JEC COMPOSITES MAGAZINE - Issue #99 - September 2015 - 10

in brief

initiative to support President Obama's
National Network for Manufacturing Innovation. The institute will engage Purdue
faculty, including about 10 engineers and
a number of graduate students, to work in
the research areas that will initially occupy
up to 30,000 square feet in the Purdue Research Park-based facility. About 30,000
square feet in the Purdue Research Parkbased Indiana Manufacturing Institute will
be used for Purdue research. The other
32,000 square feet is reserved for public or
private enterprises interested in composite
materials research collaboration with the
university.
www.purdue.edu

UTA opens a Center for Integration
of Composites into Infrastructure
The new Center for Integration of Composites into Infrastructure, an NSF Industry/University Cooperative Research
Center, will highlight the sustainable benefits of using composites in infrastructure
construction. The center has university
partnerships with other centers housed at
West Virginia University, University of Miami, and North Carolina State University.
Researchers for the center, called CICI
also have formed partnerships with several
outside companies and agencies who will
serve in the industrial advisory board.
The center will use the five-year, $325,000
National Science Foundation grant, along
with annual membership funds from
several agencies and industries, to examine
ways to use polymers such as fibers, foam
and geosynthetics to create stronger, more
sustainable infrastructure, such as foundations, retaining walls, slopes and related
structures.

The collaboration agreement for the
DCMC was signed by Fokker Services,
NLR, Airborne Services and the faculty of Aerospace Engineering at Delft
University of Technology. The centre will
be located in the aerospace maintenance
cluster around the Royal Netherlands Air
Force base Woensdrecht. Its ambition is
to become an international leading and
independent authority which initiates and
supports the innovations in the Maintenance Repair and Overhaul of composite
structures.
www.fokker.com, www.nlr.nl
www.airborne-services.aero
www.ae.tudelft.nl

CAT contracts with Finnoff Aviation
Products to sell MT Composite
Propellers
Commuter Air Technology (CAT), an
AGC Aerospace & Defense company
headquartered in Oklahoma City, announces an agreement with Finnoff
Aviation Products to provide 5-blade MT
Composite Propellers for King Air 90, 200
and 300 series aircraft.
These 5-bladed natural composite propel-

www.uta.edu

10 jec composites magazine / No99 September 2015

lers enhances the performance and safety
of a King Air aircraft. A smaller propeller
diameter and shorter blade size reduces
noise due to slower tip speeds and increases the margin of safety between the
blade tip and the ground reducing prop
damage. The additional surface area of a
5-blade propeller along with the slower tip
speeds help to maintain smooth airflow
over the blades resulting in greater thrust
for takeoff and climb. These composite
propellers are 16% lighter than aluminum
systems, meaning a more useful load and
lower engine stress and starting temperatures.
www.agcaerospace.com

U.S. senator introduces bill to
develop carbon fiber recycling
Senator Maria Cantwell calls for a
study of the technology and energy
savings of recycled carbon fiber and
directs the U.S. Department of Energy
(DOE) to collaborate with the automotive and aviation industry to develop
a recycled carbon fiber demonstration
project. Carbon fiber composites are projected to have a worldwide market of $27
billion next year as it continues to have
a transforming impact on the aerospace,
automotive and energy sectors. Large
manufacturers and suppliers have agreed
to donate their scrap carbon fiber to the
center for recycling into recycled carbon
fiber composites. Currently, only nine sites
worldwide operate carbon fiber recycling.

Development

Agreement

Fokker, NLR, Airborne and
TU Delft start maintenance centre
for composites
At Le Bourget Airshow 2015 the
Dutch Composites Maintenance
Centre agreement was signed between
Fokker, NLR, Airborne and TU-Delft.
The DCMC will initiate and support innovations in the Maintenance Repair and
Overhaul of composite (aero)structures.
Projects managed or performed by the
DCMC are based on business cases with
customers and have a Technology Readiness Level (TRL) between 4 to 6/7.

The waste and recycling industry continues to pursue new technology opportunities. The American Chemistry Council's
Plastics-to-Oil Technologies Alliance
just created several educational tools to
showcase plastics-to-fuel technologies as
a viable end-of-life solution for keeping
non-recycled plastics out of landfills. It
came up with a instructional video and
separate guide to help policy makers, state
regulators, waste management professionals and municipal officials better understand the opportunities.
www.energy.gov
www.waste360.com

http://www.agcaerospace.com http://www.purdue.edu http://www.fokker.com http://www.nlr.nl http://www.airborne-services.aero http://www.ae.tudelft.nl http://www.energy.gov http://www.waste360.com http://www.uta.edu

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of JEC COMPOSITES MAGAZINE - Issue #99 - September 2015