have great news for the wind energy sector: The ZEBRA (Zero wastE Blade ReseArch) consortium has produced the first prototype of its 100 percent recyclable wind turbine blade!

The 62-meter blade was made using Arkema’s Elium® resin, which is a thermoplastic resin known for its recyclable properties together with the new high-performance Glass Fabrics from Owens Corning. Elium® based composite components can be recycled using an advanced method called chemical recycling that enables to fully depolymerize the resin, separate the fiber from the resin and recover a new virgin resin & High Modulus Glass ready to be reused, closing the loop.

To learn more about the ZEBRA project, check out this link.

Still on the topic of recycling, U.K.-based company Longworth is promising a new method for reclaiming both near-virgin-grade fibers and resins. Called DEECOM, the process uses high-temperature steam and pressure to separate and reclaim materials. After a decade of development and proving out the technology, the company is ready to launch DEECOM commercially for composites recycling this year!

Discover the new in the following link.

Our last story covers 3D printing of composite parts: Polymer 3D printing solutions company Stratasys has partnered with Radford Motors a global luxury automotive brand, to create more than 500 3D-printed parts, including numerous composite components!

By using various 3D printers and technologies, the team was able to produce parts like a large solid composite firewall sandwich core, printed in two halves on the Stratasys F900 printer in ULTEM 1010 resin. The part was bonded together into a single piece and then wrapped with carbon fiber without the use of a layup tool. The design of the firewall included complex mounting features for interior speakers, a fuel filler mount and the luggage compartment. Additionally, many exterior items like side mirror housings, radiator ducts and body vents were printed in FDM Nylon 12 carbon fiber and ASA materials. Numerous mounting brackets throughout the car were also printed in FDM Nylon 12 carbon fiber due to many factors including strength requirements, the aggressive project schedule and complete design freedom!

Read the full new.

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