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NO. 6
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TIDAL TURBINE
BLADES
Underground Storage Tanks:
Rehabilitation
without Excavation
Cured-in-Place Pipe:
No-Dig Remediation Grows
COMPOSITES 2013 Preview
SPE ACCE & IBEX Reviews
Table of Contents
FEATURES
December 2012
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Vol. 18
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No. 6
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Gurit (Newport, Isle of Wight, U.K.)
faced a multifaceted challenge when it
was approached by ANDRITZ HYDRO
Hammerfest (Hammerfest, Norway) to
develop composite blades for this tidal
turbine, the HS1000, a 1-MW system
destined for placement in waters controlled
by the European Marine Energy Centre
(EMEC), near the Orkney Islands off the
northern coast of Scotland (see p. 46).
Source | ANDRITZ HYDRO Hammerfest
13
16
30
36
46
COMPOSITES
WATCH
Automotive | 5
Wind Energy | 7
Marine | 9
Automotive | 11
News | 12
COLUMNS
Editor | 3
Yin and Yang
DEPARTMENTS
Work In Progress | 24
Applications | 40
Calendar | 41
New Products | 42
Marketplace | 44
Ad Index | 44
Showcase | 45
COVER PHOTO
ACMA COMPOSITES 2013 Preview
The American Composites Manufacturers Assn. (ACMA, Arlington, Va.) returns its annual U.S.
COMPOSITES exhibition and convention to the East Coast, Jan. 29-31, 2013, in Orlando, Fla.
SPE ACCE 2012 Review
Bursting at the seams, the 12
th
annual Society of Plastics Engineers Automotive
Composites Conference and Exhibition tops its previous bests.
IBEX 2012 Review
Under the banner The Future of Marine Technology, the 22
nd
International BoatBuilders
expo confronts a brave new world.
By Ginger Gardiner
Cured-in-Place Pipe | Trenchless Trends
A variety of CIPP products are enabling the rehabilitation, rather than the
excavation and replacement, of underground pipe for wastewater and drinking water.
By Donna K. Dawson
Inside Manufacturing
Underground Storage Tanks |
Rehabilitation without Excavation
An unusual lost-core composite adds double-wall protection to
noncompliant tanks, without excavation.
By Ginger Gardiner
Engineering Insights
Composite Tidal Turbine Blade |
Toughened for Turbulent Salt Seas
Demonstrator design proves robust blade destined for a commercial-scale tidal turbine application.
By Jeff Sloan
20
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H I GH PERFORM AN CE B ARRI ER T ECH N OL OGY -
N OW S I N GL E
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Editor
Composites Technology (ISSN 1083-4117) is published bimonthly
(February, April, June, August, October & December) by Gardner Business
Media, Inc. Corporate and production ofces: 6915 Valley Ave., Cincinnati,
OH 45244. Editorial ofces: PO Box 992, Morrison, CO 80465. Periodicals
postage paid at Cincinnati, OH and additional mailing ofces. Copyright
2012 by Gardner Business Media, Inc. All rights reserved.
Canada Post: Publications Mail Agreement #40612608.
Canada Returns to be sent to Bleuchip International, PO Box 25542, London,
ON N6C 6B2 Canada.
Postmaster: Send address changes to Composites Technology, 6915 Valley
Ave., Cincinnati, OH 45244-3029. If undeliverable, send Form 3579.
Subscription rates: Nonqualied $45 (USD) per year in the United States, $49
(USD) per year in Canada, $100 (USD) per year airmail for all other countries.
Single issue prepaid, $10 (USD) per copy in North America, $25 (USD) in
all other countries. Send payment directly to Composites Technology at
Cincinnati ofces, (800) 950-8020; fax: (513) 527-8801.
PUBLISHER: MEMBERSHIPS:
CORPORATE OFFICES
Gardner Business Media, Inc.
6915 Valley Ave. / Cincinnati, OH 45244-3029
p: 513.527.8800 / f: 513.527.8801 / www.gardnerweb.com
Group Publisher & CT Publisher
Richard G. Kline, Jr. / rkline2@gardnerweb.com
Marketing Manager
Kimberly A. Hoodin / kim@compositesworld.com
Art Director
Jeff Norgord / jnorgord@gardnerweb.com
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EDITORIAL OFFICES
CompositesWorld
PO Box 992 / Morrison, CO 80465
p: 719.242.3330 / f: 513.527.8801 / www.compositesworld.com
Editor-in-Chief
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Managing Editor
Mike Musselman / mike@compositesworld.com
Technical Editor
Sara Black / sara@compositesworld.com
Senior Editor
Lilli Sherman / lsherman@compositesworld.com
Contributing Writers
Dale Brosius / dale@compositesworld.com
Ginger Gardiner / ginger@compositesworld.com
Michael R. LeGault / mlegault@compositesworld.com
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CIRCULATION
Direct all Composites Technology circulation changes to:
p: 800.950.8020 / f: 513.527.8801 / rjacobs@gardnerweb.com
We are seeing a
growing community of
specialists bring the best
that composites have
to offer to new
applications.
Jef Sloan
Yin and
Yang
I was asked recently to give a short primer on composites for a webinar targeting
designers and design engineers who work mostly with traditional materials like wood,
concrete and steel but wanted to learn more about composites. I soon found myself
working in PowerPoint, creating one of those advantages/disadvantages slides to
describe the Yin and Yang of composites. I settled on an old trick:
Yin: Composites advantage is their massive adaptability multiple combinations
of resin, fber, tooling and processing types are able to meet a variety of application
requirements.
Yang: Composites disadvantage is their massive adaptability multiple combina-
tions of resin, fber, tooling and processing types create complexity that can be dif cult to
manage and apply, and easy to screw up.
Te goal, of course, is to emphasize the Yin. Composites can reduce complexity
(in part, through parts consolidation), save weight, increase strength and tough-
ness and prolong product life. But one of the best aspects of composites Yin is that
they can ofen eliminate or mitigate the Yang of
a legacy process or material. One legacy process
that involves some serious headaches is in-ground
pipe replacement. For decades, replacing corroded
and/or damaged sewer, water and other under-
ground piping was expensive and inconvenient:
Repair crews had to dig up the old pipe and replace
it. Such operations block or divert street traf c,
seem to take forever and consume a great deal of
taxpayer-funded time and manpower.
Into this breach has stepped cured-in-place pipe (CIPP), which allows cities and
utilities to reline deteriorating pipe with composites that are cured in-situ, negating
the need for large-scale trenching or digging. Te no-dig composites liner provides
a more robust, corrosion-resistant, durable material that promises longer pipe life and
a better bang for the taxpayer buck. (See Donna Dawsons CIPP Update on p. 30).
But it gets better. Tere are, in the U.S. alone, 587,000 underground storage tanks
that, by law, must be upgraded to monitored double-wall construction to prevent
leakage. Tradition says that each tank most of them of 8,000 to 10,000 gal capacity,
used for gasoline storage at retail outlets must be dug up and replaced. Te Yin of
composites, however, says no: Like CIPP, an existing tank can be quickly and aford-
ably upgraded with the in-situ addition of a double-walled composite liner, designed
to last for at least 30 years. (You can read more about how in-situ repair is cutting costs
here by up to 80 percent on p. 36, in an article by Ginger Gardiner.)
Te complexity of composites Yang might be a barrier of entry for designers and
manufacturers used to working with traditional materials, but we are seeing a growing
community of material specialists who can bring the best that composites have to
ofer to bear in new applications every day. Cured-in-place tanks are just one such
example. Well continue to shed light on these innovations, and do what we can to
help you and the rest of the engineering and manufacturing world appreciate and take
advantage of composites Yin.
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COMPOSITES WATCH
Composites
WATCH
Automotive alliances seek faster composite part processing, the U.S. PTCs fate hangs
in the electoral balance, a new all-terrain vehicle takes to water, and a U.S.-based glass
ber source expands its supply capability to countries of the former Soviet Union.
Ford demonstrates a carbon ber hood part
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Ford Motor Co. (Detroit, Mich.) on Oct. 9
displayed a prototype carbon fber hood at
the Composites Europe event in Dsseldorf,
Germany. Developed in cooperation with the Hightech.NRW
collaborative research project in Germany and Dow Automotive
(Midland, Mich.), the prototype Ford Focus hood weighs at least
50 percent less than a standard steel version. As a result of prog-
ress made during an ongoing research project involving engineers
from Fords European Research Centre (Aachen, Germany), the
production time for an individual carbon fber hood is reportedly
fast enough to be employed on a production line a signifcant
step toward increased use of lightweight materials in Ford vehicles.
Inga Wehmeyer, advanced materials and processes research en-
gineer at the Centre, says the hood comprises a sandwich construc-
tion, with carbon fber faceskins and a foam core. Te carbon fber
faceskins feature several plies of a unidirectional 24K tow carbon
fber fabric supplied by Toho Tenax (Wuppertal, Germany). Weh-
meyer says the plies are stacked, tacked together with epoxy bond-
ing powder, and then placed around Evoniks (Marl, Germany) RO-
HACELL foam core. Te resin is a thermoset provided by Henkel
(Dsseldorf, Germany). Te part is made via a refned gap-impreg-
nation process, developed by IKV (Institute of Plastics Processing,
at RWTH Aachen University). It works by injecting resin over a
carbon fber preform in a slightly open tool. Te injection gate is
located on one end of the mold cavity. As injection begins, the resin
fows through and, importantly, over the preform in the small gap
between the upper tool and the preform. During injection, the tool
is gradually closed at a slight angle, compressing the preform on the
end closest to the gate. As the tool angle closes, resin is forced into
the remainder of the preform and, at the same time, forced through-
out the remainder of the mold cavity. When the mold is fully closed,
the compressed and fully wetout laminate is heat-cured.
Wehmeyer emphasizes that Ford is in the initial stages of de-
velopment, relying to date exclusively on hand layup for prototype
hoods manufactured at Composite Impulse GmbH (Gevelsberg,
Germany). Initial results, however, are positive, and she says that
over the next six months, Ford will begin low-volume production
trials at IKV, targeting a total cycle time of 15 minutes, which she
believes is achievable.
How soon consumers will see a carbon fber hood on a produc-
tion vehicle remains to be seen. Wehmeyer says Ford will evaluate
material and manufacturing costs carefully. At the end of the day,
we have a customer and customer expectations, and price is cer-
tainly something we have to consider. Carbon fber and its cost will
be evaluated as we move forward with this project, she says. Its no
secret that reducing a vehicles weight can deliver major benefts for
fuel consumption, but a process for fast and afordable production
of carbon fber automotive parts in large numbers has never been
available. By partnering with materials experts through the Hight-
ech.NRW research project, Ford is working to develop a solution
that supports cost-ef cient manufacturing of carbon fber compo-
nents. Te Hightech.NRW project began in 2010 and, although it
has a charter through September 2013, it has already made signifcant
progress toward its goals. But Wehmeyer warns, Customers of Fords ...
passenger cars should not expect to see carbon fber-bodied exam-
ples on sale in the near future. Te techniques we have refned and
developed for the prototype Focus bonnet could be transferred to
higher volume applications at a later date.
Te Ford European Research Centres involvement in the Hight-
ech.NRW research project is a follow-on to Fords partnership with
Dow Automotive, a collaboration announced earlier this year, to
investigate new materials, design processes and manufacturing
techniques. Dow and Ford say they intend to focus not only on de-
veloping high-volume molding methods but also on establishing an
economical source of automotive-grade carbon fber both quests
are considered critical to increasing the range of future Ford bat-
tery/electric and plug-in hybrid electric vehicles. Advanced materi-
als, such as carbon fber, are integral to Fords plans to reduce car
weight, on average, by up to 748 lb/340 kg by the end of the decade.



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In the U.S., uncertainty in the domestic wind energy industry
continues due to lack of progress toward renewal of the Production
Tax Credit (PTC). According to the American Wind Energy Assn.
(AWEA, Washington, D.C.),the PTC provides an income tax credit
of 2.2 cents/kilowatt-hour for the production of electricity from
utility-scale wind turbines. Set to expire on Dec. 31, the PTC has
been renewed in previous years, ofen at the 11
th
hour, but as each
expiration date approached, wind energy companies have taken
remedial actions layofs and shutdowns to ensure survival if
Congress failed to act. Under the Obama Administration, the PTC
was reinstated for three years, giving wind energy investors, wind
farm owners and turbine suppliers some room to breathe. But the
2010 midterm elections, which gave control of the House of Repre-
sentatives to the Republican party, prompted some doubt, in the
wake of what Democratic congressional leaders saw as conserva-
tive obstructionism, about whether the PTC would survive its latest
11
th
hour watch. Te U.S. Senate Finance Committee, however, took
an important step toward extending the PTC on Aug. 2, 2012, by
passing a tax extenders bill, S. 3521, which includes an extension of
both the PTC and the investment tax credit (ITC) for ofshore and
community wind projects. Further, the Repub-
U.S. wind energy industry
uncertain as PTC indecision
continues
(continued on p. 8)
COMPOSITES WATCH
8
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A Strong Grip
on Performance
COR-Grip

Putties and Adhesives

Whether your composite needs are for structural bonding,
general fairing, gap filling or surface finishing, the COR-Grip
line of products provide exceptional adhesion for a firm bond.
COR-Grip also provides the flexural, tensile and compression
properties you need all at an economical cost.
Our line of putties and adhesives features the superior strength,
excellent bonding, low shrinkage and corrosion resistance that
your applications require. They are designed for various markets
including marine, transportation, corrosion and wind energy.
The full line of products includes vinyl ester, isophthalic, fire
retardant, and specialty putties and adhesives.
For more information, call 1.800.736.5497
or visit www.interplastic.com.
2012 Interplastic Corporation. All rights reserved.
lican leadership signaled, initially, a willingness to cooperate across
the aisle in the wake of President Obamas re-election. (Notably,
challenger Mitt Romney had signaled on the campaign trail the
week before his loss that he had sofened his stance on the PTC and
would be willing to phase it out slowly, a marked departure from his
prenomination stance.)
At CT press time, however, legislation still hung in the balance.
But there were indications that bipartisan support could be mus-
tered for ongoing wind energy tax credits, according to the AWEA,
including a recently proposed bill introduced on Oct. 20, 2011,
by Senator Al Franken (D-MN) that would replace the renewable
energy PTC with a 30 percent ITC for community wind projects.
Magnolia Plastics Inc. (Chamblee, Ga.), an AS9100-certied custom for-
mulator of high-performance epoxy systems, announced on Oct. 5 that
its board of directors had ofcially effective immediately changed
the company name to Magnolia Advanced Materials Inc. Magnolias
CEO Rick Wells noted, Our new name better reects our current busi-
ness and will grow with us as we add new chemistries and product lines.
My father, Don Wells, founded the company in 1957 and began by devel-
oping epoxy for the aviation industry and emerging U.S. space program.
Our tagline then was Plastics for the Space Age. Our name has changed
but our commitment to excellence in customer service and innovative
product development will remain our primary focus.
BIZ BRIEF
(continued from p. 7)
The
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Lightweight
surface engineering
solutions for composites
Technical Fibre Products Inc
maiI: inquiries@tfp-americas.com - 7eI: +1 518 280 8500
www.tfp-americas.com
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sp h er e t ex
Spheretex America, Inc.
www.spheretex.com
Worlds leading producer of core materials
volumized with thermoplastic microspheres
Engineered narrow tape for
lament winding and pultrusion
homogeneous and
lightweight laminates
high impact resistance
reduced resin consumption
increased production capacity

Signaling the return of health in the Florida boatbuilding market,

JRL Enterprises Inc. (Cape Coral, Fla.) announced plans to
purchase the former Wellcraf manufacturing facility in South
Manatee County, Fla., to expand the composite tool-making busi-
ness of its af liated business, JRL Ventures Inc. Te expansion is
projected to create at least 80 new jobs over three years, according
to Bob Long, president and CEO of both businesses. Te former
Wellcraf facility has been shuttered since 2008 when the marine
manufacturing operation was moved, says Sharon Hillstrom,
president and CEO of the local Manatee Economic Development
Corp. Te deal qualifed JRL Ventures for performance-based
economic development incentives from the State of Florida and
the Manatee County Government.
Te former Wellcraf facility has the elements we need, such
as size, ventilation and some necessary equipment, says Long.
Its virtually ready to house our expanded operations right away,
which is essential to our meeting production schedules for our
customers.
Long says the company is purchasing an additional large
5-axis CNC router for the new location at a cost of almost $1 mil-
lion, installed.
Marine composites tool-
maker to revive idle
Florida plant
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COMPOSITES WATCH
10
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GIBBS (Detroit, Mich.) reported on Oct. 15
that it will release the frst high-speed sports
amphibian, dubbed the GIBBS Quadski, for
sale in the U.S. Te seaworthy all-terrain
vehicle (ATV) or is it a roadworthy jet
New amphibious vehicle makes a splash
ski? is reportedly the product of millions of research dollars and
years of development work in the U.S., New Zealand and the U.K.
Featuring a hull made with composite materials, the Quadski is 10.5
f long, 5.2 f wide and 4.3 f tall (3.2m by 1.6m by 1.3m), with a
wheelbase of 5.8 f/1.77m. It will be ofered, initially, for use by one
rider (no passengers). Quadski production is gearing up at a
54,000-f
2
(5,017m
2
) assembly plant in Auburn Hills, Mich.
Touted by GIBBS as an entirely new form of transpor-
tation for U.S. consumers, the Quadski is capable of reach-
ing speeds of 45 mph/72.4 km on both land and water. Te
Quadski is equipped with a 175-hp BMW Motorrad engine
and transmission. With the press of a button, its wheels re-
tract when entering the water and deploy when approaching
land. Reportedly, the amphibian transitions from water to
land operation (and vice versa) in fve seconds or less. Te
Quadski retailed for about $40,000 at its debut in November.
Te company expects to have more than 20 dealership loca-
tions in place within the next 11 months, primarily in the
Midwest, New York, Texas and the southeastern U.S. GIBBS
has more than 300 patents, and patents pending, on its High
Speed Amphibian (HSA) technology and expects to fnd
buyers not only in the consumer recreation category but also
in the commercial and frst-responder sectors as well.
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New alliances test fast-cycle materials for automotive
Henkel (Dsseldorf, Germany and Rocky
Hill, Conn.) reported on Sept. 24 that it has
worked with machinery manufacturer Krauss-
Mafei (Munich, Germany) to develop a one-
minute curing time for Henkels matrix resin
Loctite MAX 2 polyurethane in a resin transfer
molding (RTM) process. Te signifcant improvement on the
original goal of fve minutes refects a frst-time achievement on
a high-pressure dosing unit, and, according to Henkel, signals a
potential breakthrough in the development of composite matrix
resins for the manufacture of lightweight automotive components.
Loctite MAX 2 is a recent Henkel development, a polyure-
thane-based composite matrix resin that cures significantly faster
than the epoxy products usually employed for RTM. Moreover,
due to its low viscosity, Loctite MAX 2 reportedly penetrates and
impregnates the fiber material more easily and, therefore, with
less preform fiber displacement than competing RTM resins,
enabling fast injection times, says Frank Deutschl nder, global
market manager, automotive, at Henkel. The primary goal of the
Henkel/KraussMaffei collaboration, going forward, is a greater
reduction in the manufacturing cycle times for as wide a range
of components as possible. We are confident that, in the near
future, we will be able to significantly further develop the high-
pressure RTM process through our co-
operation with Henkel, says Erich Fries,
head of KraussMaffeis Composites/Sur-
faces business unit.
A month later, on Oct. 25, TenCate Ad-
vanced Composites BV (Almelo, Te Neth-
erlands) and BASF AG (Ludwigshafen, Ger-
many) announced a cooperative alliance
to rapidly develop, manufacture and com-
mercialize thermoplastic (TP) composite
materials suitable for high-volume automo-
tive production. Te goal is to ofer car and
light-truck parts manufacturers custom-
engineered solutions for high-performance
composite structures that will enable weight
reduction (30 to 50 percent lighter than to-
days metal parts) and mitigate carbon diox-
ide (CO
2
) emissions.
BASF reportedly will use its know-
how in the formulation and production
of thermoplastic resins to develop spe-
cial variants of its trademarked Ultramid
polyamide (PA), Ultradur polybutylene
terephthalate (PBT) and Ultrason poly-
ethersulfone (PESU) product lines. Ten-
Cate Advanced Composites intends to
contribute expertise in composites man-
ufacturing processes, related to its trade-
marked TenCate Cetex product portfolio,
which is currently used primarily in aircraft structures and air-
craft cabin interiors.
Te next major advance in lightweight automotive construc-
tions will not be possible without a dramatic reduction in process-
ing costs. Tis can be accomplished by using continuous fber rein-
forced thermoplastic composites. Te breakthrough for composites
to mass production, however, has not yet been made. By working
together with TenCate, we intend to jointly achieve this break-
through, explains Melanie Maas-Brunner, successor to Willy Hov-
en-Nievelstein and new head of BASFs Engineering Plastics Europe
business unit in Germany.
TenCate Cetex laminates and prepregs have long been applied
in commercial aircraf constructions, and are increasingly used in
industrial manufacturing processes, says Frank Meurs, group di-
rector of TenCate Advanced Composites EMEA. Now, TenCate
intends to expand its activities in the automotive industry. We are
looking forward to this joint efort in making new materials rapidly
available for automotive mass production, Meurs continues. Te
partners say that the ease of thermoplastic processing will dramati-
cally reduce production cycle times. In addition, TPs have no shelf-
life limitations, making mass production more practical, and they
can be recycled. Target applications are semistructural parts and
primary structures in car bodies and chassis.
North Coast Composites delivers the complete
parts solution. For 35 years North Coast Tool & Mold
has been an industry leader in the manufacture of
molds for high performance composites.
You always trusted North Coast to make your molds.
Now, trust North Coast Composites to make your parts
ISO9001-2000
AS9100B
C o m p o s i t e s
The Companies of North Coast
North Coast Tool & Mold Corp.
North Coast Composites, Inc.
www.northcoastcomposites.com
216.398.8550
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Strongwell Corp. (Bristol, Va.) announced two
key changes: David Gibbs has been named
VP, sales and engineering, and will have re-
sponsibility for corporate domestic and inter-
national sales, structural engineering, quality
assurance and R&D. Gibbs has logged 17
years with Strongwell, most recently as di-
rector, Virginia Operations. He holds a BS in
chemical engineering from Tennessee Tech
University. Mike Carr has been named di-
rector of sales and will report to Gibbs. Carr
will be responsible for Strongwells corporate
domestic and international sales and will su-
pervise eld sales managers. Carr has been
with Strongwell since 1998, most recently as
a regional sales director. He is a graduate of
the University of Sarasota (Fla.).
PEOPLE BRIEFS
Composites
NEWS
Owens Corning (OC, Toledo, Ohio) revealed on Oct. 30 that a
new furnace in its Gous-Khroustalny, Russia, glass reinforcements
facility is operational, doubling plant capacity. Te latest step to
Owens Corning brings furnace
on line in Russia, touts China ofce
800.621.8003 www.compositesone.com www.b2bcomposites.com
One call. One source.
Composites One.
ne ca
omp
. On
site
One call to Composites One puts you in touch
with a single source offering the broadest array
of products from the industrys top suppliers.
It connects you with technical experts and
local customer service reps helping you nd
the products you need for both traditional and
emerging markets. It empowers you to become
leaner, greener and more productive through
hands-on training in Closed Mold and other
more efcient processes. And it gives you
access to back-up support and value-added
services that can help drive new business
growth.
Thats the power of one. Composites One.
TALK. SEE. HEAR. LEARN from Lean Mean Closed Machine Experts -
LIVE at Booth #636 during COMPOSITES 2013 in Orlando, FL, January 29-31.
For info, go to compositesone.com or closedmoldalliance.com.
increase OCs global production capacity,
the furnace will serve markets in Russia
and the Commonwealth of Independent
States (CIS), made up of former Soviet
republics.
Two years ago, we decided to increase
production capacity in our Gous-Khroust-
alny facility to support the growing needs
of our CIS customers, said Umberto
Rigamonti, VP and managing director for
the glass reinforcements business in Eu-
rope. Tis is aligned with our business
strategy to support growth in emerging
markets with local assets, he continued.
Te Gous-Khroustalny plant will man-
ufacture OCs trademarked corrosion-re-
sistant Advantex glass locally.
Te furnace start-up followed the
opening, in Shanghai, China, of OCs new
China Composites Center, reportedly
equipped with a state-of-the-art 6,000m
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(64,584 f
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) R&D facility.
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ACMA COMPOSITES 2013 Preview
F
or 2013, the American Compos-
ites Manufacturers Assn. (ACMA,
Arlington, Va.) returns its annual
U.S. COMPOSITES exhibition and conven-
tion to the East Coasts sunny, fun capital,
Orlando, Fla., afer a 2012 sojourn in
the Desert Wests sun n fun capital, Las
Vegas, Nev.
Named one of the 50 fastest growing
trade shows in 2011 by Trade Show Execu-
tive magazine, COMPOSITES 2013, ACMA
claims, is the largest gathering of compos-
ites professionals in North America. ACMA
expects to see, in Orlandos Orange County
Convention Center, more than 3,500 visi-
tors (up 25 percent in each of the past four
years), who hail from the U.S. and 35 other
countries. Based on past attendance data,
attendees are likely to represent more than
650 companies that serve a total of 40 com-
posites market segments and will include a
host of government of cials and academics
from 32 colleges and universities. ACMA
intends to treat them to more than 100 con-
ference educational sessions and technical
presentations and an exhibit hall with more
than 220 exhibitors.
For details on the show and events
schedule, see Te Show in Brief, at lef.
THE SHOW IN BRIEF
WHAT: COMPOSITES 2013
WHERE: Orange County Convention Center, Orlando, Fla.
WHEN: Jan. 29-31, 2013
Info: www.acmashow.org
TUESDAY, JANUARY 29
ACMA Committee Meetings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.
Certied Composites Technician (CT) Tutorials . . . . . . . . . . 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.
Education Sessions (technical papers, seminars) . . . . . . . . 9:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m.
General Session (opening) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1:30 p.m. to 2:45 p.m.
Education Sessions (technical papers, seminars) . . . . . . . . . 3:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m.
Welcome Reception (ticket required) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5:00 p.m. to 6:30 p.m.
WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 30
General Session Keynote (Speaker TBA) . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8:00 a.m. to 9:15 a.m.
Exhibit Hall Open . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.
ACE & Pinnacle Awards Luncheon (ticket required). . . . . . . 12:00 p.m. to 1:30 p.m.
Education Sessions (technical papers, seminars) . . . . . . . . . 2:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m.
Specialized Networking Receptions (ticket required) . . . . . . . 5:00 p.m. to 6:30 p.m.
THURSDAY, JANUARY 31
Education Sessions (technical papers, seminars) . . . . . . . . 8:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m.
Exhibit Hall Open . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9:00 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.
Luncheon in Exhibit Hall . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m.
Education Sessions (technical papers, seminars) . . . . . . . . . 1:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m.
2013 PREVIEW
ACMA COMPOSITES
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SU STA I N A BI LI TY
I S A S H A R E D JO U R N E Y
REN EW A BLE C O N TEN T
REC YC LED C O N TEN T
STYREN E- FREE
O u r Ec o Tek

G r een Tech n o l o gi es h el p c u st o m er s sh ar e
o u r v i si o n o f ach i ev i n g a m o r e su st ai n ab l e w o r l d .
Ec o Tek r esi n s an d gel c o at s p r o c ess an d p er f o r m as
w el l as t rad i t i o n al m at er i al s an d ar e b ack ed by AO Cs
ser v i c e an d t ech n i c al su p p o r t t eam .
To p u t m o r e gr een i n t o w h at yo u m ak e go t o
ACS International Inc. 816
ADFORS Saint Gobain Americas Inc. 1155
Adhesive Systems Inc. 972
Advanced Plastics 911
Aerospace Manufacturing & Design 1239
Airtech International Inc. 532
Akzo Nobel Functional Chemicals 817
American Colors Inc. 1057
AOC LLC 801
Arkema 946
Ashland Performance Materials 1045
ATC Formulated Polymers 645
AXEL Plastics Research Lab 707
Bayer MaterialScience LLC 1033
Becker Pumps Corp. 1237
Big C: Dino-Lite Scopes 1251
Binks 501
Breton 1167
CCP Composites 623
Cerex Advanced Fabrics Inc. 1069
Chem-Trend LP 744
Chomarat North America 1126
Chromao Technologies 745
CMS North America Inc. 808
Composite Polymer Design 1254
Composites One LLC 636
CompositesWorld/Composites Technology 1233
Controx Neuhauser 667
CPIC/Fiberglass 1160
Crane Composites 917
Creative Pultrusions Inc. 545
CTG International (N.A.) Inc. 511
De-Comp Composites Inc. 505
DIAB Sales Inc. 711
Dixie Chemical Co. 615
Eastman Machine Co. 1139
Eco-Wolf Inc. 1067
EFI Composites LLC 814
Elliott Company of Indianapolis 723
Entec Composite Machines 1014
Entropy Resins 533
ES Manufacturing 502
Eurovac Inc. 823
Fiber Glass Industries, Inc. 910
Fiberglass Coatings Inc. 713
Fiber-Line Inc. 619
Freudenberg Nonwovens 632
Geiss LLC 655a
General Plastics Manufacturing Co. 1110
German Advanced Composites 655e
Gibco Flex-Mold Inc. 1055
Gruber Systems 933
GS Manufacturing 773
Gurit 872
GYS Sales Corp. 1211
Hawkeye Industries Inc. 712
Henkel Corporation 710
Hennecke Inc. 1123
HK Research 945
Hodogaya Chemical (USA) Inc. 873
Horn Co. 1216
Huber Engineered Materials 633
COMPOSITES 2013 EXHIBITOR LIST
Exhibitor and booth data per ACMA on Oct. 30, 2012.
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www.dieffenbacher.com
With our new, innovative D-SMC and
HP-RTM processes, we are continuously
advancing global progress in series pro-
duction of lightweight components with
glass or carbon bre-reinforced plastics.
Competence in composites:
We have better solutions
for making cars lighter
MA C H I N E R Y F O R L I G H T WE I G H T CO MP O N E N T S
I.S.T. International Surface
Technologies
561
Innovoc Solutions 508
Instron 519
Interplastic Corp./North
American Composites
923
ITW Insulation Systems 500
ITW Plexus 648
ITW SprayCore 1244
ITW WindGroup 748
Jensen Industries Inc. 1109
Jordan Reduction Solutions 1011
JRL Ventures Inc. 644
Jushi USA 1015
Kaneka North America LLC 913
Kenrich Petrochemicals Inc. 611
Knowlton Technologies LLC 1010
Krauss Maffei Corp. 655f
Lauffer Pressen 655i
Lean Mean Closed Mold
Machine
737
Litek Composites Corp. 1122
Lucintel 1226
Magnum Venus Plastech 729
Mahogany Company of
Mays Landing
944
MCC Equipment & Service
Center
544
McLube Div. of McGee
Industries
822
METYX Composites 1231
Micro Air 651
Milyon SA 547
Mistras Group Inc. 1208
Nederman LLC 1248
Netzsch Instruments North
America
660
Nexeo Solutions 1000
Olympus 1138
Owens Corning Composite
Materials
522
Performance Polymer
Solutions Inc. (P2SI)
973
PCCR USA Inc. 1101
Performance Minerals
Corp.
812
Potters Industries LLC 1163
PPG Industries Inc. 827
Precision Drive Systems 1222
Precision Fabrics
Group Inc.
1156
PRO-SET Inc. 806
Reichhold 600
Reinforced Plastics 649
Releasomers 1207
REXCO Mold Care Products 922
R.J. Marshall Co., The 701
SAERTEX USA LLC 716
Society for the
Advancement of Material
and Process Engineering
(SAMPE)
514
SCIGRIP Smarter Adhesive
Solutions
504
Scott Bader Inc. 1061
Sicomin 766
Sika Corp. 1127
SMOOTH-ON Inc. 1241
Solvent Recovery Systems 725
Spheretex America Inc. 655h
Structural Composites 915
SWORL (div. of Prairie
Technology)
845
Taconic 1227
Technology Marketing Inc. 548
Teijin Aramid USA Inc. 516
The M.F. Cachat Co. 1206
Thermocoax 666
Thermwood Corp. 1154
3A Composites/Baltek Inc. 1245
3M 538
Toho Tenax America Inc. 517
Tricel Honeycomb 811
TSE Industries 554
Tyvarian International LLC 510
Unicomposite Technology
Co. Ltd.
1072
United Initiators SPI Inc. 717
United Soybean Board 618
Vectorply Corp. 1039
Ventilation Solutions 1016
Warm Industrial
Nonwovens
1209
Watkins & Associates Inc. 616
Wisconsin Oven Corp. 1223
Wm. T. Burnett & Co. 1232
Xamax Industries 549
ACMA COMPOSITES 2013 Preview
16
Show Coverage
Bursting at the seams, the 12
th
annual Society of
Plastic Engineers Automotive Composites Conference
and Exhibition tops its previous bests.
REVIEW
SPE
ACCE
2012
T
he 12
th
annual Society of Plastics Engineers (SPE) Automo-
tive Composites Conference and Exhibition (ACCE), held
Sept. 11-13, took on much more of the look and feel of an
exhibition this year at the Michigan State University (MSU) Man-
agement Education Center (MEC) in Troy, Mich. ACCE organiz-
ers appropriated space historically used to accommodate the daily
luncheons and opened those areas up to exhibitors. Te luncheons
were moved out to the MSU patio area in a massive tented space.
Te result was a substantial increase in exhibition area.
Conference organizers reported that the 2012 event broke the
previous attendance record (504 in 2011) with 636 registrations
a 21 percent increase. Although that was good news, it was clear
to SPEs Automotive and Composites divisions that the MEC is no
longer big enough to contain this growing automotive event. In a
postevent announcement, SPE revealed that the 13
th
SPE ACCE
will be held at the larger Diamond Center, in Novi, Mich.
Creig Bowland, a senior research associate at glass-fber suppli-
er PPG Industries (Pittsburgh, Pa.), who served as the conference
chair last year, took another turn in that position for 2012, oversee-
ing a slate of 70 peer-reviewed paper presentations, two panel dis-
cussions and fve keynote speakers. And organizers also ofered two
postconference tours: one to the new Plasan Carbon Composites
facility in nearby Wixom, and the other across the Canadian border
to the new Fraunhofer Project Centre for Composites Research at
Western University (London, Ontario).
PREFORMS IN THE PERFORMANCE TRACK
Preforms were a hot topic this year. Two full sessions were de-
voted to new technologies in this area. For example, Dan Buckley
of American GFM Corp. (Chesapeake, Va.) highlighted his com-
panys light-curable binder, which reportedly cures in less than one
second on simple, low-cost tooling. Te light cure can be varied to
selectively control stifness where needed, and the preform can be
combined with cores or with thermoplastic skins. He emphasized
the importance of drapability, or, as he preferred, conformability,
which is key to a successfully formed preform.
Lee Harper of Nottingham University (Nottingham, U.K.) dis-
cussed new work in producing carbon fber preforms by spray-
ing discontinuous fbers with binder, similar to Ford Motor Co.s
(Detroit, Mich.) P4 preforming method, originally developed in
the early 1990s with Owens Corning (Toledo, Ohio) and Aplica-
tor System AB (Mlnlycke, Sweden). Harper and his research team
have created a process simulation tool to help predict sprayed f-
ber preform performance and then optimize the method. Tey also
have developed a way to orient fbers during the spray process yet
maintain fast fber throughput. Te oriented preforms deliver the
same stifness as continuous unidirectional tow, with good strength
retention, claims Harper. Other materials, such as fabrics, can be in-
corporated, ofering a lower material cost option for molding high-
performance structural parts.
Sigmatex High Technology Fabrics (Benicia, Calif.) Jonah
Jimenez discussed his companys ability to weave custom preforms
using a high-speed, three-dimensional Stubli (Duncan, S.C.) Jac-
quard machine. Although he had to admit that the weaving process
adds cost, Jimenez pointed out that material can be quickly and
continuously produced in long rolls and in multiple shapes and f-
ber types at a price approaching that of 2-D fabrics.
Interest also was high in a paper presented by Tommy Fristedt
of LayStitch Technologies (Highland, Mich.) on a tailored fber
placement technique that produces a fat preform in a process he
likened to printing, using stitched carbon tows for local reinforce-
ment. Te company claims almost zero waste, because the preform
can be stitched and layed down exactly as needed, and stitching can
be selective for maximum conformability. Te companys products
have been used by Airbus for aircraf window frames, and Fristedt
believes the low cost and improved speed, as well as the ability to
incorporate electronic wires, for example, can yield cost-efective
preforms for automotive applications.
THE VIRTUES OF VIRTUAL ENGINEERING
Te conference theme, Unleashing the Power of Design, was best
exemplifed by the four sessions devoted to Virtual Prototyping and
Testing of Composites. Fifeen speakers outlined the state of virtual
design and development, and they explored both the strengths and
The MSU Management Education Center auditorium was the largest of three
ACCE speaker venues. Each was the site for a sizable number of the 70
speaker presentations.
Source | CT / Photo | Mike Musselman
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remaining limitations of sofware-based modeling and testing that
reduce or eliminate the need for expensive iterative make-it-and-
break-it development cycles.
Dr. Mike Wyzgoski, a consultant to the American Chemistry
Council (ACC), led of the sessions with an encouraging report that
set the tone for the others as he described ACC-enabled initiatives
to apply predictive engineering to long-fber reinforced thermo-
plastics. Wyzgoski emphasized the role of time in the progress of
virtual engineering. Short-fber thermoplastics, now a staple in the
auto industry, are well characterized, he noted, but long-fber ther-
moplastics, a comparatively new approach, simply havent had the
history yet that permits those who write and use the sofware to
build the mathematical models necessary to simulate part perfor-
mance and render predictions of actual performance that are ac-
curate and reliable.
ACC is building bridges between the U.S. Department of En-
ergy (DoE), Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL, Oak Ridge,
Tenn.) and others to expedite the mathematical modeling process.
He reported that the work is close to producing commercially ap-
plicable sofware. In one project, for example, researchers in a study
called Engineering Property Prediction Tools for Tailored Polymer
Composite Structures funded by the DoE, ORNL and Pacifc
Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL, Richland, Wash.) com-
bined forces with sofware writers from Autodesk (San Rafael, Ca-
lif.) to develop models for predicting the extent of breakage during
compounding and injection and the fnal fber length in the part.
Autodesk is now negotiating to incorporate the fber length predic-
tion models into its AMSA Mold Flow sofware.
Wyzgoski outlined a number of other active eforts toward these
ends that should soon bear fruit, noting that ACC sees its job as shak-
ing the tree. Weve tried to plug gaps not covered by government
funding, he explains, noting that the ACC is helping arrange funding
and coordination for case studies of actual three-dimensional parts.
SHORTENING THE THERMOSET CURE CYCLE
Also much discussed were advances in thermoset chemistries
aimed at rapid processing. Roman Hillermeier of Momentive Spe-
cialty Chemicals GmbH (Iserlohn, Germany) discussed a way to
accelerate structural part cure with a new-generation epoxy resin
formulated with a latent short cycle; the resin cures in fve min-
utes but maintains a lower viscosity for a
four-times longer resin injection window
in a gap impregnation resin transfer mold-
ing (RTM) process while delivering a higher
T
g
and a Class A fnish. Te new Momen-
tive EPIKOTE resin (with EPIKURE curing
agent), intended for carbon fber automotive
parts and at least 50 percent fber volume, is
aimed at automated, high-volume produc-
tion. At the show, the company also ofered
an even faster-curing epoxy, EPIKOTE
Resin 05475. Its two-minute cure cycle still
allows for complete fber wetting and mold
fll, and it delivers good mechanical proper-
ties in the fnished part.
R&D ON HIGH-PRESSURE RTM
A related area of high interest was the series of speakers involved in
R&D on increasing the injection speed in RTM processes to satisfy
OEM automotive production rates. Raman Chaudhari, from the
Fraunhofer-Institut fr Chemische Technologie (ICT, Pfnztal, Ger-
many), presented the results of his Ph.D research on the subject of
high-pressure RTM. Noting from the outset that the process isnt
ready for prime time, he identifed three process aspects that still
need work: the preforming process, the injection sequence and the
cure cycle. Te high pressure and high resin-fow rate displace fbers
in the preform, and the length of time needed to wet out the pre-
form precludes the use of available fast-cure resins. A process variant,
high-pressure compression RTM, leaves a gap between the preform
and upper tool, permitting the resin to fow over the preforms top
surface. Te mold closes afer the preform is covered and forces the
resin into the preform while it consolidates the laminate. In tests, this
method reduced injection time from 30 seconds to 7.5 seconds.
Another presenter, Dr. Lolei Karine Kohun of the National Re-
search Council Canada (Ottawa, Ontario), reported that her re-
search, which compared high-pressure RTM (HP RTM) and high-
pressure compression RTM, resulted in an even faster injection time
for the latter. Using injection pressures from 6 to 15 MPa, compared
to about 1 MPa for conventional RTM; a quadraxial noncrimp fabric
in the preform, with up to 6 percent binder to prevent fber wash; a
Voraforce epoxy resin (Dow Automotive, Midland, Mich.) formu-
lated to withstand 300C/572F temperatures; and a mold tempera-
ture of 100C/212F to reduce the resin viscosity and accelerate cure,
the injection time was one minute, with complete cure in fve min-
utes. Further, the compression RTM alternative showed little deg-
radation in mechanical properties at increasingly faster cycle times,
while an HP RTM process without the compression feature exhibit-
ed a defnite downtrend in properties as injection speeds increased.
Te downtrend was attributed to the higher percentage of binder
required to prevent fber wash in HP RTM. Te binder interrupted
resin fow, creating voids. Experiments with vacuum assistance and
reduced binder content, however, improved properties.
A VISION FOR VISIONARY DESIGN
Great advances are almost always the result of what pundits like to
call disruptive technologies. ACCE had what one might char-
A strong roster of presenters in the area of Virtual Prototyping and Testing outlined progress made
recently in the fast-growing eld of predictive engineering.
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acterize as a disruptive keynote speaker. Oliver Kuttner, CEO and
co-owner of start-up automaker Edison2 (Lynchburg, Va.), spoke
on the less than self-explanatory subject of Correct Primary Deci-
sions Leading to Positive Feedback Loops. What conference-goers
got, however, was memorable: not just a challenge to think outside
the box, but a clear and kindly call to be done with the box and start
over. Kuttner noted that many ACCE participants were addressing
issues raised by the recently solidifed new CAFE standard (54.5
mpge), and he asked how many in the auditorium were aware of the
impending European carbon dioxide (CO
2
) standards, slated for en-
actment in 2016. Few raised their hands. CAFE standards, he said,
are both footprint dependent (that is, the standard is eased for larger
vehicles) and escapable (auto OEMs can draw a bye simply by paying
the per-vehicle fne). Kuttner assumed that some automakers would
simply consider it a cost of doing business to pay fnes rather than
comply. For that reason, he contended, the CO
2
standard is the real
worry. It is nonnegotiable and absolute, and it will have to be met.
He doubted that current lightweighting eforts would get automak-
ers into compliance. Trim here, trim there, will not be enough, he
warned. And even if we do all that trimming, and it costs a fortune,
and even if we get there, what do we do afer that? Weve exhausted
all options. At some point, theres nowhere to go.
Kuttner proposed, based on his experience as the winner of the
recent Progressive Insurance Automotive X Prize with a vehicle that
averaged more than 100 mpge, that the alternative for auto OEMs
is to fundamentally reinvent the automobile and quickly produce an
extremely fuel-ef cient car as a niche vehicle (as few as 4,000 units).
Tis would buy margin in the OEMs CAFE average, he argued, and
the lessons learned would inform eforts to meet infexible CO
2
regu-
lations. Four years ago, he and his team set out to do just that. Despite
the fact that 65 cars were entered into the X Prize competition, he
claimed that only two made the fnals both were his.
Kuttner showed of a 50-lb/22.7-kg front suspension assembly de-
veloped for his winning cars. Noting that one of the talking points at
the conference was the expense of dealing with coef cient of thermal
expansion (CTE) mismatches and other issues at connection points
where composites meet metal, he pointed out that the assembly has
only two attachment points to the body in white. All the suspension
is in the wheel. Eliminating the strut tower, he explained, opens up
the auto interior. Te suspension system, reportedly proven in 24-
hour rally racing under brutal conditions, marked the frst domino
to fall, Kuttner claims, in a long series of rethinking and reworking
steps that led to a car that could, with a steel frame, get 129 mpge. And
Kuttner told attendees that each of these technologies are for sale.
He challenged automakers to think not only about next years
model, but a model for the next decade. He suggested they envision
a car, for example, whose owner (or, potentially, time renter) plugs
in a personal tablet computer that interlocks with the cars ignition
(thus preventing thef) and diagnostic systems and also displays data
once read from now absent dashboard gauges. Kuttner called for a
radical rethinking of how to combine technologies in like manner to
avoid duplication and thereby save signifcant cost.
MULTI-MATERIAL VEHICLES: NO MINCED WORDS
Immediately following Kuttners keynote address, he and fve others
assembled on the dais for the frst and most lively of two panel
discussions on the subject of the Multi-Material Vehicle. Modera-
tor Lindsay Brooke, senior editor of Automotive Engineering Maga-
zine (SAE International, Warrendale, Pa.), questioned panelists on the
subject of Design and Assembly. Te panelists included Kuttner; Saad
Abouzahr, senior manager, materials engineering, at Chrysler Group
LLC (Auburn Hills, Mich.); Dr. Antony Dodworth, managing director
at Dodworth Design (Birmingham, U.K.); Dr. Jay Baron, president,
CEO and chairman of the board of the not-for-proft Center for Auto-
motive Research (CAR, Ann Arbor, Mich.); Gary Lownsdale, director
of R&D and engineering at Plasan Carbon Composites (Bennington,
Vt.); Tom Pilette, VP of product and process development for Magna
Exteriors and Interiors (Troy, Mich.); and Dr. George Ritter, technol-
ogy director at the Edison Welding Institute (EWI, Columbus, Ohio).
When asked to defne the term multi-material car, Abouzahr,
Dodworth and Baron pointed frst to autos as we know them. Steel
has, to some extent, been replaced by aluminum, plastics and com-
posites. However, Abouzahr noted that the challenge ahead is to re-
place steel with lighter materials in the body in white, calling it the
last frontier. Dodworth noted that the new Porsche has seven mate-
rials, and the Audi A2 sports 23 kg/50.7 lb of carbon fber compos-
ites. Baron pointed out that the challenge, going forward, is the CTE
diferences between materials that must be joined and then painted.
Kuttner agreed, noting that vastly reducing the number of connect-
ing points through redesign of the vehicle architecture will be a key
At right, Gary Lownsdale (Plasan Carbon Composites, Bennington, Vt.)
enjoys some good-natured kidding at the hands of Antony Dodworth
(Dodworth Design, Buckingham, U.K.) about his passionate defense of
composites during the rst of the ACCEs two panel discussions.
CW staffer Sara Black (right) speaks with Roman Hillermeier, a
representative of exhibitor and cocktail reception sponsor Momentive
Performance Materials (Albany, N.Y.)
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to multi-material compatibility. He envisioned a radical re-engi-
neering of the automobile that will launch a golden age to come.
Lownsdale noted that sports cars, such as GMs Chevrolet Corvette
and Chryslers Dodge Viper, have been multi-materials showcases
for years. He pointed out that weight reduction, in fact, has been a
recurring theme since the 1960s and noted that each time the topic
came up, joinery was an issue. He recalled his work on early Saturns,
which incorporated thermoplastic fenders and door panels on an
otherwise steel body, and fasteners were the critical factor. Agreeing
with Kuttner, Lownsdale predicted, In this decade, materials and ar-
chitecture will both count. Ritter, a joinery expert, agreed that joints
are critical and noted that the EWI phone is ringing already with
requests for assistance on joinery issues.
When Brooke broached the subject of recent partnerships of
OEMs with carbon fber producers, Abouzahr noted the reluctance
he saw frsthand at Chrysler when early composites eforts didnt
work, recalling one time when he suggested a plastic engine mani-
fold at a meeting only to be asked to leave. He recalled a time when
an RTM process proved unready and a part was made, instead,
from aluminum. He noted that today the OEM still does not know
composites technology and is reaching out to those who do. Baron
pointed out that most OEMs are stafed by mechanical engineers,
not chemical engineers, who know little about resins and other
subcomponents of composites. So this is a barrier. You need to get
the steel, aluminum and composite people together not work-
ing separately but together to bring all the material options into the
fold, he said, adding, Obviously, the government will have take a
big part in that. It will require, he added, all kinds of cooperative
eforts. Tere is no one solution. You have to fnd compatible people
who can come together and work on this.
Lownsdale saw, in that, the need for education. You have to spend
time conveying what youve learned to the engineers who actually do
the work, he said, insisting, Mechanical engineers can understand
polymers! He argued that they would, in fact, bring to the discussion
a fresh perspective. Tey approach material diferently than chemi-
cal engineers, he said, but contended, Tats an advantage, thinking
about the material mechanics on a chemical level. As automakers
combine materials into a subsystem, he predicted that cross-polli-
nation will create a knowledge base that could extend back to the
design engineer. Tat, he said, is the only way it will work.
Fireworks were lit, however, when Abouzahr suggested that pro-
ponents of structural and Class A auto composites still bear the bur-
den of proof that composites and composite molding processes can
indeed produce parts of suf cient quality fast enough to meet OEM
expectations and be adaptable to OEM paint lines. Until then, he said,
OEMs are unlikely to make a wholesale commitment. Lownsdale took
strenuous objection to that characterization, noting that his own com-
pany has a very cordial and close relationship with his companys Viper
program and has already demonstrated technology suf cient to satisfy
those demands. He pointed out that Plasan has a 17-minute (layup
to primed part) production process in place and is close to a shorter
11-minute process. He claimed that it is possible to mold the part in as
few as two minutes, noting that when other steps of the process (not
directly composites-related) catch up with that, the entire process can
be downsized time-wise to incorporate the shorter mold cycle.
Baron made a cogent point, however, when he contended, Te
best part is no part. He went on to explain that innovative part con-
solidation is a huge beneft ofered by composite materials. Fewer parts
overall vastly reduces the time and the number of discrete steps and
critical joints necessary to produce them.
CARBON FIBER SUPPLY & DEMAND, REVISITED
As always at such events, the panelists were asked a perennial ques-
tion: As aerospace programs consume increasing quantities of carbon
fber, will there be enough supply for automakers? Ritter noted that
the opportunity for signifcant carbon fber use is greater than ever
before. Although the steel industry has been aggressive in designing
alloys that can be made thinner, Ritter noted that strategy can only
go so far. Lownsdale applauded the recent alliances and partnerships
that virtually every automotive OEM has made with a carbon fber
producer to ensure its supply. And, he added, what is really happen-
ing at this point is judicious use of smaller quantities of carbon fber
where needed not entire bodies.
Elsewhere during the event, ORNLs Clif Eberle discussed his or-
ganizations eforts to develop alternative carbon precursors, includ-
ing lignin and polyolefn. Te labs new carbon fber line is slated to
open in February 2013. And presenter George Husman of Zoltek
Corp. (St. Louis, Mo.) asserted that most molders are struggling
with process that is, fnding the most efective and ef cient way
to make carbon parts. He believes that a carbon fber-flled sheet
molding compound (SMC) shows much promise, because of its
lower density than glass at the same fber content, and he said that
thinner parts are possible with carbon fber. He also discussed the
use of unidirectional continuous fbers in selective reinforcement of
a low-cost, injection molded part. We need more creative design
for manufacturing, Husman summed up. | CT |
Read this article online | http://short.compositesworld.com/D04sJkCo.
The ACCEs panel discussion on day two considered the topic Predictive
Analysis of Multi-Material Automotive Structures. Doug Smock (far left)
medical content editor at Plastics Today (Los Angeles, Calif.), moderated the
discussion between (left to right) Roger Assaker, CEO and cofounder of
e-Xstream Engineering (Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium); Olivier Moriset, general
manager of industry strategy and innovation at ESI North America (Farmington
Hills, Mich.); Dr. Hannes Fuchs, senior engineer at Multimatic Engineering
(Detroit, Mich.); Mark Minnichelli, director of commercial technology at BASF
Corp. (Greenville, Ohio); Tim Palmer, presales manager at MSC.Software
Corp. (Santa Ana, Calif.) and Jeff Webb, the instrument panel and console
technical specialist at Ford Motor Co. (Dearborn, Mich.).
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T
REVIEW
IBEX
2012
Under the banner The Future of Marine Technology, the 22
nd
International
BoatBuilders expo confronts a brave new world.
Source | IBEX
he marine industrys largest technical trade event was held,
again this year, far inland along the Ohio River, at the
Kentucky Exposition Center (Louisville, Ky.). Te Interna-
tional BoatBuilders Exhibition (IBEX) was cohosted Oct. 2-4 by
Brooklin, Maine-based Professional BoatBuilder magazine and the
National Marine Manufacturers Assn. (NMMA, Washington, D.C.).
IBEX opened this year with a keynote address by Steve M.
Murdock, former director of the U.S. Census Bureau. He set the
tone for the exhibitions examination of the marine markets future
by discussing how demographic trends in the U.S. population could
afect boating. He suggested the boat market could double in size
if the industry could increase boat buying among Hispanics to the
same level it has achieved among non-Hispanics. Te NMMA added
a special market intelligence session that featured economists and
market specialists in fshing, outdoor sports and boating. NMMA
president Tom Dammrich noted that boat sales are continuing to
rise in most marine segments. Tis was confrmed by Matt Cham-
bers, president of Marine Concepts (Cape Coral, Fla.), who cited
an increase in new model development across boat types and sizes,
from kayaks and ski boats to high-performance craf and models
from 40 to 50 f in length. To keep up, Chambers says, his company
is expanding into a new location and has purchased its sixth CNC
machine, supplied by PaR Systems (Shoreview, Minn.), to meet
demand for faster cutting, tighter tolerances and the ability to cut
carbon fber and other hard-to-cut materials.
Many exhibitors noted that IBEX attendance (up just 1 percent
over 2011) refected the continued sluggishness in the marine mar-
ket, and though they continue to see positive signs, they believe the
peaks that once followed industry slowdowns are a thing of the past.
Comments were made that this was the best IBEX in three years (see
Fig. 1 & 3 for comparisons), and there was surprise, as well, at the
lack of talk about the new styrene labeling rule now in efect and its
possible implications for the industry.
IBEX composites seminars continued to look forward, urging
the industry to continue its improvement in materials, design and
processing, with special emphasis on vacuum infusion process-
ing and curing (e.g., Vacuum Bag Basics, Cure Cycles and Post
Curing, and Vacuum Infusion for Carbon Fiber Laminates). In
addition to the technical focus, presenters looked at marketing op-
portunities overseas (Global Production BoatBuilding) and how
manufacturers can improve ef ciency and costs, in sessions titled
Although attendance (up 1 percent vs. 2011) mirrored the still sluggish
marine industry, exhibitors CT visited said it was the best IBEX event in
three years but also indicated that the peaks that once followed industry
slow-downs could be a thing of the past.
Composites Ones Closed Mold Alliance attracted throngs again this year
with outdoor infusion molding demonstrations.
FIGURE
1
IBEX 2012 SHOW STATISTICS
100,000 ft
2
of exhibit space
520 exhibitors from 12 countries
4,701 attendees from 31 countries and 46 states
92 technical & business seminars
120 marine industry expert speakers
16 free workshops
FIGURE
2
Cores
Cores &
Reinforcements
Prefab.
Structures
B3 SmartPac
(SP High Modulus)

Compsys
(Melbourne, FL)

DIAB
Mahogany Composites
(Mays Landing, NJ)

NIDA CORE (3M)
Plascore (Zeeland, MI)
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Plant Layout, Cost and Ef ciency of Resin Infusion, and Light-
weight Composite Technology for Improving Ef ciency. And one
seminar focused exclusively on composites regulatory issues.
Notably, Composites Consulting Group (DeSoto, Texas) pre-
sented test results that compared single-bag vs. double-bag vacuum
infusion in an attempt to determine what, if any, value the latter
may have for marine applications. Te Group noted that single-bag
infusion with tight process control and double-bag infusion were
shown to deliver roughly the same result; but presenters agreed that
the sample 10 test pieces was too small to be statistically con-
clusive. Additional testing is under consideration.
ON THE SHOW FLOOR
Increasing ef ciency through better use of materials and labor was
also the trend among Composites Pavilion exhibitors. Kitting was
a common theme (see Fig. 2 on p. 20), spreading beyond reinforce-
ments and cores to prefabricated stringers and bulkheads, as well
as precut and preseamed vacuum bag materials. Other ef ciency
innovations on exhibit included tools with vacuum capability to
remove debris and reduce consumables (see Dynabrade item, p. 22)
and adhesives designed to replace the labor of mechanical fasteners
(see ITW Plexus item, p. 22).
Among the frst-time exhibitors in the Pavilion were two long-
time marine industry composites suppliers French Canadian
resin source Tri-Tex and Japan-based ACMOS Inc., represented by
its U.S. sales of ce in Maryland and a surfacing veil supplier,
Creatis LLC, from Indiana.
Te CT staf found these and other exhibits of interest to marine
composites manufacturers on the show foor, of which the follow-
ing is a notable sampling.
SEMIPERMANENT MOLD RELEASES
With a 26-year history in the U.S., ACMOS Inc. (Lutherville, Md.),
a supplier of mold release systems compatible with urethane, poly-
ester, vinyl ester and epoxy resins, exhibited its semipermanent
release systems for the frst time at IBEX. In the spotlight was its
new ACMOScoat 82-9100, which reportedly saves 30 percent in
application time by enabling more demolded parts per application.
With its headquarters in Nomura, Japan, the company has facilities
located in Bremen, Germany, in addition to of ces in Lutherville
and nearby Hanover, Md. www.acmos.com
BREATHER STRIPS FOR VACUUM INFUSION
Airtech International (Huntington Beach, Calif.) introduced its
MC-79 vacuum breather strip. According to the company, it simpli-
fes vacuum bagging and helps control fow in resin infusion. Made
from Dahltexx SP-2
fabric, this strip
material helps to
ensure wet out and
avoids dry patches
by providing even
vacuum distribu-
tion over the part for
ef cient air removal.
It can be applied
over the surface of
a laminate with no
resin bleed out and little mark-of; or it can be used with a localized
vacuum source to draw resin into dry areas or to avoid dry patches
via stringer top vacuum manifolds. www.airtechonline.com
MOLDING COMPOUND CORE SUBSTITUTE
ATC Formulated Polymers Inc. (Burlington, Ontario, Canada) an-
nounced type approval for its Core-Bond family of products by the
marine vessel classifcation society the American Bureau of Ship-
ping (ABS, Houston, Texas). ATCs CEO, Jean-Pascal Schroeder,
Although boatbuilders
and other marine
manufacturers have
returned to IBEX in the
wake of the recent
recession this years
attendance is higher
than the two best years
before the recession
exhibiting companies
are still recovering
from the blow.
FIGURE
3
IBEX BY THE NUMBERS
Year Exhibitors Visitors
2006 820 4,509
2007 900 4,570
2008 750 3,924
2009 470 4,567
2010 546 5,161
2011 556 4,672
2012 520 4,701
AIREX T92.80 SealX, a sealed version of 3A Composites
AIREX T92 thermoplastic PET foam, reportedly offers the lowest
foam resin uptake during infusion. Used in the carbon/epoxy
sandwich hulls of the 50-ft/15m Fifty-Fifty catamaran, it helped
minimize weight, enabling the yacht to break a longstanding speed
record in Hungarys 2012 Balaton Lake Regatta.
Source | www.tradeonlytoday.com
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also discussed how a variety of boatbuilders are experimenting
with POLY-BOND B55LV Molding Compound to reduce material
and labor cost in the production of various parts. Campion Boats
(Kelowna, British Columbia, Canada), for example, is replacing
core with B55LV in hatches that are gel coated on both sides us-
ing a low-pressure displacement molding process (also known as
squish molding) to eliminate consumables and reduce tooling costs
for simple parts. Campion claims additional savings by eliminating
skin layer reinforcements without print-through issues. Schroeder
says other builders are using B55LV in hard tops and door tops and
are experimenting with it as a substitute for syntactic core, saying
it ofers a lightweight, tappable material with reportedly twice the
screw retention of plywood. www.atc-fp.com
HANDS-ON TRAINING COURSES
CCP Composites (Kansas City, Mo.) publicized its CCP University,
an annual schedule of more than eight hands-on training courses
ofered across the country, with topics including Tooling Construc-
tion, Gelcoat Application and Patching and Closed Molding/LRTM/
CCBM/VIP. Te company also provides the industry-renowned
Cookbook applications guide, which is now available digitally on CD-
ROM and via its Web site at www.ccpcompositesus.com.
UNIQUELY PATTERNED
CARBON FIBER WOVENS
Composite Fabrics of America (CFA,
Taylorsville, N.C.) exhibited its TEX-
TRAL 3K and 12K carbon fber fabrics
in standard widths to 80 inches/203 cm
(greater widths, custom), with unique
weaves that create visual impact. Al-
though CFA is only three years old,
it says it benefts from the more than
90 years of textile experienceacquired
by parent Schneider Mills (New York, N.Y., and Taylorsville). Le-
veraging our parent companys extensive weaving expertise, we
have developed technologies enabling us to weave carbon, aramid
and other advanced fbers into fabric patterns that are both struc-
turally sound and aesthetically striking, said regional sales director
Jack Loudermilk. CFA supplies all of the traditionalcompositefab-
rics, plus more than30 diferent exotic TEXTRAL weaves,andcan
create customer-exclusivedesigns like logos. www.cfamills.com
SPRAYABLE, REUSABLE RUBBER VACUUM
BAG MATERIALS
Distributor Composites One (Arlington Heights, Ill.) continued
its annual Closed Mold Alliance demonstrations and promoted the
newest addition to its wide array of closed molding materials and
equipment options: SPRAYOMER nonsilicone reusable vacuum
bag materials. Manufacturer SR Composites (Henderson, Nev.) lent
testimony to SPRAYOMERs advantages, which come from using
modifed natural rubbers with extreme tear-resistance and fex-
ibility, enabling the formation of reusable bags that are reportedly
thinner and lighter than silicone bags, with a typical payback vs.
disposable bags at 25 to 30 cycles for parts of practically any size
or shape. Te base material is biodegradable and renewable, with
a carbon footprint estimated at 50 percent that of synthetic rubber.
www.compositesone.com
COMPOSITE STRUCTURAL AND INFUSION
FLOW ANALYSES
Composites Consulting Group (CCG, the consulting arm of
DIAB, DeSoto, Texas) highlighted its work in fow modeling analy-
sis, done in conjunction with Vectorworks Marine (Titusville, Fla.)
on the latters 145-f River Hawk patrol boat, which features what is
believed to be the largest infused hull to date (see photo), and the
M10 hovercraf. Te M10 relies on 10-f/3m diameter, all-carbon-
fber propeller ducts that weigh in at only 210 lb/95.3 kg each, a
feat enabled by CCGsanalytical consulting expertise (see also En-
gineered Bonding Solutions item, p. 23). www.ccg-composites.com
DECORATED SURFACING VEILS
Creatis LLC (Millersburg, Ind.) ofered its Phantom Veil polyester
and glass fber surfacing veils, available printed with one of more
than 30 standard and nonstandard designs (e.g., camoufage,
brick, marble, sandstone and a variety of wood grains) or with a
custom design, such as a logo. Te company ofers 1m
2
/10.8-f
2

samples, short lead times and has a one-roll (100m
2
/1,076-f
2
) mini-
mum order for standard designs. www.creatisllc.com
DUST/DEBRIS-CAPTURE TOOLS
Dynabrade (Clarence, N.Y.) promoted its extensive line of vacu-
um-operated dust- and debris-capture tools, including drills and
diamond-wheel cutof tools, ofering reduced consumables costs for
composites machining. For example, its orbital sander with vacuum
capability reportedly extends the life of the sanding disk by suck-
ing debris into the vacuum to prevent disk clogging. A longer disk
life also reduces the number of consumable change-outs and boosts
overall machining ef ciency. www.dynabrade.com
HYBRID URETHANE/SILICONE ADHESIVES
ITW Plexus (Danvers, Mass.) has developed the H-Series product
line of one-component, semistructural urethane/silicone (hybrid)
sealant adhesives that ofer UV-resistance plus excellent elongation
and fexibility. Described as a green product line, it is isocyanate-
free, with low to no volatile organic compounds (VOCs). Te adhe-
sives are targeted to replace welds and metal fasteners in secondary
structures, aesthetic applications and any applications with exposed
bondlines. www.itwplexus.com
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Read this article online | http://short.compositesworld.com/Z3QAJ3FL.
Contributing Writer
Ginger Gardiner is a freelance writer
and regular CT contributor based in
Washington, N.C.
ginger@compositesworld.com
STRUCTURAL ADHESIVES
Engineered Bonding Solutions LLC (Titusville, Fla.) celebrated
the one-year anniversary of its Acralock adhesives in August.We
are rapidly expanding to meet the interests beyond North America
into Asia, Europe and South America, said company president Matt
Brandli, who spotlighted recent marine applications: Sportsman
Boats (Summerville, S.C.) uses SA10-100 to bond stringers to the
hull and UV-resistant SA10-40WHT for small parts. Vectorworks
Marine (Titusville, Fla.) used Acralock structural methacrylates in
two foreign military projects, the 145-f River Hawk patrol boat and
two land-and-sea capable 70-f M10 hovercraf (see photo) for EPS
Corp. (Tinton Falls, N.J.). (See also the previous Composites Con-
sulting Group item, p. 22). www.acralock.com
COMBINED E-GLASS/E-CR GLASS ROVINGS
Owens Corning Composite Materials (Toledo, Ohio) announced
that its OptiSpray roving products are available globally. Designed
for spray-up processing in marine, transportation and other ap-
plications, OptiSpray products are made with Owens Cornings
patented Advantex glass fber, which combines the mechanical
properties of E-glass with the corrosion-resistance of E-CR glass.
OptiSprays benefts are said to include easy chopping, rolling and
air release; fat lay down and uniform dispersion; and excellent con-
formability without spring back, including in challenging vertical
parts. www.owenscorning.com
UV-RESISTANT METHACRYLATE ADHESIVES
SCIGRIP Smarter Adhesive Solutions (Durham, N.C.) showcased
its SG100-series of UV-resistant, two-part methacrylate adhesives.
Te newly reformulated SG100-series delivers superior adhesion
properties, while requiring minimal surface preparation for bond-
ing a wide range of materials used in boatbuilding and marine ap-
plications, said regional sales manager Kirk Miller. Tese nonyel-
lowing adhesives are intended for bonding composites, metals or
thermoplastics, and the reduced surface prep is said to cut labor
costs and production cycle times. www.scigrip.com
RECYCLED POLYETHYLENE
TEREPHTHALATE FOAM
3A Composites, div. of Schweitzer Technologies Group (Sins,
Switzerland) exhibited AIREX T92.80 SealX, a sealed version of its
AIREX T92 polyethylene terephthalate (PET) thermoplastic foam.
Said to exhibit the lowest resin uptake during infusion, compared
not only to other PET cores, but to PVC foam as well, the foam
is available in densities from 5 to 12.5 lb/f
3
(80 to 200 kg/m
3
). 3A
claims this closed-cell foam core with recycled PET content is easy
to process with no outgassing. It withstands process temperatures
up to 302F/150C and it can ofer cost savings, for example, by
replacing PVC foam core with an equal-property SealX to reduce
resin uptake. Te result is said to decrease resin usage and there-
fore nets a cost-per-part savings, plus savings in core cost, with
minimal impact on component weight (see photo and caption, p. 21).
www.3acomposites.com
EPOXY RESIN SYSTEMS
Tri-Tex (Saint-Eustache, Quebec, Canada) exhibited its East System
(the name has a 25-year history and is not related to West System)
epoxy laminating and infusion resins, casting resins and fairing
compounds. Te epoxies include 24 individual systems for either
room-temperature or elevated-temperature cure, including flled
and unflled systems and several systems with short-fber reinforce-
ments. www.tritex.com
REINFORCEMENT/FLOW MEDIA COMBO
Vectorply Corp. (Phenix City, Ala.) showed of its VectorCore rein-
forcements, which combine structural continuous glass fbers and
a highly permeable polypropylene-fber fow media. Intended for
closed molding applications, the combination of glass reinforce-
ment and fow media reportedly provides much higher mechanical
properties compared to all-chop fber or continuous flament mats
(CFMs). Further, the VectorCore materials are said to have supe-
rior conformability and contribute to better surface cosmetics in the
fnished composite part. www.vectorply.com
EXPAND-IN-PLACE
EPOXY FOAM
PRO-SET (Bay City, Mich.)
exhibited its M1034/M2037
expand-in-place epoxy foam.
When it is mixed, this product
creates, in-situ, a closed-cell
epoxy foam with very uni-
form cell sizes. Te expanding epoxy foam can be used as a core
for lightweight composite structures. Afer cure, it will bond with
fber-reinforced plastic (FRP), metals and low-density core materi-
als. To date the expanding foam product has been used in boat rud-
ders, dagger boards and keel fns, but it also could see applications,
says the company, in marine tidal turbine blades and stabilizer fns.
www.prosetepoxy.com | CT |
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Work in Progress
W
ind turbine sizes and, specifcally, rotor blade lengths
and tower heights are increasing. CT recently high-
lighted power provider Alstoms (Levallois-Perret Cedex, France)
installation of 73.5m/241-f long blades manufactured by LM Wind
Power (Kolding, Denmark) on the worlds largest ofshore wind
turbine at Carnet, France. Previous CT articles have addressed the
40-year trend toward ever-longer blades, detailed the design criteria
that drive the trend, and identifed the corresponding design and
materials challenges (see Learn More, p. 29).
Briefy, blade length is growing because turbine power output
is proportional to the square of blade length, and blade volume
and weight are proportional to the cube of blade length. Practically
speaking, longer blades sweep a larger area and, as a result, con-
tact a greater volume of available moving air. More wind energy is
captured and converted to electricity, which is passed along to the
grid. Higher towers, in turn, elevate those longer blades to greater
heights, where air speeds are typically faster and possess greater ki-
netic energy. Tese factors infuence wind turbine economics. Lon-
ger blades mean fewer towers and reduced transportation and in-
stallation expenses for a given designed power output. Tis reduces
the overall cost of generated electricity per kW/hr. And minimizing
the number of towers is of particular interest to ofshore wind farm
operators due to the high installation and maintenance costs in of-
ten demanding marine environments.
Finding the optimum balance between blade length, turbine cost
and power output is the ongoing challenge, and, in the latter half of
this centurys frst decade, it became increasingly dif cult, due to
the inherent size and capability limitations of the worlds wind blade
testing facilities. Testing is essential to meet the design, optimization
and commercialization challenges associated with longer blades. An
urgent need for testing facilities capable of validating designs and
providing certifcation testing for blades as long as 100m/328 f was
recognized both in the U.S. and Europe.
SCALING UP FOR THE FUTURE
Several proposed blade testing labs that could meet this need were
described in CTs April 2010 issue (see Learn More). In the U.S.,
Fig. 1: Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick (at podium) and (far right,
front row) Boston Mayor Thomas Menino and WTTC executive director Rahul
Yarala, and (back row, left) Congressmen Mike Capuano and Ed Markey were
among those in attendance at the May 18, 2011, opening ceremony.
WIND BLADE
TEST FACILITY
WTTC
opens
upsized
Source | Matt Bennett/Massachusetts Governors Ofce
Work in Progress
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the Wind Technology Testing Center (WTTC,
Boston, Mass.) opened on May 18, 2011 (see
Figs. 1-3). It is the only lab in the U.S. that can
test blades up to 90m/295-f long. Tis $35 million
to $40 million facility was built quickly and is
owned and operated by the WTTC Division of the
Massachusetts Clean Energy Center (MassCEC,
Boston, Mass.). Key partners include the U.S.
Department of Energy (DoE) and the National
Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL, Golden,
Colo.). Major funding for the project came from
the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act
and the Massachusetts Renewable Energy Trust.
In addition to creating roughly 300 construc-
tion and engineering jobs in Massachusetts, this
investment is supporting innovation in the U.S. wind industry and
further development of ofshore wind resources. Two other testing
facilities capable of handling these long blades have commenced
operations in Europe (see sidebar, p. 26).
Te WTTC is a large 33.6m by 100.8m by 24.4m (110 f by 330
f by 80 f) temperature-controlled facility located on a site that
was previously a scrap metal yard. Tis site was contaminated with
petroleum, polychlorinated biphenyls, metals and volatile organic
compounds, which necessitated remediation and extensive permit-
ting, and these obligations afected the design of
the lab. But its location ofers transportation ad-
vantages that, in the long term, will overcome the
costs of permitting and construction because cus-
tomers can ship large blades to WTTC on barges.
Tis capability was cited by TPI Composites Inc.
(Scottsdale, Ariz.) as one reason why the blade-
maker opened its new blade R&D and prototyping
plant in nearby Fall River, Mass., in 2010.
TESTING PARAMETERS
Wind turbine manufacturers and designers
need static and dynamic performance data for
their blades. Tis is refected in current industry
standards, such as IEC 61400-23, and in manu-
facturers test protocols. To simulate a 20-year
service life, the testing lab must mechanically
initiate up to 5 million fatigue cycles in the edge-
wise and fapwise directions. WTTC primarily
uses hydraulic hardware developed jointly with
NREL and MTS Systems (Eden Prairie, Minn.) to
perform resonant exciter-based fatigue tests.
WTTCs Universal Resonance Excitation
(UREX) system excites the blade at its natural
frequency by means of attached, double-ended
MTS 244 hydraulic actuators, linear bearings and
adjustable masses that apply resonant frequency
cyclic loads. A typical installation is shown in Fig.
4, p. 27. UREX testing requires less test energy
than competing systems. Tis reduces test costs
and allows actuators to be placed so the blade can be fatigued in the
fapwise and edgewise directions simultaneously.
In addition, new techniques like Ground Resonance Excitation
(GREX) are being developed. GREX employs foor-coupled hydraulics
to provide greater fexibility for testing longer blades while maintain-
ing relatively higher test frequencies. Tis is well suited for 40m/13-f
and longer blades that may have low stifness where blade-mounted
actuators can be less efective. Te highest test frequency that can be
achieved also helps keep the test duration as short as possible.
Fig. 3: This interior view of the WTTC shows a blade attached to one of the labs three blade
root mounting xtures. On the right is a larger, unoccupied blade-mounting xture, showing the
range of root diameters each xture can accommodate.
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Fig. 2: Exterior view of the WTTCs massive large-blade testing facility (parked autos show
scale).
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Work in Progress
Two rotor blade testing facilities in Europe have answered the call for
testing capability that will accommodate todays longer blade designs
for offshore wind turbines with newly constructed blade test sites.
Fraunhofer-Institut fr Windenergie und Energiesystemtechnik (IWES,
Bremerhaven, Germany), the rst to complete its expanded facility, is
now able to test 90m/295-ft blades, up from 70m/230-ft test lengths
two years ago. Fraunhofer-IWESs new test equipment is housed in a
recently completed 11 million ($14.3 million USD) testing hall funded
by Germanys Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF); the
Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear
Safety (BMU); the European Regional Development Fund (EFRD); and
the state of Bremen, Germany.
Blades are attached to a massive 1,000 metric tonne/2.2 million lb
tiltable mounting block made of steel and reinforced concrete, with di-
mensions of 14m by 12m by 12.5m (45.9 ft by 39.4 ft by 41 ft). Because
the mounting block can tilt up to minus 20 from vertical, even very long
blades can be displaced to the appropriate levels (see the discussion of
tip deection and its relationship to blade angle in the main article).
The ability to rotate the mounting block allows test technicians to
accelerate the testing procedure and affords greater exibility in adjust-
ing the mounting angle of the rotor blade during testing. During a static
test, as the rotor blade is loaded with cables, it can be simultaneously
tilted by hydraulics mounted to the tilt block.
During static loading, the force applied to the blade from each hy-
draulic cylinder is controlled using a load cell placed between the blade
and the loading cable. This setup enables Fraunhofer-IWES personnel to
precisely control the loads and subsequent deformations and strains of
the blade throughout a testing regime.
For dynamic fatigue tests, the rotor blade can be loaded in vertical
and horizontal directions. The distribution of the bending moment
along the rotor blade can be adjusted by varying the test frequency
or adding weights. For dynamic tests at the rst eigenfrequency, the
energy requirement is reduced compared to quasi-static fatigue tests.
Fraunhofer-IWES has developed new methods for biaxial fatigue tests
that allow simultaneous loading in the ap and edge directions. This test
method reportedly reduces the test duration and costs, and provides a
more realistic load situation.
Through measurement and frequency analyses, the rotor blades ei-
genfrequencies can be determined. Hundreds of strain gauges, load cells,
cable sensors, angle sensors and sensors capable of measuring variously
acceleration, temperature and humidity are said to generate a wealth
of data for analysis. In addition to its facilities for testing full-scale rotor
blades, the laboratory infrastructure includes facilities for coupon and
component testing, providing characteristic values for the evaluation and
development of rotor blade substructures.
Similarly, the not-for-prot National Renewable Energy Centre (Na-
REC, Blyth, Northumberland, U.K.) now has the capability to test blades
up to 100m /328-ft long. The new blade testing hall is 123m/403.4 ft
long and is housed within the 5,700m
2
(61,354 ft
2
) steel frame building
at NaREC. The new building is reportedly the second of three structures
to be completed at Blyth as part of a more than 80 million ($128
million) investment by NaREC in accelerated testing of offshore wind
turbine blades and other renewable marine energy technologies.
The test hub is a 15m/49.2 ft high concrete superstructure on a
substantial foundation. It features two huge blade attachment rings.
The top ring, 8m/26.3-ft in diameter, is said to accommodates blade
lengths up to 100m/328 ft. The bottom ring accommodates blades of
smaller root diameters. The hub arm includes substantial foundations.
To achieve the exact position of the rings within the concrete structure,
216 post-tensioned bars have been cast in to extremely tight tolerances
of 3 mm (0.118 inch). Special winches, xed to 132 circular steel rings
in the oor, also have been manufactured and will be used to ex the
blades during testing.
NaREC also incorporates a facility that is capable of testing blades
up to 50m/164 ft in length, in accordance with IEC and ISO standards
or customer requirements. Dynamic and static tests are undertaken and
can include the determination of natural frequencies, modal analysis,
postfatigue and failure assessments. This ISO 17025-certied lab has
been in operation for seven years.
The new facility is being commissioned and accredited to ISO 17025
standards. It was jointly funded by the U.K. Department for Business,
Innovation and Skills and the U.K. Department of Energy and Climate
Change (11.5 million/$18.4 million), Regional Development Agency
One North East (2 million/$3.2 million) and the ERDF, managed in the
U.K. by the Department for Communities and Local Government, which
secured a 4.7 million/$7.5 million ERDF investment.
NaREC was established in 2002 as a Center of Excellence for new
and renewable energy technologies. It is, therefore, a collection of
research, testing and development facilities across the spectrum of the
renewable energy sector. It offers not only testing and prototyping of
large on- and offshore wind turbine blades, but also tidal turbines and
other subsea equipment, micro-renewables and high-voltage electrical
equipment. NaREC also has facilities and consultancy expertise for the
development and integration of large- and small-scale renewables into
the energy mix, including assistance with small-scale embedded power
generation and systems analysis services. Further, NaREC has the over-
sight of what it says is the U.K.s only independent photovoltaic (solar
energy) R&D laboratory, which is capable of small-scale manufacturing
and solar cell process development.
John Winkel
IN EUROPE: FRAUNHOFER-IWES, NAREC TAKE BLADE TESTING TO 100M/328 FT
Work in Progress
Work in Progress
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Te WTTC is using the latest data acquisition systems devel-
oped at NREL. Tis custom system, built with National Instruments
(Austin, Texas) hardware, enables test personnel to monitor as
many as 540 channels in the lab simultaneously. It is capable of very
fast sampling rates, even while it communicates with test control
systems. Te system is expandable and, therefore, could accommo-
date even longer blade test articles or a future demand for a greater
number of sensors per unit of blade length. Other performance
specifcations for the WTTC are shown in Table 1, p. 29.
In test facility design, a key parameter is the amount of blade
tip defection that it can accommodate. Tis parameter directly af-
fects facility size and cost. Tip defections can be increased by an-
gling the blade upwards and by increasing the mounting height
above the foor. WTTC accomplishes this with two test stands that
have mounting heights of 6.5m/21.3 f above the foor and a 6
The Offshore Wind Laboratorys new wind turbine
blade test lab, part of a 38,700-ft (3,595m) expan-
sion of the University of Maines (UMaine) AEWC
Advanced Structures and Composites Center (Orono,
Maine), was rst announced in February 2009.
Construction of the lab began in earnest during sum-
mer 2010. The lab was completed in late November
2011, the equipment was calibrated and tested, and
commercial clients were able to use its services begin-
ning in spring of this year. The lab received certication
in August 2012 and, according to the labs director Dr.
Habib Dagher, it has already been used by several top
10 wind energy OEMs.
Dagher emphasizes that the AEWC lab is a full-service facility, offer-
ing testing and material characterization services that cover each stage
of blade development, including coupons, spars, root sections, blade
sections and complete blades.
The labs blade test xture (see photo) is anchored in bedrock and
stabilized by more than 4.5 million lb (2,041 metric tonnes) of steel
and concrete. The lab can provide up to 1 million lb (453.6 metric
tonnes) of fatigue and static loads and is capable of testing up to
70m/230-ft long wind blades. In North America, the Offshore Wind
Laboratory is second in size only to the Wind Technology Testing Center
(WTTC, Boston, Mass.). The AEWC lab also includes what Dagher says
is one of the largest environmental chambers in the U.S., capable of
measuring static and fatigue characteristics under a variety of tempera-
tures, humidity levels and UV light exposures.
The AEWCs new wave and wind basin is under construction and
due to be completed by the end of 2013; it will allow for the testing of
wind turbines in an offshore environment under wave and wind condi-
tions. The tank will be 130 ft long, 75 ft wide and 15 ft deep (39.6m
by 22.9m by 4.6m) and will be able to propagate waves at a different
angle than the wind. When all is said and done, the AEWC lab will
encompass 100,000 ft/9,290m

and cost $100 million.
As part of the AEWCs efforts to develop offshore wind energy
systems, Dagher says the organization is manufacturing a 1:8- scale
oating turbine that is expected to be completed by April 2013. It will
feature a composite tower, and composites will be used in some parts
of the oating structure. Dagher says it will be tested in the Atlantic
Ocean off the coast of Maine from April to September 2013.
Unlike the WTTC, which is allied with the U.S. Department of
Energys National Renewable Energy Laboratory (Golden, Colo.), the
UMaine facility operates independently. Reportedly, 90 percent of its
operational funding comes from grants and its outside income. The
construction project beneted from a total of $17.4 million (USD) in
funding provided by a Maine bond issue, the Maine Technology Asset
Fund and the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST).
John Winkel
UMAINES OFFSHORE WIND LAB SPORTS 70M/230-FT TESTING AND MORE
The rst two wind blades delivered to the Offshore Wind Laboratory, part of the
Advanced Structures and Composites Center at UMaine, were used to test the
functionality of new testing equipment installed in the lab and to train staff members and
student researchers to use the testing system.
Fig. 4: A view of the WTTCs resonance exciter system, set up for
fatigue testing.
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Source | Rahul Yarala/WTTC
SAVE DATE
THE
amerimoldexpo.com Donald E. Stephens Center, Rosemont, IL
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Read this article online | http://short.compositesworld.com/BkAZxBUx.
Read John Winkels previous Work in Progress feature on this subject,
titled Upsizing blade test regimes | CT April 2010 (p. 24) | http://short.
compositesworld.com/040WP9qC.
Read more about the impact of composite wind blade length on turbine
energy output in these previously published articles:
Big wind blades: Still getting bigger | CT June 2012 (p. 12) | http://short.
compositesworld.com/KZEv44Gf.
Wind blade manufacture: Opportunities and limits | CT June 2011 (p. 8) |
visit http://short.compositesworld.com/Q5OOX9JP.
Read about Alstoms record longest blade in LM Wind Power 73.5m blades
installed for rst time | http://short.compositesworld.com/GtJfbn3d.
The effect of U.S. Congressional inaction on the extension of the PTC and
its effects on wind energy development are discussed by CTs editor-in-chief,
Jeff Sloan, in Twisting in the wind | CT April 2012 (p. 3) | http://short.
compositesworld.com/YCJTtuNI.
angle above horizontal. Wedge plates can modify this angle, yield-
ing a range from 0 to 12 above horizontal. Tese stands are for
the largest blades. A third test stand, suitable for shorter blades, has
a mounting height of 5m/16.4 f above the foor with an 8 angle
above horizontal, which can be modifed to between 0 and 16.
WTTC TESTING RESULTS
Te WTTC has had a full testing workload since it opened, despite
prolonged uncertainty about renewal of the U.S. Production Tax
Credit (PTC). Its benefts and the political obstacles to renewing
it have been covered by CT (see Learn More). Six blades have
undergone testing there, including blades manufactured by Clipper
Windpower LLC (Carpinteria, Calif.), which were used to verify
the integrity of WTTCs data acquisition systems during static and
fatigue load tests; LM Wind Power; and Blade Dynamics (New
Orleans, La.). Currently three blades are undergoing tests, and addi-
tional blades are scheduled for testing through early 2013.
Te WTTC has learned much from the past 16 months of opera-
tions. One signifcant lesson is the need for improved resonance-
based exciter systems (including the new GREX system) for fatigue
testing of longer blades. A second lesson is the need for continued
and enhanced cooperation with the industry when it comes to hav-
ing detailed test planning and test predictions completed prior to
actual testing. Just as important, the industry is learning about the
signifcant new testing capabilities ofered by the WTTC through
actual tests. Te response, thus far, has been favorable and has high-
lighted advantages such as easy accessibility to the U.S. market and
blade manufacturers, resulting in cost and time savings, increased
test sophistication and feedback to improve blade designs, particu-
larly for ofshore turbines.
GOALS MET, NEW GOALS SET
Te WTTC has successfully met most of its design goals. It is, by
all accounts, a world-class blade testing facility that has opened
the door for static and fatigue tests of blades up to 90m/295 f in
length. Te response from the wind industry has been favorable,
and there is a lot of excitement about the role the WTTC will play in
the development and testing of longer and more reliable but also
lighter and, therefore, less expensive wind turbine blades. Te
availability of this testing capability is critically important to blade
manufacturers as they tackle the design challenges of large ofshore
wind turbines. | CT |
TABLE
1
SPECIFICATIONS FOR WTTC
Load Capacity Maximum static bending moment up to 84 Mega
Newton meters (MNm)
Blade Length Up to 90m/295-ft blades, dependent on test specs
Blade
Displacement
33m/108-ft maximum horizontal tip displacement
21m/69-ft peak-to-peak vertical tip displacement
Mounting Plates 5m/16.4-ft diameter, with center-to-center distance
of 12m/39.4 ft
Overhead Cranes Two independent 50-ton bridge cranes
Blade Mounting
Height
6.5m/21.3-ft from oor to blade root center
Static Testing 84 MNm maximum static root bending moment
Test to ultimate failure
Up to eight hydraulic actuators/electrical winches to
apply test loads
Bending moment tracking
Strain distribution
Stiffness calibration
Dynamic Testing NRELs patented resonant test system technology
24-hour, fully-monitored fatigue testing
21m/69-ft tip-to-tip fatigue test tip displacement
CAPABILITIES
Three test stands and 100-tons of overhead bridge crane capacity
Full suite of static and fatigue tests, per IEC 61400-23 standard
Dual-axis static or fatigue testing
R&D testing, quality testing, tooling inspection
Prototype development and blade repair capabilities
Research and development partnerships
Hands-on workforce training
Strong commitment to client intellectual property protection
CONTRIBUTING WRITER
John Winkel is an active composites engineer and
consultant with MountainSpire Technology Group
LLC (Tornton, Colo.). jwinkel@indra.net
The Wind Technology Testing Centers specications and blade testing
capabilities are outlined in detail here.
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FEATURE: Cured=in-Place Pipe Update
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I
t goes by several aliases: Trenchless technology. In-situ pipe repair.
Pipe-within-a-pipe. By any name, the underground construction
rehabilitation market is a boon to motorists, who sufer fewer
delays and take fewer detours. And its also a blessing for the
construction crews that do the work. Tey call it no dig because
that slight exaggeration captures its chief beneft: the installation,
replacement or repair of underground utility pipe with minimum
excavation and surface disruption. In the U.S., trenchless technology
continues an upward growth trend. It has captured nearly half of
the $3.4 billion market for sewer line rehabilitation and about an
eighth (12.9 percent) of the $1.5 billion spent on repairing potable
water pipes, according to the 15
th
Annual Municipal Infrastruc-
ture Survey conducted by Underground Construction (Oildom
Publishing Co., Houston, Texas).
A variety of CIPP products are enabling the rehabilitation, rather than excavation and
replacement, of underground pipe for wastewater and drinking water.
Cured-in-place pipe (CIPP) has been a growing subset of
trenchless technology since its 1971 debut and is now a substan-
tial market for composite materials (see Table 1, p. 31). Bill Moore,
product leader for CIPP at resin producer AOC LLC (Collierville,
Tenn.), notes that CIPP might be AOCs biggest market. While
a lot of markets have diminished in the past few years, CIPP has
grown, he says.
CIPP typically consists of a resin-impregnated felt or fber sleeve.
With its resin in an uncured state, it forms a fexible, conformable
tube that can be inserted into a damaged pipe. Some sleeves are
manufactured inside out and are inverted as they are pushed into
the existing pipe via air or water pressure. (Te tube is transported
in an exterior liner. Inversion exposes the as-yet uncured resin to
the inside of the pipe, and the external liner then becomes the new
cured-
in-place
pipe
TRENCHLESS
TRENDS
Source: BP
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internal surface of the pipe.) Others are pulled through damaged
pipe. When they are in place, the sleeves are infated until they ft
snugly against the inside of the existing pipe, and then they are
cured in that position (see Learn More, p. 34).
CIPP systems are designed for a 50-year service life. Geof Yo-
thers, director of Inliner Technologies (Paoli, Ind.), explains that
there are two major conditions that dictate CIPP liner design: One
is what we call partially deteriorated, where the existing pipe can
accommodate all the soil and highway loading and the CIPP liner
only needs to meet the loads imposed by hydrostatic pressure re-
sulting from the surrounding groundwater. Te other is a fully dete-
riorated condition, where it is assumed that the existing pipe will be
unable to handle any loads sometime over the course of the next 50
years. In this case, the CIPP liner must be designed to withstand all
soil, highway and water pressure loads.
CIPP VERSATILITY
Due largely to research and development on the part of various
resin producers, CIPP structures can be designed to satisfy virtu-
ally any need for underground pipe rehabilitation, from indus-
trial plants to potable water lines. Te need determines the
sleeve composition. Petrochemical and other industrial plants,
for example, ofen send highly corrosive media through existing
underground metal pipes, resulting in corrosion that must be
repaired in a timely manner to prevent groundwater contamina-
tion and to avoid work stoppages and delays that interfere with
ef cient plant operations. CIPP manufacturers take advantage
of polymer resin systems that are resistant to
corrosive fuids, even the highly caustic and
acidic materials in industrial waste lines.
In Decatur, Ala., for example, a British
Petroleum (BP, London, U.K.) manufactur-
ing plant is one satisfed benefciary of this
resin technology. Te BP plant produces pu-
rifed terephthalic acid (PTA) and dimethyl
2,6-naphthalene dicarboxylic acid (NDC). A
54-inch/1,370-mm diameter concrete extrane-
ous water sewer pipeline in the facility (Fig. 1,
p. 30) had been corroded by a fow media of
process water containing trace amounts of light
hydrocarbons from the plant process.
Layne Inliner (Orleans, Ind.), a licensed
installer of CIPP sleeves developed by Inliner
Technologies, installed a CIPP liner to repair
a 720-f/219m section in only one week, says
BP reliability engineer Alan Crisler. For this
partially deteriorated host pipe, Inliner used
its standard nonwoven polyester fber tube,
manufactured for Inliner by Liner Products
(Paoli, Ind.), its sole supplier of tubes, and
AOCs highly corrosion-resistant Vipel L085-PPA epoxy novolac
vinyl ester resin.
Te original pipe was frst cleaned by a single pass from a jet-
ter nozzle (pressurized water spray), but it was not thoroughly
scrubbed, Inliners Yothers says, noting that the practice was avoid-
ed in this case to prevent further damage. To maintain the integrity
of the corroded host pipe, we basically just want to remove debris
[from the] inner surface and bottom of the pipe. Te preimpreg-
nated tube was then inverted into the host pipe through an existing
manhole, using water pressure resulting from a 10-f/3m column
of water. We invert with ambient water, usually around 60 to 65F
[15 to 18C], then circulate the inversion water through an onsite
portable boiler to heat it up to a curing temperature in the range
of 180F/82C, Yothers says. Crisler adds that some 83,000 gal
(314,190 liters) of water, drawn from the nearby Tennessee River,
were circulated to invert, expand and cure the BP liner.
Te water used in the process was treated through a sequence of
retention ponds before it was returned to the river. For that reason,
the use of a styrenated resin was not an issue. However, some CIPP
manufacturers have minimized water pollution issues by employ-
ing flm-encapsulated UV-curable resins and air infation systems,
resulting in no detectable water contamination.
NEW LIGHT ON THE SUBJECT
Liners that are impregnated with isopolyester or vinyl ester resins
formulated for cure by UV light are not catalyzed, but instead they
contain a photo-initiator that reacts to certain wavelengths of UV
light. When the light hits these photo-initiators, they fracture to
form reactive free radicals, which initiate the molecular crosslinking
that results in cure. UV-curable liners difer from others in that
they use a nonwoven glass fber tube, rather than other nonwo-
TABLE
1
Estimated average annual CIPP market, North America
1
MARKET
Number of feet installed by pipe size
(percent of market by pipe size)
1 ft/0.3m or
less (76%)
1.25 to 2.25 ft/
0.38 to 0.69m
(14%)
2.5 to 5 ft/
0.762 to 1.52m
(6%)
6 ft/1.83m
or more
(4%)
Estimated average
resin use per linear ft
(lled resin)
6.22 lb/2.82 kg 12.43 lb/5.64 kg 44.32 lb/20 kg 144.61 lb/
65.6 kg
Total estimated CIPP resin
sold in North America
106,000,000 lb/48,080,791.22 kg
Estimated average linear
ft of liner produced
12,951,768 ft/
3,947,699m
1,193,886 ft/
363,896.45m
143,502 ft/
43,739.4m
29,320 ft/
8,936.74m
Total estimated linear ft
of CIPP liner produced in
North America
14,318,476 ft/4,364,271.5m
1
Amounts will vary from year to year depending on the volume of resin sold and the mix of liners bid and constructed.
Fig. 1: Layne Inliner (Orleans, Ind.) inverts a corrosion-
resistant CIPP liner into a partially deteriorated 54-inch diameter
sewer pipe at a British Petroleum plant in Decatur, Ala.
This estimate of current annual resin usage and liner footage in the North American market helps
underscore the potential for the CIPP portion of the composites market as its percentage of the
pipe rehabilitation business grows.
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vens, because the translucent glass fbers permit light transmission
through the liners thickness. UV curing requires no heat, so hot
water isnt necessary to efect cure. Further, UV-curable CIPP needs
no refrigeration to prevent premature crosslinking and exotherm/
cure before installation. Factory-impregnated sleeves need only be
sealed in light-tight packaging to prevent exposure to sunlight.
LightStream LP (San Diego, Calif.) has installed more than 300,000
f/91,440m of its UV-curable liner, trademarked StreamLinerUV
CIPP, for sewer and storm drainpipe repair, says Richard Montemara-
no, LightStreams director of sales and marketing. Te company makes
its liners using Fiberex (Leduc, Alberta, Canada) boron- and fuorine-
free E-CR (corrosion-resistant) fberglass, custom manufactured for
StreamLinerUV. Te liner is preimpregnated with a chemically resis-
tant isopolyester or vinyl ester resin formulated for UV cure, supplied
by Momentive (formerly Hexion Specialty Chemicals, Columbus,
Ohio). Te wetout liner has a six-month shelf life, with no refrigera-
tion required, even in high-temperature environments.
Before the UV CIPP liner is installed, the damaged host pipe
is thoroughly cleaned, fushed and inspected by video. A plastic
sheet is pulled into the host pipe to protect the liner from damage
as it moves through the host pipe. Ten the liner is carefully pulled
through the old pipe from or to a manhole or other existing open-
ing and infated with air pressure. Te StreamLinerUV Light Train
(see Fig. 5, p. 34) is then pulled through the liner. Te cure is con-
trolled by the speed of the Light Train, which ranges from 4 f/1.2m
to 8 f/2.4m per minute, depending on the diameter and wall thick-
ness of the liner. Video inspection is performed by a camera system
mounted on the train. An onboard thermal sensing system also
monitors the heat given of by the reaction. Te light source, camera
and heat sensor are connected by umbilical to a programmable logic
controller (PLC) and viewed on a monitor by the crew, outside the
manhole. Additionally, a standard PC laptop functions as a compre-
hensive database and communicates with the PLC.
Early in 2012, LightStreams UV technology was used to repair
several sewer mains in Anchorage, Alaska, in temperatures below
-10F/-18C. At that level of chill, heat-cure resins would be more
expensive and less ef cient, says Richard Herring, project manager
for the installer, Construction Unlimited Inc. (Anchorage, Alaska).
Te damaged concrete and corrugated metal pipes were under the
street and ranged in diameter from 8 inches to 36 inches (203 mm
to 914 mm). Repair by standard excavation methods would have
been costly and time-consuming.
During the summer of 2012, the contractor also installed
LightStream UV CIPP liners to repair damaged 14-, 18- and 20-
inch (360-, 460- and 510-mm) diameter pipelines in the oil felds
of Valdez, Alaska.
In 2005, another UV advocate, Reline America (Saltville, Va.),
purchased UV CIPP technology from Brandenburger GmbH (Lan-
dau, Pfalz, Germany), which developed one of the frst UV-curable
pipelining systems. Reline patented its own Blue-Tek UV system in
2007, making changes to the equipment and the Light Train. Blue-
Tek CIPP liners are structural composites consisting of continuous
spiral-wound glass fbers that are custom-designed for each instal-
lation, using a proprietary winding machine capable of winding lin-
ers up to 51 inches/1,300 mm in diameter. Additionally, Reline has
recently partnered with Owens Corning (Toledo, Ohio) and AOC
to formulate fberglass and UV-curable resin that it says will lend
greater speed and depth of cure.
When an underground sewer pipe in Knoxville, Tenn., showed
signs of leaking, Relines CIPP technology was selected for the re-
pair. Active leaking can create cool spots that hinder complete cure
by heat-cure methods, but cure by UV light is not afected by cool
Fig. 2: Installer Capital Sewer Services (Hamilton, Ontario, Canada)
used a liner impregnated with a styrene-free Eco-Tek vinyl ester resin from
AOC LLC (Collierville, Tenn.) to reline a corroded sewer pipe that runs
through this golf course in Toronto, avoiding both disruptive excavation and
potential pollution of a nearby river with styrenated water waste.
Fig. 3: Sanexen Environmental Services (Varennes, Quebec, Canada).
employs epoxy resins for water main rehabilitation in this residential setting,
using its Aqua-Pipe CIPP liners. The companys no-VOC, no-HAP epoxy CIPP
provides an eco-sensitive solution for damaged drinking water pipe.
AWWA CIPP CLASSIFICATIONS
The American Water Works Assn. (AWWA, Denver, Colo.) divides
cured-in-place pipe (CIPP) into four classes based on three primary
distinctions in terms of structural function:
Class I: Nonstructural liners; act only as corrosion barriers.
Class II and Class III: Semistructural liners; designed to cover small
holes or gaps in the host pipe.
Class IV: Fully structural liners; will carry the full internal pressure
without support from the host pipe.
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spots. (For further information about Blue-Tek, see Learn More.)
As another example, in 1997 BKP Berolina (Berlin, Germany)
introduced its Berolina-Liner System, comprising up to fve layers
of Owens Corning E-CR Advantex or other corrosion-resistant,
chopped-strand glass mat, woven fberglass and/or polyester webs
that overlap in a staggered sequence. For installation, afer the pipe
is thoroughly cleaned and inspected, the preimpregnated liners are
winched into the damaged pipe. Afer the ends are closed of, the
liner is infated using 7.5 psi/0.5 bar of compressed air. As the liner
presses against the host pipe, the overlapped layers expand to close-
ly ft the dimensions of the pipe. Te UV light source is then drawn
through the liner, and curing takes place emission-free between the
sealed-of liner ends.
Berolina typically mixes its own UV-curable vinyl ester and
isophthalic polyester systems, using base resins from AOC or
CCP Composites (N. Kansas City, Mo.); but, in some cases, it uses
premixed resins from DSM Composite Resins AG (Schaf ausen,
Switzerland). Trademarked Bero-Liner and/or Lightspeed, the sys-
tem has been used to repair wastewater and stormwater pipes in
32 countries, including the U.S., where Berolina is represented by
CIPP Corp. (Hudson, Iowa).
UV cure not only simplifes installation, but it also is said to
result in a tight ft between the CIPP liner and the host pipe, an
important issue when liner crews are reconstructing service con-
nections. However, UV liners are limited in thickness and diameter,
LightStreams Montemarano points out. Te thicker the liner and
the farther its surface is from the light source, the less intense, and
therefore less efective, the light is at activating the photo initiator.
UV power, in fact, is subject to the inverse square law. Tat is, the
power of the light source is reduced by the inverse square of the
distance, Montemarano says. Most UV liners can, therefore, only
be a maximum of 0.5 inch/13 mm to 0.55 inch/14 mm thick and 51
inches/1,300 mm in diameter.
Tis limitation, and the fact that many municipalities are now
banning the use of styrenated resins for CIPP because of its odor
and concerns about volatile organic compound (VOC) emissions,
has prompted resin formulators to develop vinyl ester resins that
replace styrene with an alternative reactive monomer to reduce or
eliminate VOC emissions.
NO-VOC, STYRENE-FREE VINYL ESTER RESIN
In Canada, for example, the City of Toronto, Ontario, elected to
go with AOCs EcoTek L040-TNVG-33 styrene-free vinyl ester to
repair 700 f/200m of a rusted corrugated steel pipe and culvert that
carries storm water through a golf course into the Don River (Fig. 2,
p. 32). Te river drains into Lake Ontario, the sole source of Toron-
tos drinking water. Te CIPP liner was installed by Capital Sewer
Services (Hamilton, Ontario, Canada), using nonwoven polyester
felt tubes from National Liner LLC (Houston, Texas) that were
preimpregnated of site. Te liner was inverted into the damaged
host pipe and cured with hot water. Capital has continued to use the
same AOC nonstyrene system in other Toronto installations.
In the southeastern U.S., Tri-State Utilities (Chesapeake, Va.)
uses a custom polyester felt liner system from CIPP Corp., which
incorporates CoREZYN styrene-free vinyl ester resins from Inter-
plastic Corp. (St. Paul, Minn.), for projects such as storm drains
that discharge into estuaries. Tri-State, which serves Virginia, North
Carolina and South Carolina, has installed more than 150,000 lb/68
metric tonnes of this resin and liner in storm drain pipes along Vir-
ginias environmentally fragile eastern shore, according to Tri-State
president Andy McSweeney.
Te concerns about styrene are no less evident in Europe. A case
in point is the Erasmus Medical Center in downtown Rotterdam,
Te Netherlands. Faced with the need to repair a sewer pipe that
was leaking at the joints under an adjacent parking lot, the center
approved the use of a CIPP liner impregnated with styrene-free At-
lac Premium 600 vinyl ester, developed specifcally for warm-cure
CIPP by DSM. Te cast iron sewer pipe, at 360m/1,181 f long, var-
ies in diameter from 300 mm/12 inches to 400 mm/16 inches and
back to 500 mm/20 inches. Te promised combination of no-dig re-
pair and low-odor/no-VOC emission greatly facilitated the process
of obtaining a work permit to operate inside the confned space.
Resin wetout is done in the factory under controlled conditions
and pot life is no issue with this resin, explains Ton van Geest, di-
rector of technical services for Insituform Europe (Saint-Germain-
en-Laye, France). Te repair was completed over seven successive
weekends sparing the weekday parking lot users any inconve-
nience by Insituform Rioolrenovatietechnieken BV (Zoetermeer,
Te Netherlands). Te company, a subsidiary of CIPP pioneer In-
situform Technologies and now a member of the Aegion Corp. (St.
Louis, Mo.), manufactures its own felt tubes using polyester fbers
and adds a coat of water-tight polypropylene that bonds with the
felt for additional water- and chemical-resistance.
Because the sewer pipe is buried in a U-confguration, the leak-
ing section was dif cult to access. Insituforms technology ofered a
solution of a jointless pipe system and the ability to negotiate bends
through its patented method for sewing together the butted ends
of its tube, with no overlapping seams that might create distortions
and wrinkles in the pipe liner.
NO-VOC, NO-HAP VINYL HYBRIDS
In another development, Reichhold Inc. (Research Triangle Park,
N.C.) has recently expanded its environment-focused Envirolite
trademark to include not only a no-VOC, styrene-free vinyl ester,
Fig. 4: Examples of pipeline pigs suitable for CIPP. (The etymology of the
word pig for this device is unclear, but one theory is that it stands for
Pipeline Intervention Gadget.)
Source | Drinkwater Products
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FEATURE: Cured-in-Place Pipe Update
but also a monomer-free resin series formulated to emit neither
hazardous air pollutants (HAPs) nor VOCs. Tese liquid resins are
100 percent solids: Tey have no acrylate monomers or other reac-
tive diluents in their chemistry, explains Steve Hardebeck, Reich-
holds technology director for North America Composites. Tese
patented systems, designed specifcally for CIPP and currently in
feld trials, crosslink with typical methyl ethyl ketone peroxide
(MEKP) catalyst systems that are consistent with standard initiators
typically used for CIPP, Hardebeck notes. We believe this is the
next generation in CIPP resins. We call them vinyl hybrids because
they are not epoxies. Tey are one-component systems that the
CIPP compounders and manufacturers can easily incorporate into
their operations. Te resins are available in a neat version (Enviro-
lite 33405-00) and a flled system (Envirolite 33405-50).
NO-VOC, NO-HAP EPOXY RESIN
Another alternative to styrene-based systems, of course, is epoxy,
which is also a 100 percent solids system. Epoxy is almost entirely
free of emittable components, and its minimal odor and low
shrinkage (3 percent, compared to 7 percent for polyester and
vinyl ester resins) recommend it for CIPP applications. Some
manufacturers and contractors are specifying epoxy which
is inherently HAP- and VOC-free despite several disadvan-
tages compared to styrene-free vinyl esters in CIPP applications.
Notably, epoxy costs more; and, unlike vinyl esters, which can be
catalyzed and applied of-site, epoxy must be mixed and applied
on-site just before installation.
Perma-Liner Industries (Clearwater, Fla.) uses epoxy for its lin-
ers to eliminate emissions in the densely populated areas it typically
serves, says Travis Bohm, business development manager. We use
a specifc resin formulation developed for us by one supplier, but
we prefer not to identify the supplier or the formula, he adds. Es-
tablished in 1998, Perma-Liner focuses specifcally on municipal,
residential and commercial markets in North America.
In Cincinnati, Ohio, C.M.E. Services uses Perma-Liners epoxy
system for repair of vitrifed clay pipes and concrete pipes that are
damaged by root intrusion and heavy soil and to reline cast iron
sewer pipe that is corroding on the bottom. Pipes are ofen buried in
10 to 15 f (3 to 4.6m) of clay soil, C.M.E. owner Charles Menkhaus
says. Installers aim for complete onsite impregnation of its needle-
punched polyvinyl chloride (PVC) felt tubes and polyester scrim.
Te wetout liners are kept in an ice bath to prevent hardening on
site as they wait for installation into the host pipe. Tey are typically
inverted into the host pipe with compressed air at pressures ranging
from 10 to 14 psi (68.9 to 96.7 kPa).
DRINKING WATER PIPELINES
HAP and VOC emissions are prohibited in, and UV-curable resins
are not approved for, the drinking water pipeline repair. Tats why
CIPP use here is still limited. But epoxys solvent-free formulation
is enabling CIPP installers to bring no-dig rehabilitation to bear in
potable water pipe. And none too soon.
Te need for repair of aging drinking water pipelines is ap-
proaching critical mass. In its Feb. 27, 2012, report, Buried No
Longer: Confronting Americas Water Infrastructure Challenge, the
American Water Works Assn. (AWWA, Denver, Colo.) framed a
challenge: Much of our drinking water infrastructure, the more
than 1 million miles/1,609,344 km of pipes beneath our streets, is
nearing the end of its useful life and approaching the age at which
it needs to be replaced. Restoring existing water systems and
expanding them to serve a growing population will cost at least $1
trillion over the next 25 years, if we are to maintain current levels
of water service. Te U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA,
Washington, D.C.) counts 240,000 water main breaks per year and
expects that number to increase.
A pioneer in this area is Sanexen Environmental Services (Va-
rennes, Quebec, Canada). Te frm employs epoxy for water main
rehabilitation using its Aqua-Pipe CIPP (see Fig. 3, p. 32). Te
chemical components that make up epoxy resins and hardeners are
more compatible with drinking water than other types of resins
even nonstyrene vinyl ester resins, explains Sanexens Aqua-Pipe
VP Benoit Ct.
Aqua-Pipe was developed for drinking water applications in the
1990s and has been used to line more than 2 million f/610,800m of
Fig. 5: These light trains are used to cure berglass liners pre-
impregnated with UV-curable resin.
F
i Source | Lightstream LP
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6-inch/152-mm to 12-inch/305-mm pressure pipe in the U.S. and
Canada). As an AWWA Class IV fully structural liner (see AWWA
CIPP classifcations sidebar, p. 32), Aqua-Pipe comprises woven
polyester jackets with a polymeric membrane bonded to the inte-
rior to ensure water tightness, and the jackets are impregnated with
epoxy resin both the jackets and the resin are manufactured by
Aqua-Pipe in its vertically integrated production facility.
When the pipe has been thoroughly cleaned to the metal fn-
ish, Ct says, and prepared for lining, the epoxy is mixed and the
liner is quickly wet out on site and pulled through the damaged
host pipe. It is mated to the host pipes interior surface by push-
ing a torpedo-shaped foam pig (Fig. 4, p.
33) through the liner using water pressure
that can be varied from 5 to 15 psi (34.5
to 103.4 kPa). Te resin is then cured by
circulating hot water through the liner.
Te liner completely cures in about two
hours, afer which service connections
are restored from within the pipe using a
remote-controlled robot. And fnally, the
fnished lined pipe and connections are
inspected by a closed-circuit television
(CCTV) system.
COMPOSITES TAKE A BOW
When talk gets around to leading-edge
technology, today, its usually in refer-
ence to the fast growing, exciting markets
of information technology, supercom-
puters, aircraf or space systems. Sewers
and drinking water pipelines rarely get
a mention in this context. But if leading-
edge technology is that which sustains and
improves the quality of human life, then
CIPP certainly qualifes. Tis segment of
the composites industry addresses two
of civilizations most pressing challenges:
what to do with our waste, and how to
ensure safe drinking water. Further, under-
Read this article online at http://short.
compositesworld.com/JJbE84UH.
Read more about CIPP in underground
installations in Composites Technology
Digs-In Underground | CT April 2007 (p. 23) |
http://short.compositesworld.com/mqRz7Ceu.
Read more about BlueTek UV-curable pipe
liners in Inside Manufacturing: CIPP Lights
Way in Buried Pipe Repair | CT April 2008
(p. 37) | http://short.compositesworld.com/
WaQcu5i4.get? | CT June 2009 (p. 30) |
http://short.compositesworld.com/Ki9D4Oab.
compositesworld.com
ground construction rehabilitation ofers a huge market for the
composites industry. Half of $3.4 billion is $1.7 billion in potential
CIPP sewer rehabilitation. And surely 12.9 percent of $1 trillion is a
worthy target to pursue in repair of potable water pipes. | CT |
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Celebrating
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Senior Writer Emeritus
Donna Dawson is CTs (mostly) retired
senior writer, now residing and occasionally
writing in Newport Beach, Calif.
dawsonserv@earthlink.net
T
he U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
(EPA, Washington, D.C.) estimates that
petroleum or other hazardous substances
were stored in 587,000 underground storage tanks
(USTs) in the U.S. as of March 2012. Because 51
percent of the U.S. population depends to some
degree on groundwater for drinking water, the
EPA established a UST regulatory program in
1984, aimed at eliminating the risk of ground-
water contamination from leaks in these tanks.
Federal UST regulations were amended in 1986
and 1988, becoming increasingly stringent. By
2005, they included requirements for secondary
containment. Te result was the double-walled
tank. Similar to double-walled hulls in oil tankers,
all new or replacement underground tanks now
must have a secondary barrier and an interstitial
void between the two walls. Te latter enables
interstitial monitoring, which uses sensors in
the interstice to detect leaks of petroleum or
contained chemicals through the tanks inner wall
and groundwater through the tanks outer wall.
Delta Composite Systems
GENESIS retrot is a cost-
effective alternative to this scene:
A four-week halt in gas-station
operations to remove and replace
underground storage tanks to
address corrosion, damage and
secondary containment require-
ments, at a cost of $150,000 to
$200,000.
An unusual lost-core
composite adds double-walls
protection to noncompliant
tanks, without excavation.
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Underground storage tanks
REHABILITATION
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Te EPA designed the UST program to be imple-
mented by each state. However, the regulation land-
scape is complex, with some states allowing counties
and municipalities to determine UST repair and re-
placement specifcations. States have reported that
UST releases are indeed the most common source
of groundwater contamination, and petroleum is the
most common stored pollutant. Most of the petro-
leum is in the form of gasoline and diesel fuel that is
stored beneath retail gasoline stations.
State and municipal regulations may require a
leaking single-walled tank to be excavated and com-
pletely replaced, or they may allow it to be repaired,
inspected, certifed and retroftted for secondary con-
tainment. Leaking tanks in the latter category and
still-serviceable single-wall tanks comprise a sizeable
number of vessels that are in need of secondary containment. Tus,
a variety of glass fber composite systems have been developed to
retroft these existing tanks without excavation with steel, poly-
mer coatings or fberglass composites as an alternative to the
high cost and downtime of complete tank replacement. Tese sys-
tems range from installing precured fber-reinforced plastic (FRP)
inner tank sections to a variety of methods for directly applying
fberglass and resin to the tank interior.
Delta Composite Systems LLC (Plymouth, N.H.) has devel-
oped its novel GENESIS interior secondary barrier system with
ZPlex glass sandwich fabric by 3TEX (Cary, N.C.), which ensures
not only containment and interstitial monitoring, but it also speeds
up and improves the robustness of the application process and of-
fers a quick and cost-efective way to cover the 700 to 800 f
2
(65 to
74m
2
) surface area in a typical tank. Signifcantly, when the GEN-
ESIS system is in place, it is independent of the existing tank a
fully functional dual-walled fberglass structure that could maintain
compliant UST function regardless of any corrosion issues with the
original external tank material.
WHY RETROFIT?
According to Tony Rieck of T.R. Consulting Inc. (Colorado Springs,
Colo.), a longtime consultant in this feld, roughly half of the 587,000
USTs the EPA cites are now double-walled. He explains that there
doesnt always have to be a leak or cleanup problem for a company
to pursue retroftting its tanks. Tank owners can act proactively
to comply with the secondary containment requirements, he says.
Te beneft of the Delta Composite Systems GENESIS retroft, says
Rieck, is that it does not involve shutting down the
gas station for four weeks and spending $150,000 to
$200,000 to put in secondary containment. Instead,
the average cost is only $30,000 for a typical 8,000-gal
to 10,000-gal (30,283-liter to 37,854-liter) tank, and it
may be the only solution where the existing infrastruc-
ture precludes tank removal and replacement.
Rob Pearlman, senior containment systems engi-
neer at Delta Composite Systems, explains that the
people at Delta have been developing the processes in-
volved since the early 1990s, but we have fnally joined
together all of the diferent components into a single retroft sys-
tem. Pearlman adds, Twenty years ago, systems like ours would
have been only for special applications, for example, where an exist-
ing corroded or damaged tank could not be removed and replaced
without disturbing a building. Now, its going to be a mainstream
alternative to digging up and replacing tanks because it makes eco-
nomic sense.
EASY INTERSTICE INSTALLATION
Instead of merely applying an interior lining, the Delta Composite
Systems retroft applies a composite sandwich structure, comprised
of two faceskins separated by a hollow interstice, which allows any
intrusive fuid to fow down into the centerline of the tank bottom,
or sump, where it is detected and then removed by a pump or other
means. Te frst step is to open the tank and pump out its contents.
Rieck comments, Sometimes you have to install a manway for
access. Next, the interior of the tank is abrasively blasted to get
rid of chemical residues, rust and scale in preparation for bonding.
Multiple layers of glass fber mat are then hand laminated onto the
tank, forming the exterior glass shell of the GENESIS retroft barrier.
Afer this, the ZPlex fabric is applied.
To manufacture ZPlex, 3TEX begins with a traditional process
used to make velvet cloth. Te method uses a special loom that
weaves two thicknesses of fabric at the same time, but they are tied
together with z-directional threads. A cutting knife then slits the
two faces apart during weaving to create two separate fabrics. Te
cut z-fbers create the sof pile efect that gives velvet its plush feel
(see illustration, p. 39). Glass is used to make the velvet in the
ZPlex is a 3-D woven fabric with foam strands woven into the gap between the two
berglass faces. The foam maintains the faceskins a set distance apart and excludes resin
from the interstice during lamination.
Once lamination of the berglass tank barrier is complete, the foam strands are melted
away, forming a secondary containment structure with a hollow interstice into which any
leaked uid can ow. There, it is collected and monitored.
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production of ZPlex, but 3TEX does not cut the faces apart. Tis
results in a fberglass laminate with a built-in interstice. Te dif-
ference for ZPlex is that foam is inserted into the space between
the two fabrics during the weaving process. Notably, the foam is
sacrifcial, that is, it will be melted away afer the tank barrier lami-
nation process is complete and leave the interstice open.
Rieck describes ZPlex as a woven roving on either side of
a foam core material that goes away when heated, leaving a
hollow cavity.
The ZPlex process starts with spools of glass fiber and olefin
foam that have been extruded into a continuous strand. These
are fed into a single machine that produces the 3-D woven fabric,
with foam strands woven into the gap between the two fiberglass
faces during a one-step process. The foam strands maintain the
uniform, set distance between the woven skins (important espe-
cially because installers must be able to stand and walk on the
placed materials). The closed-cell foam keeps resin from invad-
ing the interstice during resin hand layup or resin infusion.
1 The existing tank is opened (left), its contents removed, and (right) a
manway is prepared to permit worker entry.
2 After its interior surface is abrasively blasted in preparation for bonding,
the outer barrier of the composite system, comprised of several layers
of glass ber mat, is applied via hand layup to the tank interior.
3 The ZPlex material is applied, followed by a nal layer of several glass
ber mat plies.
4 A trough is constructed from biaxial glass fabric in the bottom of the
tank and is connected to the interstice, enabling leaked uid to drain
down and be collected, monitored and removed (see diagram, p. 39).
5 A nal layer of gel coat is applied, forming the new interior surface of
the tank.
6 This proprietary heating system is used to melt the foam in the ZPlex
fabric, leaving an open interstice.
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Read this article online | http://short.compositesworld.com/TydBoCAF.
ZPlex is commonly woven with skins as thick as 0.5 inch/12.7
mm and with interstice columns (formed by resin-impregnated z-
directional fber between the fabric faces) as thick as 0.1 inch/2.54
mm in diameter.
Afer the ZPlex fabric is hand laminated along the tank surfaces,
a trough is constructed along the centerline of the tank bottom us-
ing layers of bidirectional glass tape. Tis trough connects to the
interstitial space formed by the ZPlex (see diagram, on lef, above).
A wet/dry cell is piped into the interstitial space. It detects any water
or fuel that enters the space, which triggers an alarm and an inspec-
tion by the tank owner.
A fnal two to three layers of glass mat are applied over the ZPlex
fabric to prevent potential leakage from porosity in the woven rov-
ing surface, followed by a gel coat, which forms the new interior
surface of the tank. Te fberglass is allowed to cure ambiently, and
then a proprietary system is used to heat the tank interior, causing
the foam to melt. Because the foam is less than 5 percent solids, the
melting foam shrinks to a tiny residue and opens up the interstice.
A variety of diferent resins can be used in the process to ensure
compatibility with petroleum, acetone or other stored chemicals.
Polyester, vinyl ester and epoxy are all options, but regardless of the
choice, the resin that is used will have been tested to ensure suf -
cient chemical resistance. Te composite tank retroft system is fex-
ible with respect to specifcations and suppliers of glass fber mat,
and a range of materials have been used successfully.
Afer installation has been completed, a fnal quality check is per-
formed by pressurizing the interstice with air and soap-testing the
tank interior for bubbles while it is under pressure. If the interstice
holds pressure for the prescribed test period, the retroft process is
certifed by the installation technicians. For a typical 8,000-gal to
10,000-gal (30,283-liter to 37,854-liter) tank, the entire retroft pro-
cess can be completed by an experienced crew in three days. When
asked about the potential loss of internal tank volume and the an-
ticipated service life of the GENESIS system, Pearlman replied, A
10,000 gallon tank will only lose a few hundred gallons of capacity,
and the system is designed to provide a 30-year service life.
MOVING FORWARD
GENESIS has already been tested at an approved testing facility and
meets all EPA requirements for secondary containment retroft of
USTs. Now Delta Composite Systems will pursue certifcation to
the Underwriters Laboratories (UL, Northbrook, Ill.) UL 1316 stan-
dard (Glass-Fiber-Reinforced Plastic Underground Storage Tanks
for Petroleum Products, Alcohols, and Alcohol-Gasoline Mixtures).
Tis next step allows consideration of our system for use in situa-
tions where there are issues with the exterior shell wall of existing
tanks, such that the retroft may have to provide self-supportive
structure, says Pearlman. He sees GENESIS as a cost-efective and
reliable containment solution with a bright future. Underground
tanks have seen many changes in regulations and containment
challenges brought on by environmental concerns and evolving fuel
product formulations, he sums up. GENESIS is a great example of
how we can use the latest materials to provide new solutions for the
industry. | CT |
Contributing Writer
Ginger Gardiner is a freelance writer
and regular CT contributor based in
Washington, N.C.
ginger@compositesworld.com
VELVET
Face-to-face method of weaving velvet cloth
It produces two layers of velvet cloth
The knife cuts through the middle during weaving
Face
Layer 1
Layer 2
Back
Cutting
Knife
UST Wall
ZPlex
Monitoring Trough
Connects to Interstice
Formed by ZPlex
First Fiberglass
Layer
Final Fiberglass
Layer
The diagram at left shows the placement of the trough into which intrusive
uids (either from the exterior or the interior of the tank) collect and are
sensed by a system that warns tank owners of a breach in the tanks
storage integrity. The diagram above shows the velvet process.
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Applications
Applications
Italian chemical and development group
Acell (Milan, Italy) has already earned
kudos in the construction composites
industry with its innovative foam-cored
sandwich panels for doors (see Learn
More, below). Recently, the company
ofered a solution designed to satisfy
advocates of both architectural preser-
vation and environmental conservation.
Concern is mounting, particularly
in Europe, about how to control car-
bon emissions, considered by a grow-
ing number of climate scientists to be a
contributor to global climate change. A
Sunday London Times article published
earlier this year said that 43 percent of
all greenhouse gas emissions in Great
Britain come from the more than 8
million poorly insulated or entirely un-
insulated buildings built before 1919.
Te U.K.s Department of Energy and
Climate Change has proposed installing
exterior insulation from 3- to 8-inches
(76- to 200-mm) thick to cut the heat loss, as part of a green deal
for homeowners.
Preservationists, including the U.K.-based Sustainable Tradi-
tional Buildings Alliance, recognize the government programs aim
as good, but they claim that the exterior wraps threaten the unique
character and appearance of English towns and suburbs. Acells man-
aging director Michael Frieh says, Te products currently available
on the market are usually plastic siding, wood cladding or simple
renderings made up of many layers that cover the insulation, which
can be painted, but leave little option but to change a buildings look.
But he believes his companys innovative molded panels can provide
part of the solution, because they can mimic exactly almost any exte-
rior fnish on the surface of foam-cored insulation panels.
Acells patented molding technology, which combines sheet
molding compound (SMC) skins and a core of frangible yet fre-re-
sistant phenolic foam in a low-pressure compression molding press,
uses custom aluminum molds that are cast from a fberglass master
model. Te model is layed up directly on any selected material, such
as brick, wood or stone. Tis makes it possible for Acell to repli-
cate virtually any planar architectural surface in the mold surface,
for classical fnishes, such as brick, or very contemporary designs,
says Frieh. Color is duplicated through the use of in-mold coatings,
natural sand or even printed fabrics.
To demonstrate the technology for U.K. applications, a project
was recently undertaken in central Milan on a six-story apartment
building with a faade of deteriorated brick and ceramic tiles. Te
appearance of the brick (top-lef and right-side photos) and tiles
(bottom-lef photo) was precisely matched, and the original faade
then was replaced with the Acell panels, which added insulation
(0.0478 W/m
2
K at 140 kg/m
3
foam density) and sound-deadening
benefts. According to Frieh, the SMC/foam panels not only du-
plicate the original faades appearance and provide insulation but
they also meet applicable building code and fre requirements for
cladding, both in Italy and the U.K. Te panels were economical,
installed quickly and yet preserved the traditional look of the build-
ing, he sums up.
Across the Atlantic, Acell is partnering with Ashland Perfor-
mance Materials (Columbus, Ohio) in North America and is seek-
ing licensees to make panels for cladding or other architectural ap-
plications in that region. Says Ashlands Mike Wallenhorst, director
of product management, Were excited about the potential Acell
presents to expand the composites market into new construction
applications.
CLADDING CONTROVERSY
SMC insulation panels preserve pre-1919 building aesthetics
Read this article online | http://short.compositesworld.com/C2cdgqTM.
Read more about Acell in SMC sandwich panels: Lean process opens
doors | CT February 2012 (p. 32) | http://short.compositesworld.com/
KeUV5dzY.
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Calendar
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Dec. 4-6, 2012 Composite Pressure Vessel
Symposium 2012
Salt Lake City, Utah | www.CPVSymposium
Dec. 5-6, 2012 Graphene Live! USA 2012
Santa Clara, Calif. | www.idtechex.com/
graphene-live-usa/conference.asp

Dec. 5-6, 2012 AWEA Regional Wind Energy
Summit Southwest
Houston, Texas | www.awea.org/events/
AWEA-Regional-Wind-Energy-Summit-South-
Central.cfm
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May 6-9, 2013 SAMPE 2013
Long Beach, Calif. | www.sampe.org/
events/2013LongBeachCA.aspx

May 7-8, 2013 Civil Aviation Manufacturing
Conference (CAM) 2013
Charlotte, N.C. | http://events.aviationweek.com/
current/cam/

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Mar. 11-12, 2013 SAMPE Europe Intl Technical
Conference (SEICO 13)
Paris, France | www.sampe-europe.org

Mar. 12-14, 2013 JEC Europe 2013
Paris, France | www.jeccomposites.com

Mar. 19-21, 2013 Composites Manufacturing 2013
Long Beach, Calif. |
http://composites.sme.org/2013
Feb. 4-7, 2013 EWEA 2013
Vienna, Austria | www.ewea.org/index.php?id=2101

Feb. 26-27, 2013 Offshore Wind Power USA
Vienna, Austria |
www.offshorewindpowercongress.com
42 years of Recognizing the Plastics Innovation
that Reduces Weight, Saves Money, Eliminates
Finishing Steps, Adds Functionality, & Makes
Vehicles More Stylish & Durable.
See this years SPE Automotive Innovation
Awards Competition winners
at http://speautomotive.com/inno and
http://speautomotive.com/awa.
Jan. 7-10, 2013 Composite Arabia 2013
Dubai, United Arab Emirates | www.arabplast.info/
compostearabia.html

Jan. 28-31, 2013 37
th
Annual Conference on Composites,
Materials and Structures
Cape Canaveral, Fla. | http://advancedceramics.
org/index.php?src=gendocs&ref=
hotelinfo&category=Main

Jan. 29-31, 2013 ACMA COMPOSITES 2013
Orlando, Fla. | www.compositesshow.org
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New Products
Products
NEW
Automated delivery system
Fluid-Bag Ltd. (Jakobstad, Finland) has developed the PowerBagPress, a
exible container designed to discharge highly viscous and semisolid mate-
rials from the companys 900 and 1,000 liter (237 and 264 gal) Fluid-Bag
MULTI and FLEXI exible reac-
tive chemical containers. The
companys new press enables
suppliers who use the tubular
containers to safely ship their
products (e.g., adhesives and
other resin products), and it
allows the customers who use
those products to avoid the
common problem of leaving
a good deal of product in the
container as waste. During dis-
charge the exible container,
tted into the customers press,
is squeezed at and rolled up,
much like a tube of toothpaste. Fluid-Bag claims that material residue in the
containers can be reduced to as little as 0.5 percent. The PowerBagPress
was specically developed to reach a material ow of more than 35 kg/
min (77 lb/min), but in its rst implementation with a solid adhesive resin it
reportedly achieved a rate of 50 kg/min (110 lb/min). The press allows for
two-component mixing and is designed for use in the manufacture of large
components, such as wind turbine blades, aerospace structures and other
sandwich constructions. www.uid-bag.com
Gas-red batch oven
Wisconsin Oven (East Troy, Wis.) has designed and manufactured a gas-
red batch oven with two rotating mandrel drives and two load carts to
cure resin in cylindrical composite components. The chamber is 8-ft wide
by 12-ft long by 7-ft high (2.4m by 3.7m by 2.1m), and it has a maximum
operating temperature of 500F/260C. The oven can heat two lament-
wound cylinders simultaneously. It features 6-inch/152-mm thick tongue-
and-groove panel assemblies, with a 20-gauge aluminized steel interior
and ductwork. Two mechanisms are mounted at the rear of the oven to
provide mandrel rotation. The accompanying manual load carts are adjust-
able to different mandrel sizes and have a maximum weight capacity of
575 lb/261 kg each. The exhaust features motorized dampers on the fresh
air inlet and the exhaust outlet to enhance heating and cooling efciency.
The convection heating system features a 750,000 BTU/hr air heat burner
and includes a motorized gas control valve, a ame detector and a ame
relay with alarm horn. The recirculation system has an 8,600-ft
3
/hr (243m
3
/
hr) 10-hp high-efciency blower and uses combination airow to maximize
heating rates and product temperature uniformity. www.wisoven.com
LED ashlight for UV curing
The Spectroline OPTIMAX 365C from Spectronics Corp. (Westbury, N.Y.)
is a cordless, rechargeable ultraviolet A (UV-A, 365 nm wavelength) LED
ashlight designed for UV curing of adhesives, sealants, epoxies, resins,
coatings and other materi-
als. It uses ultra-hi-ux
LED technology to produce
a nominal steady-state UV-A
intensity of 60,000 W/cm
at a distance of 6 inches/150
mm. It is powered by a re-
chargeable NiMH battery and
provides 90 minutes of con-
tinuous use between charges.
The LED lifetime is 30,000
hours. The ashlight weighs
11.8 oz/335g and comes with
UV-absorbing eye protection,
a belt holster and smart AC
and DC battery chargers. The AC charger is available in 120V, 230V, 240V
or 100V versions. www.spectroline.com
Glass, carbon facesheets for transport
structures
LAMILUX (Rehau, Germany) has developed new premium composite ma-
terials for large-surface applications in lightweight vehicle construction.
Employed as the inside and outside facesheets of sandwich constructions,
the material features a new resin system in which the mixing ratios of epoxy
resin, hardeners and additives interact to form a duroplastic composite
that reportedly yields highly stable sidewall, roof and oor components
for truck trailers, for example, that provide long service life and low mass
per unit of area. The sheeting, says the company, is produced in a continu-
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ous process, and the product can be reordered at any time with the same
mechanical and chemical properties, due to the high level of automation
in the manufacturing process. The available products are LAMILUX High
Strength X-treme (berglass) and LAMILUX High Strength X-treme Carbon.
The glass or carbon bers are integrated as fabric into the composite mate-
rial. The bers are arranged in uniaxial, biaxial, triaxial or quadraxial layouts.
www.lamilux.de
Glass/epoxy tubing system
New from Norplex-Micarta (Postville, Iowa) is RT130X, a high-strength
tubing composed of a glass fabric with an epoxy resin system. Designed for
high electrical and mechanical strength as well as ame-resistance, it offers
good machining characteristics specically cleaner machining with less
exposed ber. Targeted applications include timing wheels, light-duty gears,
laser housings and many others. RT130X can be manufactured in standard
lengths of 18 to 36 inches (457 to 914 mm), with inside diameters ranging
from 0.094 to 48 inches (2.39 to 1,219 mm), outside diameters ranging
from 0.156 to 49.50 inches (3.96 to 1,257 mm) and wall thicknesses of
0.031 to 0.750 inch (0.787 to 19 mm). RT130X complies with NEMA FR-4
and is ame-resistant to a UL94 V-O rating. www.norplex-micarta.com
Portable coordinate measuring machine
Verisurf Software Inc. (Anaheim, Calif.) has launched 3DGage, a por-
table coordinate measuring machine (CMM) that allows customers to de-
sign a system by choosing from four software congurations, four portable
CMM congurations and a variety of probe options. The system offers a
three-step inspection process: align the manufactured part to a 3-D CAD
model by probing the part to corresponding alignment targets on the mod-
el; inspect the manufactured part in real time by manual probing or by fol-
lowing automated inspection plans;and automatically generate inspection
results in HTML and Excel. Other features include easy-to-use measuring
modes, such as Probe Measuring and Probe Scanning combined with Point
Cloud and Mesh Editing, Surface Modeling and Optional Solid Modeling.
www.verisurf.com
?
talk
see
hear
learn
800.621.8003 www.compositesone.com www.closedmoldalliance.com
featuring new technologies from:
COMPOSITES 2013 in Orlando, FL,
January 29-31, Booth #636
?
?
?
TALK to experts. SEE real
work cells. HEAR how closed mold
improves productivity, quality
and prots. LEARN what it
can do for you.
Presented LIVE by Composites One,
the Closed Mold Alliance
and our partners:
Win an iPad mini!
Scan code or go to talkseehear.com.
Marketplace
Marketplace
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INDEX OF ADVERTISERS
Available in various temperature ranges
BCC7621144 626961C211 Fax 62696Bb14C
Website: http//:www.generalsealants.com
E-mail: sticktoquality@generalsealants.com
Used world wide by composite manufacturers
Distributed by:
AIRTECH INTERNATIONAL INC.
Tel: (714) B99B1CC Faz: l714 B99B179
Website: http//:www.airtechintl.com
Manufactured by:

PO Box 3855, City of Industry, CA 91744

MANUFACTURING SUPPLIES |
To Advertise in the Composites Technology
Marketplace contact Becky Helton
bhelton@gardnerweb.com 513.527.8800 x224
RECRUITMENT |
www.forcomposites.com
Composites Industry Recruiting and Placement
COMPOSITES SOURCES
Phone (225j 273-4001 Fax (225j 275-5807
P.O. Box 40086, Baton Rouge, LA 70835
Email: contact@forcomposites.com
Workholding
Solutions
for Metal,
Composites,
Ceramic and
Glass.
800-810-2482 www.northfield.com
A&P Technology Inc. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Inside Cover
AkzoNobel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .4
American Composites Manufacturers Assn. . . . . .6
Amerimold . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
AOC LLC . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
Ashland Performance Materials . . . . . . Back Cover
CCP Composites US . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2
Chem-Trend Inc. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .7
Composites One LLC . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12, 43
Diefenbacher GmbH & Co. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
Elliott Co. of Indianapolis Inc. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .9
Interplastic Corp. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .8
LMT Onsrud . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .7
North Coast Composites . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
Pro-Set Inc. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
SPE Automotive Division . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41
Spheretex America Inc. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .9
Technical Fibre Products Ltd. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .8
Wisconsin Oven Corp. . . . . . . . .Inside Back Cover
Wyoming Test Fixtures Inc. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35
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Showcase
Product & Literature
SHOWCASE
The Companies of North Coast
North Coast Tool & Mold Corp.
North Coast Composites, Inc.
www.northcoastcomposites.com
216.398.8550
m
s
Release
Agent
Dry Lubricant
MS-122AD
PERFORMANCE PTFE RELEASE AGENTS/
DRY LUBRICANTS FOR COMPOSITES
Suerior release lor comosite moldinq
Multile releases between alications
ho discernible transler
ho miqration, contain no silicones
we oller a comlete line ol EF0h" eoxy
resins/curinq aqents as well as chillers lor
comosite lorminq.
MILLER-STEPHENSON CHEMICAL
COMPANY, INC.
CalilorniallinoisConnecticutCanada
Email. suort@millerstehenson.com
www.miller-stephenson.com 203-743-4447
Engineering Insights
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I
Demonstrator design proves robust blade destined
for a commercial-scale tidal turbine application.
t would be nice if designing a composite blade for a tidal turbine
were as simple as putting a wind turbine blade under water. But,
of course, its not.
When the composite structure of a turbine is to function fully
submerged in saltwater for a long period of time, the blades de-
signer must consider a host of diferentiating factors: While a wind
blade has to withstand occasional rain or snow, a tidal turbine blade
must handle continuous submersion in highly corrosive saltwater.
Water temperature and, especially, pressure, density and turbulence
require much greater strength and durability. And the presence of
sea creatures many much larger than the birds that sometimes
collide with wind blades and a variety of underwater plant life,
boats and other marine craf present many more potential hazards
than wind blades are likely to encounter.
Gurit (Newport, Isle of Wight, U.K.) faced this multifaceted
challenge when it was approached by ANDRITZ HYDRO Ham-
merfest (Hammerfest, Norway) to develop composite blades for the
companys newest tidal turbine, the HS1000, a 1-MW system des-
tined for placement in waters controlled by the European Marine
Energy Centre (EMEC), located near the Orkney Islands of the
northern coast of Scotland. ANDRITZ HYDRO Hammerfest had
designed, built and tested a smaller predecessor, the HS300 (rated at
300 kW), in waters of the coast of Norway and was looking to scale
up that design as the next step in its progression to a 10-MW tidal
turbine farm in the Sound of Islay of the west coast of Scotland.
Te HS1000 that was installed at EMEC would be a precom-
mercial demonstrator, used for testing and certifcation in the lead
up to full deployment in the Sound of Islay. A big part of that cer-
tifcation process is dependent on blade performance. Te blades
are expected to function for many years the turbine as a whole
is designed for 25 years of service with only minimal maintenance
similar to the expectation for wind turbines, but in a much
more dynamic and rigorous environment.
SO MANY VARIABLES
Marcus Royle, Gurits engineered structures
business development manager, says the under-
water environment in which the HS1000 oper-
ates dictates a blade design that is, in many subtle
ways, very diferent from the type of blade found
on a typical wind turbine.
One of the biggest diferences, of course, is
water density, which is about 1,025 kg/m
3
. By
comparison, the air, depending on pressure and
temperature, ranges from about 1.1 to 1.4 kg/m
3
.
Te diference about a factor of 800 repre-
sents a substantial physical load for a blade, thus
it must be more stout to provide continuous ser-
TURBULENT
SALT SEAS
composite tidal
turbine blade
toughened for
The HS1000 is a 1-MW tidal turbine developed by
ANDRITZ HYDRO Hammerfest. The precommercial
model shown here was installed at the European Marine
Energy Centre (EMEC) north of Scotland in December
2011. It features composite blades designed by Gurit
(Isle of Wight, U.K.) to withstand an aggressive subsea
environment. The blades are shorter and stouter than
what is found on a wind turbine because they must cope
with substantial water pressure and water density
challenges.
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47
Another variable that Gurit had to contemplate was water pres-
sure 1 bar/14.5 psi per 10m/32.8 f of water depth. Most tidal
turbines, says Royle, are located about 40m/131 f deep to remain
clear of marine craf that pass overhead. Tis represents pressure
of about 4 bar/58 psi. Te HS1000 blades, however, are designed
for depths to 100m/328 f.
Finally, Royle says, Gurit had to consider the challenge of coping
with the pressure diferential between the inside and the outside of
the blade air pressure of 1 bar/14.5 psi vs. water pressure of 10
bar/145 psi. To maximize blade-turning and power-generating ef-
fciency, Royle says, it was necessary to equalize the pressure in some
way. Gurit, he reports, considered several ideas, including flling the
blades with water prior to installation, flling the blades with foam
or fooding them with seawater. Te selected solution, however, is
considered by Gurit to be subject to confdentiality and, therefore,
was not disclosed.
Illustration | Karl Reque
ENGINEERING CHALLENGE:
Design a tidal turbine blade that can withstand the density, pressure,
temperature and dynamic physical environment of a subsea location.
DESIGN SOLUTION:
A blade that is shorter and of relatively greater thickness than its cousin
in the wind energy sector, with an aggressive transition from the circular
root to hydrodynamic architecture.
vice. We have to cram a lot more material into the blade to make it
structurally viable, Royle quips. Further, he notes that the compos-
ite materials used in the blade have a natural tendency to absorb wa-
ter, which over time can compromise the strength of the blade. We
must design the blade to accommodate the reduction in strength,
he notes, so that the blade at the end of life is still strong enough.
Cramming more material into the blade meant designing a
shorter blade (9m/29.5 f) than would be required for a wind turbine
of the same 1-MW capacity (30m/100 f rotor diameter). And be-
cause the blade is relatively short, it also means that the blade design
must transition much more quickly than a wind blade does from the
cylindrical shape at its root to its sculpted hydrodynamic architec-
ture (see illustration, above).
Te more aggressive that transition, says Royle, the more dif-
fcult it is to get the load out of the root and into the spar cap to make
sure we dont have large concentrations of stress.
ANDRITZ HYDRO HAMMERFEST HS1000 TIDAL TURBINE BLADE
Structural spar (110 mm/4.33inches
at widest point)
A-A B-B
Blade shell
B
B
Midpoint thickness: 300 mm/11.8 inches
Tip thickness: 50 mm/2 inches
9m/29.5 ft
Radical transition from root to hydrodynamic shape
1.35m/
4.3 ft
1.6m/
5.25 ft
1.5m/4.9 ft
BLADE
SECTIONS
ROOT
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Engineering Insights
48
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Read this article online |
http://short.compositesworld.com/jMZp2cQ1.
Editor-in-Chief
Jef Sloan, CTs editor-in-chief, has been
engaged in plastics- and composites-industry
journalism for 20 years.
jef@compositesworld.com
DIMENSIONS, TOOLS, MATERIALS
Te blade that Gurit ultimately designed for the HS1000
measures 9m/29.5 f long, weighs 2,000 kg/4,409 lb,
is 1.5m/4.9 f at its widest point and has a root that
is 1.3m/4.3 f in diameter. Te blade is 300 mm/11.8
inches thick at the center and 50 mm/2 inches thick
at the tip. Designed for water fows of up to 5m/sec
(16.4 f/sec), the turbines 1-MW rating equates, prac-
tically, to power that is suf cient for about 500 homes.
To capture tidal water energy as it ebbs and fows,
the turbine remains stationary, but the blades can be
adjusted to rotate through 270 to accommodate the
change in water fow.
Beyond the environmental challenges, Royle says
Gurit focused its engineering eforts on developing a
blade that is commercially viable. Although the frst
HS1000 is a pre-commercial product only, ANDRITZ HYDRO
Hammerfest has frm intentions of developing a full-scale tidal
energy feld very soon. Terefore, says Royle, We had to come
up with a blade design that could be built for series production.
Our primary aim was a blade that wouldnt fail and would be com-
mercially viable.
Initial blade design was accomplished with sofware Gurit devel-
oped in-house, Royle says. But when the initial concepts were com-
plete, the company employed Patran and Nastran (both from MSC.
Sofware, Santa Ana, Calif.) and Hyperworks (Altair Engineering
Inc., Troy, Mich.) to evaluate and virtually test each concept.
Te blades themselves consist of a mix of glass and carbon fber
prepregs, all oven-cured. Te spar caps (110 mm/4.33 inches at the
thickest point) are manufactured using Gurits trademarked Spar-
Preg unidirectional carbon fber prepreg designed specifcally
for use in spar caps combined with the companys trademarked
SPRINT glass fber prepreg, also designed for blade applications.
Tese materials reportedly allow the very thick laminates of the spar
to be built up and cured in one shot under vacuum pressure only,
without debulking to remove air between plies. Te blade shells are
sandwich constructions, featuring trademarked SPRINT glass fber
pregreg faceskins surrounding Gurits trademarked Corecell struc-
tural foam for the core. Molded in one-shot halves, the shells, when
assembled, encapsulate the spar cap and are bonded together with
Gurits Spabond toughened epoxy structural adhesive.
Gurit built four blades for the pre-commercial HS1000 dem-
onstrator three for the turbine and the fourth for load testing
on land.
Te turbine was installed at EMEC in December 2011 and
started generating electric power at full capacity in early 2012. Per
ANDRITZ HYDRO Hammerfests requirements, Gurit included
strain gauges on the blades to assess their performance during op-
eration. Royle declined to reveal specifcs regarding blade perfor-
mance to date, except to say so far, performance is exactly as we
hoped and expected.
Te frst phase of the commercial tidal energy farm comprises
10 1-MW turbines, which will be installed in the Sound of Islay.
Tis project will be followed by another, a 95-MW tidal turbine
farm in the waters near Duncansby Head, north of Scotland, not
far from the EMEC.
Royle says ANDRITZ HYDRO Hammerfest is working on
designs for the 10 Islay turbines now and expects to make some
slight design modifcations because water fow in the sound is
slower than the fow at the EMEC site. If permitting, testing and
certifcations proceed as planned, the commercial tidal farm will
be operational by 2015.
Among the lessons learned by Royle during development of
the HS1000 blade? Just how aggressive the tidal seawater envi-
ronment is, he observes, and how it afects just about every as-
pect of the design. | CT |
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Gurit manufactured four blades for the HS1000,
including one for testing. They feature a spar cap
molded with unidirectional carbon prepreg and
glass prepreg. The shells are all glass prepreg and
all components are oven-cured. The blades are
9m/29.5-ft long and weigh 2,000 kg (4,409 lb).
With good chemistr y great things happen.

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