CW Blog

Aerospace

FAR Part 25 Standards

Prior to 1990, most cabin composites were epoxy-based. But in 1987, the U.S. Federal Aviation Admin. (FAA) mandated slower burn rate/flame spread in aircraft seat cushion materials in its Federal Aviation Regulation (FAR) Part 25 standards. Then, in 1990, it also established regulations that mandated stringent

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Weaving

Centrifugal casting

Centrifugal casting of pipe ranging from 25 mm/1 inch to 356 mm/14 inches in diameter is an alternative to filament winding for high-performance, corrosion-resistant service. In cast pipe, 0°/90° woven fiberglass provides both longitudinal and hoop strength throughout the pipe wall and brings greater strength at equal

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Adhesives

All-carbon bicycle rims cost-competitive with aluminum

Iterative design process improves performance and manufacturability of one-piece carbon rims.

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Sandwich panel flexure testing

Dr. Donald F. Adams (Wyoming Test Fixtures (Salt Lake City, Utah) comments on the composite materials testing community's move toward the use of the terms "long beam flexure" and "short beam flexure" when addressing sandwich panel testing.

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Weaving

High-Performance carbon fiber car wheels take big step forward

One of the "holy grails"of carbon fiber application is car wheels. How badly would auto OEMs love to lose those heavy steel wheels? The question always has been: Can a carbon fiber wheel meet all of the required performance specs at an affordable price? The short answer is, yes but not yet. Dymag Racing UK

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Aerospace

Advanced materials for aircraft interiors

Applications aren't as demanding as airframe composites, but requirements are still exacting — passenger safety is key.

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Tube rolling

Tube rolling is a long-standing composites manufacturing process for producing finite-length tubes and rods. It is particularly applicable to small-diameter cylindrical or tapered tubes in lengths up to 6.1m/20 ft. Tubing diameters up to 152 mm/6 inches can be rolled efficiently. Typically, a tacky prepreg fabric or

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The world of composites: An overview

Commercial applications growing despite tight material supplies.

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Carbon car hood: Class A and cost-effective

Resin film infusion, electroformed nickel tooling meet Aston Martin quality and cost targets.

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Extrusion

Fiber-reinforced thermoplastic shapes are now being extruded, as well. Breakthrough material and process technology has been developed with long-fiber glass-reinforced thermoplastic (ABS, PVC or polypropylene) composites to provide profiles that offer a tough, low-cost alternative to wood, metal and injection-molded

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Fiber placement and tape laying

The fiber placement process automatically places multiple individual pre-impregnated tows onto a mandrel at high speed, using a numerically controlled placement head to dispense, clamp, cut and restart each tow during placement. Minimum cut length (the shortest tow length a machine can lay down) is the essential

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Matrices: Carbon, metal and ceramic

Perhaps the most exotic matrix, in part because it is neither thermoset nor thermoplastic, is pyrolized and densified noncontinuous carbon, which forms the matrix in carbon/carbon (C/C) composites. C/Cs withstand extremely high temperatures – nearly 1650°C/3000°F on space shuttle components – and also find use in

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