Articles Tagged with ''composites''

Materials are important in every industry. But, they're critical to aerospace manufacturers. If companies select the wrong material for a particular application, it can have catastrophic consequences.

Aircraft wings have been assembled the same way for decades. But, engineers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and NASA have developed a flexible aerostructure that is produced from hundreds of tiny, identical pieces using composite lattice-based cellular materials.

Strong and lightweight, carbon-fiber reinforced plastic (CFRP) offers numerous benefits to automotive and aerospace manufacturers. Many engineers are intrigued by potential applications for the material, yet remain frustrated by joining challenges.

Several years ago, researchers from QSS Group Inc. and the Ohio Aerospace Institute were interested in finding a commercially available adhesive that bonds titanium pipes to carbon-carbon composite (CCC) sheets. The reason: Doing so would lower the cost of assembling spacecraft heat-rejection systems made of these joined materials.

Titans aren't only located in Tennessee or gifted with god-like powers. Some operate in the real world and perform amazing manufacturing feats.

SEATTLE--Boeing and ELG Carbon Fibre are partnering on a project to recycle excess aerospace-grade composite material.

Engineers at Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) recently developed carbon-fiber composites that can monitor their own structural health. The technology could be used in future aerospace and automotive applications.

Engineers at NASA recently earmarked a couple of emerging technologies that may alter the way aircraft are designed and built in the coming decades. If successful, each could lead to planes that are quieter, more energy efficient and produce fewer emissions.

Manufacturers in many industries like to build with composites because they are lightweight and have high strength-to-weight ratios that often exceed steel and aluminum. At the same time, though, these materials can be hard to properly bond to thermoplastic, metal and other composites.