In a few months time two young UK engineers will attempt to cross the Atlantic Ocean in a pedal-boat to raise money for charity and hopefully set a new world record. Mike Sayer describes the design and build of the carbon fibre composite boat that will be his home for around 38 days.
09 September 2011
The growing demand for everything green to promote sustainability is being felt increasingly in the building and construction industry. The internationally recognised LEED initiative of the US Green Building Council promotes alternative, energy-efficient materials, which is good for composites. So are the building codes and standards being written for FRP materials.
06 September 2011
By signing SB X 1-2 into law, Governor Jerry Brown has marked a new milestone in California’s electricity history, turning the state into a deeper shade of green.
01 September 2011
Bernd Hoevel, Senior R&D Manager, and Alain Sagnard, Senior R&D Engineer, at the Dow Chemical Company, describe how the company's foam core material and epoxy resin systems can help manufacture lighter, stronger wind turbine blades.
29 August 2011
Various materials have been used as core materials in sandwich composites to produce strong, lightweight and cost-effective structures in a broad range of uses. Most recently, the wind energy industry has become a major consumer of core materials, especially foam core, which has been making inroads against balsa in wind turbine blade production.
22 August 2011
Over the past decades, structural adhesives have evolved into effective and dependable alternatives to conventional joining techniques such as bolting, riveting and welding. They can be used to bond almost all materials commonly employed in industrial manufacturing. One essential aspect is selecting the right bonding solution for each particular construction. But which adhesive solutions are available and which factors must be considered in order to get the best results?
22 August 2011
Composites are effective in providing corrosion protection in significant volume for industrial processing systems worldwide. Vicki P. McConnell examines corrosion market influences and system ductwork applications.
04 August 2011
Fred Stoll, Chief Engineer, WebCore Technologies LLC, explains how TYCOR® W core material is helping wind turbine blade designers reduce the cost and weight of bigger blades while giving operations managers improved quality.
01 August 2011
The 540 ft long Knickerbocker Bridge now open in Boothbay, Maine, USA, is claimed to be the longest composite vehicular bridge in the world. It employs hybrid-composite beam (HCB) technology, which combines the strength and stiffness of conventional concrete and steel with the lightweight and corrosion advantages of fibre reinforced plastics (FRP).
26 July 2011
With a growing number of composite wind turbine blades now in service, rotor blade maintenance is becoming a major issue. George Marsh looks at the techniques used to inspect and repair blades and investigates a new system designed to speed up the repair process.
18 July 2011
Part two: We continue our focus on cost reduction in wind energy, and ask some major innovators in the sector where we are heading for in the major markets.
16 July 2011
Equipment and product innovation plays a vital role in the financial viability of wind power. But industry players should also share understanding of key O&M issues.
15 July 2011
The automotive industry is using increasing quantities of carbon fibre composites and the latest advances in automated mass production techniques can be seen on 27-29 September at the COMPOSITES EUROPE trade show in Stuttgart, Germany.
07 July 2011
Tom Hedger, President of Magnum Venus Plastech, comments on the recent decision of the US Health and Human Services Department to list styrene as a substance that is “reasonably anticipated to be a human carcinogen” in its 12th Report on Carcinogens (RoC).
05 July 2011
As with most automation, advanced fibre placement (AFP) requires substantial investment, but it has shown its ability to cover its cost in terms of saved labour and reduced material scrap, combined with the ability to form laminates of exceptional quality with higher accuracy and repeatability .
28 June 2011
Kemal Tunç, General Manager of Turkish pipe manufacturer Subor, explains how the company has become a preferred supplier of glass reinforced plastic (GRP) pipes for irrigation projects in the country.
14 June 2011
A preview of the COMPOSITES EUROPE 2011 exhibition will be published in the September/October issue of Reinforced Plastics magazine.
07 June 2011
Holger Krahmer MEP, Member of the Committee on the Environment, Public Health and Food Safety, was the keynote speaker at the European Composites Industry Association (EuCIA)'s Information Day on Competitive Composites: Sustainability & Recycling Challenges which took place on 4 May at the European Parliament in Brussels. This is his speech.
31 May 2011
The question of how to dispose of end-of-life thermoset composite parts is growing in importance. Traditional disposal routes such as landfill and incineration are becoming increasingly restricted, and composites companies and their customers are looking for more sustainable solutions. The European Composites Industry Association (EuCIA) addressed this issue at its Information Day – Competitive Composites: Sustainability and Recycling Challenges – held at the European Parliament in Brussels in May.
31 May 2011
Enrico Ferri, CEO of Composite Technical Services (CTS), explains why cashew nutshell oil-derived bio-resins can help increase the green attributes of composites while also enhancing their performance.
22 May 2011