Sara Black Senior Technical Editor Emeritus
Boat propellers with replaceable, interchangeable blades
Long glass fiber-reinforced polyamide makes this modular propeller tough enough for a challenging application, eliminating costly prop repair.
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Alternative precursor R&D: What are the alternatives to PAN?
Carbon fibers made from other precursors are in use, commercially, and many more precursor alternatives have been investigated.
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Alternative precursor R&D: First commercial use of lignin carbon fiber?
GrafTech International (Independence, OH, US) is working with Oak Ridge National Laboratory (Oak Ridge, TN, US) and the US Department of Energy’s Advanced Manufacturing Office to develop lignin fiber manufacturing and demonstrate it in viable products.
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Alternative precursor R&D: Oak Ridge National Laboratory
Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL, Oak Ridge, TN, US) has been at the forefront of North American research into alternatives to the polyacrylonitrile (PAN) precursor used to make aerospace-grade carbon fiber.
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Alternative precursor R&D: Lignin in the lightweighting limelight
This abundant, renewable resource shows promise as an alternative to PAN for low-cost, functional carbon fibers.
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CW opens up on out of autoclave, in February
You may not know that CW has prepared a Supplement to the upcoming February 2016 issue that examines out of autoclave processing in detail. It asks the question: Can OOA options be matured sufficiently to yield parts with <1% void content, outside of the autoclave?
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How have composite bridges measured up?
The latest US highway bill includes a provision to assess performance of composite bridges built years ago, bridges that CW wrote about.
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Cast polymer in a new role: Industrial structural repair
Advantic LLC's (Dayton, OH, US) stainless steel/cast polymer "jackets" for this mining company's stockpile canopy's corroding steel support structure offer a life-prolonging solution at less then 40% of the cost of the lowest-priced alternative.
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World’s largest center console with single-skin hull
Navy RHIB concept goes commercial in the new HydraSports Custom Sueños high-performance offshore fishing boat.
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CW Ideas in Action
Ideas are just ideas until someone does the hard work of putting them into action and seeing results. CW's editors, therefore, inaugurate an annual review of Ideas in Action, celebrating a handful of hot concepts that could make those who conceived them "household names."
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Highlights from Carbon Fiber 2015
Carbon Fiber 2015 once again offered an engaging roster of speakers, and some eye-opening presentations.
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A personal flying car for all?
Terrafugia is working on the TF-X, a vertical takeoff and landing (VTOL) version of its flying car, and is building sub-scale flying models. Composites have been used significantly in past Terrafugia models and figures to get prominent use in the TF-X as well.
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