Ginger Gardiner

Ginger Gardiner Senior Technical Editor

Aerospace

SCRA, composites and the U.S. Navy

Background on the South Carolina Research Authority.

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Composite solutions: Cutting cost of nuclear-powered subs

Composite-for-metal substitutions cut expense, boost production for Virginia-class submarine program.

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Aerospace

Airbus A350 Update: BRaF & FPP

EADS Innovation Works pursues qualification of Braided Frames for the A350-1000 fuselage and develops Fiber Patch Preforming for complex local reinforcements.

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IBEX 2011 Review

As the International BoatBuilders’ Exhibition & Conference again docks in Louisville, the industry continues a slow and tentative rebound.

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Aerospace

Primary structure repair: The quest for quality

Composite airframes on commercial craft drive development of automated repair technology and industry-wide repair technician certification.

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Aerospace

No disagreement on bonded repairs

The need for quality control in adhesively bonded structural composite repairs has stimulated much debate, particularly about a key question: Will bonded repairs be certified for A350 and 787 primary composite fuselage structures?

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Wind/Energy

Topology optimization

For Airbus (Toulouse, France), topology optimization is just one of many computer-aided optimization techniques that have been employed in the aircraft design process — and employed ever earlier — to reduce time and cost.

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Aerospace

Panelized option attested early on

Airbus' (Toulouse, France) use of large composite panels attached to frames in the A350 fuselage — is comparable to the optimal design conclusion reached by the Advanced Technology Composite Aircraft Structures (ATCAS) program back in the late 1990s.

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Aerospace

A350 XWB update: Smart manufacturing

Spirit AeroSystems actualizes Airbus’ intelligent design for the A350’s center fuselage and front wing spar in Kinston, N.C.

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Wind/Energy

China invested to become world SWT leader

A 2009 China Europe International Business School (Shanghai) project titled The Rural Electrification in China and The Impact of Renewable Energies details the government policies and multinational funding that has established China as the leader in small wind.

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Wind/Energy

HAWTs vs. VAWTs

Horizontal-axis wind turbines (HAWTs) command the small wind turbine (SWT) market, led by a handful of companies that have been in production for 20 to 30 years, while vertical-axis wind turbine (VAWT) manufacturers, with the exception of Ropatec (Bolzano, Italy), have mostly developed within the past five years.

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Nanomaterials

Small wind gets big

Massive growth, complex blade designs reopen challenging market in wind energy niche.

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