Infrastructure

Sustainability 29 Sep 2012

Prefabricated Bridge Elements and Systems: An opportunity for composites

The Federal Highway Admin. (FHWA) is keenly aware of the disruptions that highway and bridge projects impose on the traveling public. To address this need, the FHWA rolled out a series of accelerated bridge construction (ABC) initiatives. One involves prefabricated bridge elements and systems — a need the composites industry can easily meet.

Autoclave 2 Jul 2012

SAMPE 2012 Report

The Society’s return to Baltimore is a boost to the advanced materials community and an occasion for interesting industry buzz.

Adhesives 1 Dec 2011

A hidden revolution: composite rebar gains strength

Fiber-reinforced plastic (FRP) replacing coated steel in more reinforced-concrete applications.

Aerospace 30 Nov 2011

Technical integrators: Driving change in advanced composites

CW's conference director Scot Stephenson asks: Where and how is the composites industry as a whole growing, maturing and evolving? Consultant Steve Speak, president of Steve Speak Coaching and Consulting (Scottsdale, Ariz.), provided an answer at the recent Composites Investment Forum, Oct 17-18, 2011, in Ft. Worth, Texas.

Pressure Vessels 30 Nov 2011

Looking for butt-kickers

HPC editor-in-chief Jeff Sloan is looking for that larger-than-life bridge builder or automaker that is willing to take a Boeing-like composites plunge so everyone else takes a whipping for a bit and has to get onboard to keep up.

Infrastructure 1 Nov 2011

Triaxial fabric wrap saves critical highway pier

The Department of Civil Engineering at the University of Kentucky (Lexington, Ky.), and sister research group the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet, recently completed the first bridge pier repair demonstration project to use triaxial carbon fabric.

Wind/Energy 1 Aug 2011

HHS styrene ruling: Bad science, bad for the composites industry

Tom Hedger, president of Magnum Venus Plastech (Clearwater, Fla.) and a board member of the the American Composites Manufacturers Assn. (ACMA, Arlington, Va.) joins the chorus of disapprovval that has greeted U.S Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius' approval of styrene's classification as a likely carcinogen.