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Bio-based SiC ceramics from wood polymer composites | CompositesWorld

Pioneer in mandrel-based reinforced rubber and composite products, TANIQ offers TaniqWindPro software and robotic winding expertise for composite pressure vessels and more.

With production, type and standard airworthiness certification under its belt the AAM company is cleared for mass production of the EH216-S. boron carbide plate

Proprietary battery pack design integrated into a composite battery enclosure passed extreme impact scenario simulations, setting the stage for upcoming for-credit testing with the FAA.

The market for pressure vessels used to store zero-emission fuels is rapidly growing, with ongoing developments and commercialization of Type 3, 4 and 5 tanks.  

Stellantis signals its continued confidence and partnership in the eVTOL company with the purchase of nearly 8.3 million shares.

Automotive technology supplier Forvia shares sustainability goals and recent developments aimed at bio-based and recycled materials and ramping up hydrogen tank production for clean mobility.

Pioneer in mandrel-based reinforced rubber and composite products, TANIQ offers TaniqWindPro software and robotic winding expertise for composite pressure vessels and more.

Designer and builder of compression molds for composite structures installs seven-axis CNC deep-hole drilling and milling machine to improve productivity.

Strategic MOU initially introduces SikaBiresin CIM 120 and SikaBiresin CIM 80 to serve crucial composites market needs for 3D printing tooling, prototyping and more.

Through this strategic collaboration, BEAD’s additive and subtractive capabilities for large-scale AM composite tooling production are made more accessible.

Plyable continues to rid composites engineers of workflow bottlenecks through an end-to-end automated system — from mold design to quotation to manufacturing fulfillment.  

JEC World 2024: The RAMPF Group is bringing together three of its divisions — RAMPF Composite Solutions, RAMPF Tooling Solutions, and RAMPF Group Inc. — delivering a variety of materials and services to the composites industry.

Exel material waste will go through Fairmat’s reconstitution process to produce second-generation CFRP chips, enabling a closed-loop ecosystem.

ILAuNCH partnership, joined by ANU and New Frontier Technologies, will develop a qualified manufacturing process that will directly contribute to the development of launch vehicle development.

CW senior technical editor Ginger Gardiner discusses some of the developments and demonstrators shown at the industry’s largest composites exhibition and conference.

CW technical editor Hannah Mason discusses trends seen at this year’s JEC World trade show, including sustainability-focused technologies and commitments, the Paris Olympics amongst other topics.

Waste2Fiber facility will use a proprietary thermal method to separate wind blade materials for reuse and will have a processing capacity of 6,000 tons of material/year.

Epoxies featuring nanometric niobium pentoxide particles promote toughness, UV radiation resistance and other performance gains.

Pioneer in mandrel-based reinforced rubber and composite products, TANIQ offers TaniqWindPro software and robotic winding expertise for composite pressure vessels and more.

ILAuNCH partnership, joined by ANU and New Frontier Technologies, will develop a qualified manufacturing process that will directly contribute to the development of launch vehicle development.

Materialise expands additive manufacturing portfolio with early adoption of new HP PA 12S and integration of PA 11 and PA-CF materials.

Direct compounding injection molding (DCIM) enables the composites company to develop, test and protect its own recipe formulations, while increasing cycle times by eight times and reducing energy consumption.

With a DOE grant in hand, UMaine’s ASCC seeks to develop an approach to recycle shredded wind turbine blade material as a cost-effective reinforcement and filler for large-scale 3D printing.

Partnership with Chinese automotive manufacturer will see the implementation of pultruded profiles in various bus models, backed by weight savings, complex geometries and long life.  

Increasingly, prototype and production-ready smart devices featuring thermoplastic composite cases and other components provide lightweight, optimized sustainable alternatives to metal.

CW explores key composite developments that have shaped how we see and think about the industry today.

Knowing the fundamentals for reading drawings — including master ply tables, ply definition diagrams and more — lays a foundation for proper composite design evaluation.

As battery electric and fuel cell electric vehicles continue to supplant internal combustion engine vehicles, composite materials are quickly finding adoption to offset a variety of challenges, particularly for battery enclosure and fuel cell development.  

Performing regular maintenance of the layup tool for successful sealing and release is required to reduce the risk of part adherence.

With COVID in the past and passengers flying again, commercial aircraft production is ramping up. The aerocomposites supply chain is busy developing new M&P for an approaching next-generation aircraft program.

As part two of the webinar series about composites manufacturing processes, this webinar will focus on the continuous processes in the manufacturing of composite materials: filament winding, pultrusion and a combination of both. This presentation will briefly give an overview of both processes, discussing their advantages and disadvantages. You'll discover the product recommendations from Evonik's portfolio for these processes, including how they can be used to enhance the performance of the final composite materials. This webinar will conclude with an outlook on the various applications including infrastructure, marine and transportation.

In this webinar, Instron will discuss the different solutions for strain measurement on composite materials, such as: strain gauges, clip-on extensometers, video extensometers and digital image correlation (DIC). It will discuss the advantages and disadvantages of each and when you might prefer one method over another. Agenda: Brief introduction to composite materials and properties Strain measurement techniques for coupon testing Examples of strain measurement for various test types including: in-plane tensile, compression, through thickness and v-notch shear

As part three of the webinar series about composites manufacturing processes, this webinar will focus on the two main processes to manufacture semi-finished goods and the composites resulting from it: sheet molding compounding (SMC) and prepreg technology. This presentation will briefly highlight the advantages and challenges. The main part of the webinars will showcase product recommendations from Evonik's portfolio and how they can be used to enhance the performance of the final composite materials to meet the requirements from the automotive, aerospace and sporting goods industries.

This webinar will cover a range of honeycomb products, how to best select the right honeycomb for particular applications and design guidelines for honeycomb-cored structures. Agenda:  Honeycomb overview Configuration and applications General considerations and quality standards Methods and methodology for shaping core Core forming Stabilization CNC machining Case studies Cost progression

After having established a strong foundation in kinetic models in a previous webinar, part two delves into the exciting realm of machine learning and its transformative potential for composite manufacturing. While kinetic models have served the industry well, the growing complexity of composite manufacturing demands more sophisticated approaches. In this session, sensXPERT will explore innovative pathways to supercharge your production efficiency and enhance sustainability beyond the limits of traditional models. See how machine learning empowers composite manufacturers to achieve unprecedented accuracy in predicting key production parameters such as temperature, pressure and cure time. This translates to reduced cycle times and waste while increasing production throughput to maximize efficiency. SensXPERT will provide concrete examples and case studies demonstrating how to bridge the gap between meticulously-controlled laboratory experiments and the realities of the production floor, overcoming the limitations of kinetic models. Agenda: Define machine learning, its applications and their impact on composite manufacturing Explore real-world case studies in diverse composites manufacturing applications and how they exploit integration options Correlation analysis: uncovering hidden relationships between process parameters and product outcomes Time series analysis: forecasting production trends Anomaly detection: identifying irregularities

When developing new products and formulations, there are a large number of additive choices to improve a single property you are aiming for: tougheners, plasticizers, flame retardants, the list goes on. One promising additive is graphene and its derivatives, but most organizations don’t know where to begin, so development walls are hit early in the process and therefore projects can be abandoned before success. But your chances of success are drastically increased when you partner with industry experts that know what forms of graphene will meet your needs. In this webinar Mito Materials will discuss how to successfully source, formulate and deploy any graphene material in the world — and do it to your specs and timeline.

UTECH Europe will return on the 23-25 April 2024 to the MECC Maastricht, the Netherlands. Organised by Crain Communications' Global Polymer Group, and in association with Urethanes Technology International, the three-day exhibition and conference is where the global polyurethanes industry comes together.

The 2nd EuReComp (“European recycling and circularity in large composite components”) Workshop will take place April 24, 2024 at the Aimen Technology Centre in Vigo, Spain.  The April workshop is dedicated to fostering innovation and sustainability within the composites recycling sector. It will feature a comprehensive program that includes keynote presentations by leading experts, interactive discussions on the circular economy and hands-on demonstrations showcasing the newest research and technological developments.

ThermHex and Fraunhofer are set to host the third Composite-Sandwich Conference in Halle (Saale), Germany, on April 24-25, 2024. The conference will provide the opportunity for engineers and scientists from across the composites industry to explore new fields of application of sandwich materials and network with some of the leading minds in the sector. Not only will there be lectures from Daimler Truck, Porsche, Audi, Airbus Helicopters, Evonik Performance Foams and more, but both ThermHex Waben and Fraunhofer Pilot Plant Center for Polymer Synthesis and Processing will open up the doors to their facilities for all participants to receive guided tours of both facilities.

Join leaders in the thermoset industry at TOPCON 2024 where you’ll learn about opportunities for thermoset innovative technologies in multiple markets. The event includes keynote speakers, panel discussions, technical presentations, exhibits and a special program dedicated to growing the industry.

The most knowledgeable minds in clean energy join ACP’s CLEANPOWER event to chart the future of this powerful industry and discuss the opportunities ahead. This is the must-attend conference of the year. CLEANPOWER grows businesses by gathering key decision makers and stakeholders across the wind, solar, storage, hydrogen, and transmission industries for discussion, deal making, networking and a whole lot of fun. We’re calling all manufacturers, construction firms, owner operators, utilities, financial firms, corporate buyers and sector members to join our landmark event. Mark your calendar to join us next year in Minneapolis, MN May 6-9 at the most anticipated clean energy trade show of the year.

The Offshore Technology Conference (OTC) is where energy professionals meet to exchange ideas and opinions to advance scientific and technical knowledge for offshore resources and environmental matters. Since 1969, OTC’s flagship conference is held annually at NRG Park (formerly Reliant Park) in Houston. OTC has expanded technically and globally with OTC Brasil and OTC Asia. OTC is sponsored by 13 industry organizations and societies, who work cooperatively to develop the technical program. OTC also has endorsing and supporting organizations

Thousands of people visit our Supplier Guide every day to source equipment and materials. Get in front of them with a free company profile.

Jetcam’s latest white paper explores the critical aspects of nesting in composites manufacturing, and strategies to balance material efficiency and kitting speed.

Arris presents mechanical testing results of an Arris-designed natural fiber thermoplastic composite in comparison to similarly produced glass and carbon fiber-based materials.

Cevotec, a tank manufacturer, Roth Composite Machinery and Cikoni, have undertaken a comprehensive project to explore and demonstrate the impact of dome reinforcements using FPP technology for composite tanks.   

Initial demonstration in furniture shows properties two to nine times higher than plywood, OOA molding for uniquely shaped components.

The composite tubes white paper explores some of the considerations for specifying composite tubes, such as mechanical properties, maintenance requirements and more.

Foundational research discusses the current carbon fiber recycling landscape in Utah, and evaluates potential strategies and policies that could enhance this sustainable practice in the region.

CW senior technical editor Ginger Gardiner discusses some of the developments and demonstrators shown at the industry’s largest composites exhibition and conference.

Industry experts outline technologies, materials and strategies to help meet you (and your customers’) sustainability goals at “CW Tech Days: Sustainability.” 

CW technical editor Hannah Mason discusses trends seen at this year’s JEC World trade show, including sustainability-focused technologies and commitments, the Paris Olympics amongst other topics.

The market for pressure vessels used to store zero-emission fuels is rapidly growing, with ongoing developments and commercialization of Type 3, 4 and 5 tanks.  

CW editor-in-chief Scott Francis reflects on the ways in which the composites industry has changed and also stayed the same based on observations from this year’s JEC World.  

Automotive technology supplier Forvia shares sustainability goals and recent developments aimed at bio-based and recycled materials and ramping up hydrogen tank production for clean mobility.

Automotive technology supplier Forvia shares sustainability goals and recent developments aimed at bio-based and recycled materials and ramping up hydrogen tank production for clean mobility.

Customer decarbonization goals demand supply chains with sustainable business practices. Here are four considerations for supporting those goals that will be discussed further at CW Tech Days.  

Airbus subsidiary CTC uses new technology to measure energy use in machine components and processes to optimize equipment, production lines and guide decisions for future composites.

Three materials — bio-based carbon fibers, natural stone and biochar — act as an alternative to reinforced concrete in a house wall demonstrator in the DACCUS-Pre project.  

As companies strive to meet zero-emissions goals, evaluating a product’s carbon footprint is vital. Life cycle assessment (LCA) is one tool composites industry OEMs and Tier suppliers are using to move toward sustainability targets.

Researchers have proven it’s possible to recycle CNTs at the macroscopic scale with nearly 100% retention of mechanical and electrical properties, removing a hurdle to sustainable CNT-based fiber, sheet and textile adoption.

Explore the cutting-edge composites industry, as experts delve into the materials, tooling, and manufacturing hurdles of meeting the demands of the promising advanced air mobility (AAM) market. Join us at CW Tech Days to unlock the future of efficient composites fabrication operations.

During CW Tech Days: Thermoplastics for Large Structures, experts explored the materials and processing technologies that are enabling the transition to large-part manufacturing.

This CW Tech Days event will explore the technologies, materials, and strategies that can help composites manufacturers become more sustainable.

CompositesWorld’s CW Tech Days: Infrastructure event offers a series of expert presentations on composite materials, processes and applications that should and will be considered for use in the infrastructure and construction markets.

The composites industry is increasingly recognizing the imperative of sustainability in its operations. As demand for lightweight and durable materials rises across various sectors, such as automotive, aerospace, and construction, there is a growing awareness of the environmental impact associated with traditional composite manufacturing processes.

CW’s editors are tracking the latest trends and developments in tooling, from the basics to new developments. This collection, presented by Composites One, features four recent CW stories that detail a range of tooling technologies, processes and materials.

In the Automated Composites Knowledge Center, CGTech brings you vital information about all things automated composites.

Closed mold processes offer many advantages over open molding. This knowledge center details the basics of closed mold methods and the products and tools essential to producing a part correctly.

CompositesWorld’s CW Tech Days: Infrastructure event offers a series of expert presentations on composite materials, processes and applications that should and will be considered for use in the infrastructure and construction markets.

Explore the cutting-edge composites industry, as experts delve into the materials, tooling, and manufacturing hurdles of meeting the demands of the promising advanced air mobility (AAM) market. Join us at CW Tech Days to unlock the future of efficient composites fabrication operations.

Thermoplastics for Large Structures, experts explored the materials and processing technologies that are enabling the transition to large-part manufacturing.

Explore the technologies, materials, and strategies that can help composites manufacturers become more sustainable.

A report on the demand for hydrogen as an energy source and the role composites might play in the transport and storage of hydrogen.

This collection features detail the current state of the industry and recent success stories across aerospace, automotive and rail applications.

This collection details the basics, challenges, and future of thermoplastic composites technology, with particular emphasis on their use for commercial aerospace primary structures.

This collection features recent CW stories that detail a range of tooling technologies, processes and materials.

Austrian research institute Wood K plus makes 95% silicon carbide ceramics more sustainable (>85% bio/recycled content), enables 3D shapes via extrusion, injection molding and 3D printing.

An extruded wood polymer composite (WPC) green body that has then been carbonized into a porous preform and then processed via silicon melt infiltration into a high-performance silicon carbide (SiC) ceramic using a patented process developed by Wood K plus. Photo credit: Wood K plus

Wood K plus (Linz, Austria) is a research institute founded in 2000 as the competence center for bio-based materials in Austria. “We started as a competence center for wood chemistry and wood composites,” explains Christoph Unterweger, team leader, fibers, carbon and ceramics. “But we now focus on quite a broad range of topics regarding bio-based materials and resource efficient processes.

Wood K plus comprises three divisions (top) and performs a wide range of R&D that involves composites (bottom). Photo credit: Wood K plus

Wood K plus comprises three divisions in three locations:

“We generally cover the whole value chain, including raw materials, processing and testing of bio-based products,” says Unterweger. “In this case, due to our long-term experience in extrusion of thermosets, our focus was on short fiber composites. In our next steps, this will be accompanied by LCA, sLCA and LCC [lifecycle assessment, social LCA and lifecycle costing] which are topics we have also been developing for almost 15 years and which are becoming more and more important.”

Unterweger, key researcher Christian Fuerst and their colleagues, have published research on “Bio-based carbon preforms for the manufacture of high-performance composites” and “Bio-based silicon carbide ceramics from thermoset-based wool wood polymer composites” as part of the BioC4HiTech project (2021-2023) funded through the Austrian Production of the Future program. “We can produce a high-strength, high-stiffness ceramic that is up to 95 wt% pure silicon carbide [SiC] from a preform that is 50-60 wt% wood,” says Unterweger. Turning wood into charcoal is familiar, but it’s surprising that a shaped wood polymer composite (WPC) could be transformed into a high-quality SiC ceramic. Note, SiC/SiC ceramic matrix composites (CMC) are now used for high-performance, high-temperature (1,200-1,600°C) parts in power turbines and jet engines (see “A new era for ceramic matrix composites”).

Unterweger says this was one of his division’s first topics, in 2010. “We developed a thermoset resin-based formulation that can be extruded, with the idea to use such systems as preforms for carbons for CMC.”

The BioC4HiTech project sought to produce bio-based green bodies for processing into metal, ceramic and carbon matrix composites. Photo credit: Wood K plus

In the BioC4HiTech project, this goal was expanded to produce bio-based green bodies that could then be carbonized into semi-finished (shaped and trimmed) preforms to be further processed into CMC, metal matrix composites (MMC) or what Wood K Plus calls CFC (carbon fiber-reinforced carbon) — and what CW would refer to as carbon/carbon (C/C), one of the most common types of CMC in addition to C/SiC and SiC/SiC. BioC4HiTech’s goal was to replace the fossil raw materials typically used in these composites — e.g., graphite and PAN/pitch-based carbon fiber — with natural fibers, lignin and/or recycled materials.

These materials are of interest to the second partner in this project, RHP Technology (Seibersdorf, Austria), a research group specializing in powder technologies and additive manufacturing, which is developing a wide range of novel materials, including electrically conductive and ultra-high temperature ceramics.

Potential applications of the metal, ceramic and carbon matrix composites (MMC, CMC, CFC) targeted for development within the BioC4HiTech project. Photo credit: Wood K plus

Wood K plus first used a melamine resin with wood reinforcement and extruded this into a 3D shape which was carbonized. “But melamine resins have a nitrogen content that is too high while the carbon content is too low,” says Unterweger. “So, we switched to a novolac phenolic resin and optimized for this system.”

“We used up to 60 wt% wood fibers as well as some thermoplastic additives to aid extrusion. We then cut 18-centimeter-long samples from the extrusion to fit in our small chamber furnace and heated it in nitrogen to 900°C. The thermoplastic vaporized to leave pores and the thermoset was converted to carbon, creating a porous preform.”

Wood K plus used Arbocel wood powder (left) and Lenzing cellulose fibers (right) to produce wood polymer composite green bodies. Photo credit: Agrobiobase.com, JRS and Lenzing

The wood reinforcement used initially was cellulose fiber from Lenzing with a length/diameter ratio (L/D) of 30, but due to shrinkage issues, Wood K plus switched to Arbocel C100 wood flour  (L/D ratio <2).

Wood powder/polymer green bodies shrink 25-30% during conversion to porous carbon preforms, but without shape distortion. Photo credit: Wood K plus

It was expected the wood materials would shrink during carbonization. The issue with fibers is their orientation and thus shrinkage more in one direction. “The particles, however, have almost no L/D ratio,” explains Unterweger, “thus their 30% shrinkage occurs in each direction so that there is no distortion in the shape of the resulting carbon preform.”

Steps comprising Wood K plus’ patented process for producing SiC ceramic from wood polymer composites (WPC). Photo credit: Wood K plus  

WPC green bodies are first carbonized into preforms (left) and then infiltrated with liquid silicon (right). Photo credit: Wood K plus

The next step is to infiltrate the porous carbon preforms with silicon. “From the porosity you can determine how much silicon is needed to fill the preform,” explains Unterweger. “We placed the preforms and silicon flakes into a tool and then heat that again in the chamber furnace up to 1,600°C under vacuum. The silicon melts to a very low viscosity so that it infiltrates the pore structure and is distributed across the whole preform. And then, the silicon and carbon react to form silicon carbide.”

The quality of the resulting SiC ceramic is determined by the composition and processing conditions of the WPC green body, notes Unterweger. “Composition and homogeneity of the mixture determine the porosity in the preform and this dictates the quality of the ceramic. We can achieve almost 95 wt% silicon carbide content, which is very high performance. There is almost no difference to a standard SiC ceramic.”

What is the temperature resistance of these more sustainable, bio-based SiC materials? Unterweger says 1,400°C is no problem. “Normally, SiC can go up to 2,300°C or perhaps a bit higher. And you can then come back down to a low temperature and repeat that cycle many times without destroying your material in any way. But because there is residual silicon (melting point 1,410°C) in our bio-based SiC ceramics, 1,400°C is the limit.”

In addition to the almost pure SiC, Wood K plus can also adjust the composition to have remaining carbon. “For example, we can have 20% by volume remaining carbon, depending on the wood particle size, which can add functionality, such as electrical conductivity or friction resistance,” says Unterweger.

But Wood K plus has noticed an interesting characteristic, in that the remaining carbon resulting from its process is encapsulated. The remaining carbon provides conductivity, while the other properties of the SiC are maintained. “We observed that if you just disperse some sort of carbon or graphite in the SiC matrix, that carbon is then just burnt away in an oxidative environment,” says Unterweger. “But the carbon in our process is somehow protected, so that it does not burn away. So, this is a key advantage — that we can control the composition but also achieve this sort of encapsulated carbon that is protected from oxidation.”

Wood K plus started with extrusion due to its long history with the process. “But about 6-7 years ago, we also began working with injection molding and hot pressing,” notes Unterweger. This was easy to do with the WPC materials his team has developed. “We’re compounding, so we mix phenolic resin, plastic additives and the wood particles in an extruder and do some pelletizing,” he explains. “We can then either go again to the extruder and use some special tool to extrude a shaped green body that can have a very low wall thickness down to 3 millimeters, or we can just put this compound into a mold and do hot pressing to produce a plate from 40 millimeters in thickness down to 3 millimeters.”

WPC green bodies have also been made using 3D printing (top) and hot pressing, the latter enabling plates up to 30 millimeters thick (bottom). Photo credit: Wood K plus

Another interesting aspect, is that all of the machining can be done during the carbon preform stage, where there is much less wear on tools compare to after silicon infiltration when the SiC ceramic is much denser and harder. “If you wanted to machine very thick parts, this could be interesting,” adds Unterweger.

The BioC4HiTech project also produced parts using 3D printing. “This wasn’t using fused filament fabrication because there is no pre-made filament we can procure. Instead, we use the same pellets we have compounded and process these in an extrusion printer.” The 3D printing was actually done by RHP using an AIM3D machine (see Production-ready: Composite extrusion modeling (CEM) in the article “Metal AM advances in composite tooling, Part 2”).

For all of these processes, after the WPC green body is created, it is carbonized and then infiltrated with silicon to form the SiC ceramic. “So, we have a large variety of possible processes and material compositions,” says Unterweger. “And this includes low to high wood content, but higher wood content (40-60 wt%) produces the highest SiC content and thus the best performance as well as the highest share of renewable material. However, for injection molding and 3D printing, we are limited to 30-35 wt% wood particle content. Beyond that, the viscosity is too high and material flow is insufficient.”

Wood K plus can produce a range of WPC material compositions and shapes and convert these into SiC ceramics. Photo credit: Wood K plus

“Our main advantage is improved sustainability,” says Unterweger. “We are offering basically the same mechanical  performance and temperature resistance as standard SiC but with a high bio-based content. The only thing that’s not sustainable at the moment is the novolac phenolic resin. But we are working on replacing the novolac with lignin. And if we used bio-based thermoplastic additives and recycled silicon, then we will have a material made from 100% bio-based, recycled and/or sustainable materials.”

The other advantage, he notes, is Wood K plus’ process that enables shapes not easily made using traditional techniques, “and the thick plates that can be created using hot pressing.” The encapsulated carbon is also another benefit, although its full value has yet to be explored.

Is there a way to extend this work into creating a fiber-reinforced CMC? “It’s true that the SiC has high strength and stiffness but not impact resistance,” says Unterweger. “Again, the problem with using fibers is that the shrinkage during carbonization is not the same in each direction. We can carbonize the fibers first. For example, if we carbonize the wood particles first and use those in the green bodies, then there is no shrinkage at all after carbonization. So, you could carbonize cellulose fibers in advance and then mix those in with your polymers. We have tried in the past to add some carbon fibers to replace wood, but it didn’t really work. However, if we added a small amount of carbon fiber to boost impact resistance, that might work. We haven’t tried this, yet, but it is something we are planning for the near future, as we are also developing high-performance carbon fibers from cellulose filaments. Combining our ceramic and carbon fiber activities would be really interesting.”

So, there may yet be additional paths to extend this improved sustainability SiC ceramic to fiber-reinforced SiC CMC. “Five years ago, sustainability was not really even an issue in the ceramic world,” notes Unterweger. “But this has really changed in the last few years. Now we have requests from different companies because they have no idea how to become more sustainable and we are one of the few institutes who have solutions to offer.”

Anybrid’s ROBIN demonstrates inline/offline functionalization of profiles, 3D-printed panels and bio-based materials for more efficient, sustainable composite parts.

Led by global and industry-wide sustainability goals, commercial interest in flax and hemp fiber-reinforced composites grows into higher-performance, higher-volume applications.

Efforts include advancing NAFILean materials family in weight reduction and sustainability, as well as new Sustainable Materials division and R&D Center.  

NEW smart factory in Linköping will double production and use sensors, data analytics for real-time quality control — CW talks with Holger Wentscher, Beyond Gravity’s head of launcher programs.

Phase transforming cellular materials (PXCM) exhibit intelligent responses to external forces and stimuli, can dissipate energy to avoid damage and are being developed for transportation, military and other applications that can use composites.

The German Institutes of Textile and Fiber Research are targeting more sustainable carbon fiber via low-pressure stabilization and bio-based precursors, and working with Saint-Gobain to commercialize oxide ceramic fibers for CMC.

Targeting current and future needs in hypersonic and aeronautics applications, Lockheed Martin Skunk Works’ Allcomp team is increasing and digitizing its capabilities in ceramic matrix composite (CMC) materials and parts fabrication.

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