This technology recovers the glass fibre from reinforced polymer composites while limiting the mechanical degradation of the fibre during the reclamation process. In turn, this allows the recycled fibre to be reused in new composite applications such as vehicle light-weighting, other renewable energy systems components, and performance sports equipment.

Wind power is clean, economical, and readily available in the USA, but to make those giant blades, wind turbine manufacturers rely on advanced polymer composites. These materials can survive some of mother nature’s most brutal forces, but eventually, do wear out and end up in the landfill. As the wind industry grows and waste blade levels climb into the tens, hundreds of thousands of tons and beyond, a better end of life solution is needed.

While the US wind industry has made substantial contributions to America’s renewable energy portfolio, work continues to convert the industry to a more circular economy paradigm. Rather than simply downcycling the blades into aggregates, Researchers at the university are able to not only convert the blades’ organic components into useful petrochemicals for energy production but also able to extract the glass fibre reinforcement and use it to make higher-value recycled composites.

UT has partnered with Carbon Rivers LLC, a start-up company located in Knoxville and owned by alumnus Bowie Benson (’17), to further develop and commercialise the novel glass fibre recovery technology for the purpose of handling retired wind turbine blades.

“Having the opportunity to collaborate with the bright minds at UT, like Dr Ginder, and catalyse new solutions for our country’s plastics waste problem, is a Volunteer’s dream come true,” said Benson. “The year 2020 has been a challenging year all around for our community, but I remain hopeful for the future as long as we keep working together to take on the tough challenges, like making American energy more sustainable. I am especially optimistic for our project’s next phase, and its potential to improve the wind industry’s environmental footprint while creating new, much-needed jobs in East Tennessee.”

Over the next two years, the UT-Carbon Rivers team will collaborate with GE Renewable Energy, Berkshire Hathaway Energy’s MidAmerican Energy Company, and PacifiCorp utilities to develop a pilot scale glass fiber composite recycling system that will serve as the basis for eventual deployment of a full-scale commercial wind blade waste processing plant.

The post University Receives Funding to Recycle Wind Turbine Blades appeared first on Composites Today.

In the new study led by Rice graduate students Lauren Taylor and Oliver Dewey, the researchers noted that wet-spun carbon nanotube fibres, which could lead to breakthroughs in a host of medical and materials applications, have doubled in strength and conductivity every three years, a trend that spans almost two decades.

While that may never mimic Moore’s Law, which set a benchmark for computer chip advances for decades, Pasquali and his team are doing their part to advance the method they pioneered to make carbon nanotube fibres.

The lab’s threadlike fibres, with tens of millions of nanotubes in cross-section, are being studied for use as bridges to repair damaged hearts, as electrical interfaces with the brain, for use in cochlear implants, as flexible antennas and for automotive and aerospace applications.

They are also part of the Carbon Hub, a multi-university research initiative launched in 2019 by Rice with support from Shell, Prysmian and Mitsubishi to create a zero-emissions future.

“Carbon nanotube fibres have long been touted for their potential superior properties,” Pasquali said. “Two decades of research at Rice and elsewhere have made this potential a reality. Now we need a worldwide effort to increase production efficiency so these materials could be made with zero carbon dioxide emissions and potentially with concurrent production of clean hydrogen.”

“The goal of this paper is to put forth the record properties of the fibres produced in our lab,” Taylor said. “These improvements mean we’re now surpassing Kevlar in terms of strength, which for us is a really big achievement. With just another doubling, we would surpass the strongest fibres on the market.”

The flexible Rice fibres have a tensile strength of 4.2 gigapascals (GPa), compared to 3.6 GPa for Kevlar fibres. The fibres require long nanotubes with high crystallinity; that is, regular arrays of carbon-atom rings with few defects. The acidic solution used in the Rice process also helps reduce impurities that can interfere with fibre strength and enhance the nanotubes’ metallic properties through residual doping, Dewey said.

“The length, or aspect ratio, of the nanotubes, is the defining characteristic that drives the properties in our fibres,” he said, noting the surface area of the 12-micrometre nanotubes used in Rice fibre facilitates better van der Waals bonds. “It also helps that the collaborators who grow our nanotubes optimise for solution processing by controlling the number of metallic impurities from the catalyst and what we call amorphous carbon impurities.”

The researchers said the fibres’ conductivity has improved to 10.9 megasiemens (million siemens) per meter. “This is the first time a carbon nanotube fibre has passed the 10 megasiemens threshold, so we’ve achieved a new order of magnitude for nanotube fibres,” Dewey said. Normalised for weight, he said the Rice fibres achieve about 80% of the conductivity of copper.

“But we’re surpassing platinum wire, which is a big achievement for us,” Taylor said, “and the fibre thermal conductivity is better than any metal and any synthetic fibres, except for pitch graphite fibres.”

The lab’s goal is to make the production of superior fibres efficient and inexpensive enough to be incorporated by industry on a large scale, Dewey said. Solution processing is common in the production of other kinds of fibres, including Kevlar, so factories could use familiar processes without major retooling.

“The benefit of our method is that it’s essentially plug-and-play,” he said. “It’s inherently scalable and fits in with the way synthetic fibre are already made.”

“There’s a notion that carbon nanotubes are never going to be able to obtain all the properties that people have been hyping now for decades,” Taylor said. “But we’re making good gains year over year. It’s not easy, but we still do believe this technology is going to change the world.”

Co-authors of the paper are Rice alumnus Robert Headrick; graduate students Natsumi Komatsu and Nicolas Marquez Peraca; Geoff Wehmeyer, an assistant professor of mechanical engineering; and Junichiro Kono, the Karl F. Hasselmann Professor in Engineering and a professor of electrical and computer engineering, of physics and astronomy, and of materials science and nanoengineering. Pasquali is the A.J. Hartsook Professor of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, of chemistry and of materials science and nanoengineering.

The U.S. Air Force Office of Scientific Research, the Robert A. Welch Foundation, the Department of Energy’s Advanced Manufacturing Office and the Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy supported the research.

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Arlington Capital Partners is a Washington, DC-based private equity firm that is focused on investing in growth industries including aerospace & defence, government services and technology, healthcare, and business services and software.

The operations cover approximately 800 thousand square feet of factory space and employ approximately 600 people. The composites business provides structural and engine composite fabrications and assemblies across commercial, business jet, and defence platforms. Key programs supported by the sites include Boeing 787, 777 and V-22, Airbus A320, A330 and A350, Embraer E-2, Northrop Grumman Global Hawk, as well as the Gulfstream G650/700.

The transaction is subject to customary closing conditions and is expected to close in Triumph’s second quarter of FY21. Following the close of the transaction, the business will retain its management, technical and supporting staff, and will continue operations at the current facilities.

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The bike’s unibody frame is made by 3D-printing one single continuous piece of carbon-fibre thermoplastic, which the company says is stronger than any traditional carbon fibre frame on the market today. The use of thermoplastic materials not only make the bikes stronger and more impact resistant but also lightweight with the Superstrata Terra weighing in at just 1.27 kgs while the e-bike Ion version weighs 10.98 kgs, depending on size.

While 3D printing can be a more costly process, Superstrata says it makes for a more bespoke design and will appeal to people willing to pay extra for a custom fit. Customers can send in their measurements, and Superstrata will 3D-print the bike down to the spokes. Each frame takes about 10 hours to create, and the company claims it can create up to 250,000 unique combinations.

The bikes are available for pre-order on Indegogo and are scheduled to ship in Q1 and Q2 of 2021 with special early bird pricing starting at $1,299 for the Terra and $1,799 for the Ion.

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Spirit will utilise the funds to build tooling, fabricate composite parts and machine complex metallic parts at its Wichita, Kan., facility. Spirit designs and manufactures both composite and metallic structures for commercial and defence customers.

With long-standing machining capabilities, Spirit produces more than 3 million parts annually for equipment manufacturers at peak production. The 5-axis centre in Wichita focuses on large, complex, soft metal parts for fuselage, pylon and wing structures, all built on high-tech, high-speed, latest-generation equipment and is part of 12M sqft of manufacturing space.

Our growing work on defence programs has provided a measure of stability for the company, and helped us as we shift capacity to serve other needs, particularly in the defence market

Duane Hawkins, Senior Vice President; President, Defense and Fabrication, Spirit AeroSystems

The company supports a number of military programs, including programs for the U.S. Air Force, the U.S. Navy, the U.S. Marine Corps and the U.S. Army.

The post Spirit AeroSystems Gets $80M in Defence Production Act Funding appeared first on Composites Today.

GE is supplying 38 of the lightweight gas turbines to Austal USA for LCS Independence variants up to LCS 38. Like all the Austal USA-built LCS, the future USS Santa Barbara will be powered by two GE LM2500 gas turbines arranged in a combined diesel and gas turbine configuration with two diesel engines.

By using lightweight composites versus the steel enclosure predecessor, wall temperatures are 25oF to 50oF degrees cooler so there is less heat rejected into the engine room.

Kris Shepherd, Vice President and General Manager, GE Marine.

The modernisation program was a four-year collaborative effort with the U.S. Navy, Bath Iron Works, Bath, Maine, and GE.  Key GE strategic partners in this effort included: RL Industries, Fairfield, Ohio, for help in developing and qualifying the carbon fibre enclosure; and DRS Power Technology, Fitchburg, Massachusetts, a long-time GE Marine packaging partner, who helped lead the way in satisfying all first article inspection quality requirements and package assembly.

Changes to the LM2500 system include the composite module, components, and fewer shock mounts for weight reduction, all while leveraging the experience and loadings from previous LM2500 shock tests with running units. Components such as sensors, transducers, ice and flame detectors and the heater also were updated.

To date, GE has delivered gas turbines onboard 646 naval ships serving 35 navies worldwide and provides 97% of the commissioned propulsion gas turbines in the U.S. Navy fleet.

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Each car starts with the steel tub of an original Mustang body which is then fitted with all-new carbon fibre body panels. A 3D digital model is made of the car and a five-axis CNC machine cuts the moulds, and then plugs and panels are pulled using aerospace-grade pre-preg carbon fibre.

The moulded carbon fibre body panels are cured using an in-house autoclave. The result is the world’s first officially-licensed Shelby Mustang that is lighter and stronger than an all-steel body and has perfect carbon fibre weave alignment.

Since 1998, Mr Shelby believed that carbon fibre would be the future of American sports car manufacturing. We believe the introduction of a carbon-fibre GT500 Mustang and Cobra is a natural next step in the evolution of these iconic vehicles.

 Neil Cummings, Co-CEO of Carroll Shelby International

GT500CR models are available with several engine options, ranging from a 490-horsepower Ford Performance Gen 3 5.0L Coyote crate engine up to a 900-horsepower, a hand-built 427-cubic-inch engine with an intercooled ProCharger supercharger. All Shelby GT500CR models are equipped with a Tremec five-speed manual transmission and a stainless-steel MagnaFlow performance exhaust.

According to Classic Restorations, SpeedKore has 3D-scanned a complete GT500CR and is currently in production making a prototype with the first vehicle scheduled to be finished in June.

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In experiments with motor-powered systems that mimic such devices – called exoskeleton emulators – the researchers investigated two different modes of running assistance: motor-powered assistance and spring-based assistance.

The mere act of wearing an exoskeleton rig that was switched off increased the energy cost of running, making it 13 per cent harder than running without the exoskeleton. However, the experiments indicated that, if appropriately powered by a motor, the exoskeleton reduced the energy cost of running, making it 15 per cent easier than running without the exoskeleton and 25 per cent easier than running with the exoskeleton switched off.

In contrast, the study suggested that if the exoskeleton was powered to mimic a spring there was still an increase in energy demand, making it 11 per cent harder than running exoskeleton-free and only 2 per cent easier than the non-powered exoskeleton.

If future designs could reduce the energy cost of wearing the exoskeleton, runners may get a small benefit from spring-like assistance at the ankle, which is expected to be cheaper than motor-powered alternatives.

The frame of the ankle exoskeleton emulator straps around the user’s shin. It attaches to the shoe with a rope looped under the heel and a carbon fibre bar inserted into the sole, near the toe. Motors situated behind the treadmill (but not on the exoskeleton itself) produce the two modes of assistance – even though a spring-based exoskeleton would not actually use motors in the final product.

As the name implies, the spring-like mode mimics the influence of a spring running parallel to the calf, storing energy during the beginning of the step and unloading that energy as the toes push off. In powered mode, the motors tug a cable that runs through the back of the exoskeleton from the heel to the calf. With action similar to a bicycle brake cable, it pulls upward during toe-off to help extend the ankle at the end of a running step.

Eleven experienced runners tested the two assistance types while running on a treadmill. They also completed tests where they wore the hardware without any of the assistance mechanisms turned on.

Each runner had to become accustomed to the exoskeleton emulator prior to testing – and its operation was customised to accommodate their gait cycle and phases. During the actual tests, the researchers measured the runners’ energetic output through a mask that tracked how much oxygen they were breathing in and how much carbon dioxide they were breathing out. Tests for each type of assistance lasted six minutes and the researchers based their findings on the last three minutes of each exercise.

The energy savings the researchers observed indicate that a runner using the powered exoskeleton could boost their speed by as much as 10 per cent. That figure could be even higher if runners have additional time for training and optimisation. Given the considerable gains involved, the researchers think it should be possible to turn the powered skeleton into an effective untethered device.

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Boeing plans to begin reducing production activity today and projects the suspension of such operations to begin on Wednesday, March 25, at sites across the Puget Sound area. The suspension of production operations will last 14 days, during which Boeing will continue to monitor government guidance and actions on COVID-19 and its associated impacts on all company operations. During this time, we will be conducting additional deep cleaning activities at impacted sites and establishing rigorous criteria for return to work.

This necessary step protects our employees and the communities where they work and live. We continue to work closely with public health officials, and we’re in contact with our customers, suppliers and other stakeholders who are affected by this temporary suspension. We regret the difficulty this will cause them, as well as our employees, but it’s vital to maintain health and safety for all those who support our products and services, and to assist in the national effort to combat the spread of COVID-19.

Boeing President and CEO Dave Calhoun

Production employees should continue to report for their assigned shifts today and will receive guidance on their role in the suspension shutdown process.

Puget Sound area-based employees who can work from home will continue to do so. Those who cannot work remotely will receive paid leave for the initial 10 working days of the suspension – double the company policy – which will provide coverage for the 14 calendar day suspension period.

Boeing is working to minimise this suspension’s impact on the company’s ability to deliver and support its defence and space programs and ensure the readiness of our defence customers to perform their vital missions. Boeing will work closely with those customers in the coming days to develop plans that ensure customers are supported throughout this period. Critical distribution operations in support of airline, government, and maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) customers will continue.

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Erickson Incorporated is an American aerospace manufacturing and aviation service provider based in Portland, Oregon, United States. Founded in 1971, it’s known for producing and operating the S-64 Air Crane helicopter, which is used in aerial firefighting and other heavy-lift operations.

After many years of manufacturing metal blades, the company has invested in the future of the S-64 rotorcraft by designing, certifying, and building composite main rotor blades. Erickson began the process of designing the new blades back in 2008, working closely with the FAA and various industry partners. In 2013 Erickson collaborated with Helicopter Transport Services (HTS), so the blades could be utilised on CH-54 rotorcraft as well.

To maintain close control of blade manufacture, Erickson built a composite manufacturing facility in 2015. After thousands of hours of design, testing, and analysis by Erickson’s engineers and partners, the new composite main rotor blades are now approved by the FAA for the S-64E with an initial life that will increase as fatigue testing continues. Certification for the CH-54A is expected to follow quickly in the coming weeks, and certification for the S-64F and CH-54B is expected this summer.

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