CW Blog

Adhesives 1 Sep 2014

Destroyer deckhouse roof meets U.S. Navy fire code with phenolic composite

An all-composite deckhouse superstructure, built by Huntington Ingalls Industries (Gulfport, Miss.) cuts topside weight and enables stealth capability by reducing the radar signature of the U.S. Navy’s new, nearly $4 billion (USD) Zumwalt-class destroyer.

Design/Simulation 1 Sep 2014

Camera-based ply placement cuts time, cost on complex rotorcraft parts

Applied Composites Engineering (ACE, Indianapolis, Ind.) uses PlyMatch ply placement technology from Anaglyph Ltd. (London, U.K.) to speed layup of the complex-shaped, heated inlet for a de-icing system on the AW169 helicopter, from AgustaWestland (Cascina Costa di Samarate, Italy).

Design and Testing 1 Sep 2014

The evolution of the modified D 695 compression test method

HPC's Testing Tech columnist Dr. Donald F. Adams,the president of Wyoming Test Fixtures Inc. (Salt Lake City, Utah), looks at the long metals-to-plastics-to-composites history of this well-used and much modified compression test method.

Wind/Energy 1 Sep 2014

What will be the next major iteration in carbon fiber?

A consultant and the president of Dayton, Ohio-based Quickstep Composites, the U.S. subsidiary of Australia-based Quickstep Technologies (Bankstown Airport, New South Wales), Dale Brosius surveys the carbon fiber horizon for signs of what carbon fiber types will be pre-eminent.

Wind/Energy 1 Sep 2014

The best and brightest

HPC Editor-in-chief Jeff Sloan asks: How does the composites industry “sell” to students the huge range of opportunities it has to offer?

Construction 30 Aug 2014

Faster...is better

Ten months….that’s a lot of time, in my book. Why do public works agencies tolerate such drawn-out projects using traditional materials, when composites are faster, more efficient and more durable?

Composites Basics 28 Aug 2014

Heading to CAMX 2014? How to organize your exhibit hall experience . . .

CAMX 2014 (Oct. 13-16, Orlando, Fla.) is the largest composites industry trade show and conference ever held in North America, so if you’re planning to attend, it’s important that you take advantage of the tools that will help you plan and organize your time on the Exhibit Hall floor.