Pressure Vessels

Braiding 2 Feb 2015

Exelis Aerostructures: Salt Lake City

Braided composite shafts and struts for aircraft are its specialty, but there’s much more to this Utah, US-based rising star.

Pressure Vessels 1 Feb 2015

DuraStor/HOST participants

In 2010, a multi-partner, multi-year research program called Low Cost, Durable Thermoplastic Hydrogen Storage Tanks, or DuraStor, was formed to address these problems by investigating a drop-in replacement for Type IV tanks. A UK-only program called Hydrogen – Optimisation of Storage and Transfer (HOST) picked up where DuraStor left off in mid-2014. These were the participants.

Pressure Vessels 1 Feb 2015

Thermoplastic composite pressure vessels for FCVs

U.K. consortiums address durability, weight, cost of high-pressure tanks for hydrogen fuel-cell powered vehicles.

IACMI 1 Feb 2015

Can IACMI propel us out of adolescence, into adulthood?

On Jan. 9, the US Department of Energy (DoE) announced that it will add US$70 million to the US$189 million already committed to the University of Tennessee’s Institute for Advanced Composites Manufacturing Innovation (IACMI) for composites R&D. CW's editor-in-chief Jeff Sloan asks, "What will come of this investment?"

Pressure Vessels 19 Jan 2015

BNSF Logistics and TTS cut wind blade transport costs

BNSF's Blade Runner service uses a single universal fixture for ocean, rail, truck and storage improving clearance, load factors and efficiency while TTS uses high density fixture to pack 42 blades per train.

ATL/AFP 12 Jan 2015

Part design criteria (2015)

Designers of composite parts can choose from a huge variety of fiber reinforcements and resin systems. That makes knowledge of how those materials work together a critically important aspect of part development. Here's a short description of what that knowledge entails.

Carbon Fibers 12 Jan 2015

Supply and demand: Advanced fibers (2015)

Demand for advanced fiber, virgin and reclaimed, is on an upswing after a dip during the recent recession. Fiber suppliers are gearing up to meet an expected increase in demand as manufacturers in a number of composites end-markets scale up or start up part development and production programs.

IACMI 9 Jan 2015

U. of Tennessee consortium awarded National Composites Manufacturing Institute contract

The long-awaited $70 million commitment from the US Department of Energy goes to a consortium led by the University of Tennessee's Institute for Advanced Composites Manufacturing Innovation (IACMI), which includes 122 partners who have promised an additional $259 million.

Mass Transit 8 Jan 2015

Regenerative braking system for railcars relies on composites

A new flywheel-based regenerative braking system, the Digital Displacement hydraulic pump-motor transmission system from Artemis Intelligent Power, has demonstrated that it can reduce the carbon footprint of trains.

Wind/Energy 8 Jan 2015