JEC COMPOSITES MAGAZINE - Issue #121 - May 2018 - 3

EDlTORlAL

The Future of Transportation
with composites

55th year
President and CEO/Publisher:

Frédérique Mutel - mutel@jeccomposites.com

Editor-in-chief & Media director:

By

Frédéric Reux - reux@jeccomposites.com

Technical editors:

Aïcha Mikdam - mikdam@jeccomposites.com
Franck Glowacz - glowacz@jeccomposites.com

Frédéric Reux

Editor-in-chief
reux@jeccomposites.com

Contributors:

Marie-Hélène Corbin - corbin@jeccomposites.com
Archal Shah

Deputy-editor & Graphic designer:
Antoine Morel - morel@jeccomposites.com

Graphic designer:

Habib Boufetah - boufetah@jeccomposites.com

Development Director:

Anne-Carole Barbarin - barbarin@jeccomposites.com

Marketing Director:
Sandrine Dumarquez - presse@jeccomposites.com

Technical & Business manager:
Thierry Saint-Martin - saintmartin@jeccomposites.com
Tel: +33 (0)1 58 36 15 73

Technical & Business developer:
Kim-Oanh Truong - kim@jeccomposites.com
Tel: +33 (0)1 58 36 15 74

Mediakit: www.jeccomposites.com/mediakit
Subscriptions:
www.jeccomposites.com/magazine-subscription/

Printing: Chirat, Saint-Just-la-Pendue (42), France
Legal registration: ISSN 1639-965X
Dépôt légal : 2eme trimestre 2018

Photos & illustrations:
All right reserved, unless mentionned.

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Total Average
Qualified Circulation:

46,909 copies
BPA December statement 2017.
Print circulation of 29,033 and
electronic circulation of 17,876

"

Transportation means and infrastructures are the sinews of war, so
to speak. Without transportation,
there can be no viable or sustainable
economic development. In other
words, it is a sector that is everybody's
business: the people in politics,
communities, businesses... in fact, all
participants in the economy. Ground
transportation has a very strong local
impact, helping to move people and
goods from point A to point B with
great flexibility.
In that context, and as a supplement
to our "The Future of Composites in
Transportation" Symposium on June
27-28 in Chicago, Illinois (USA),
our report presents some of the
developments that illustrate trends
in the sector. Composite materials
are everywhere in more or less strong
doses and they are keeping up with
the new mobility developments, in
particular e-mobility. The avalanche of
projects in electrical energy tops them
all, and composites have much to gain
by it. Whether you are talking about
cars, trains, metros, buses, or freight
trucks, reducing weight is a priority,
and that is an area where composite
materials excel. A significant example
is the Proterra electric bus: the body
(made by TPI Composites) is 40%
lighter than a standard steel model. In
this particular case, the result of the
weight reduction is that the vehicle
either has a larger range or requires
N°121 May - June 2018 /

less power. Less weight also means a
higher load capacity, in particular for
the transport of goods. Our report
could also have included electric
truck projects like the Tesla Semi,
the Mercedes eActros and the Einride
T-Pod, which are certain to integrate
composites; or the Seabubbles "flying
water car", as some call this new
means of transportation; the CRRC
Changchun Railway Vehicles carbon
monorail train; or the University of
Huddersfield's carbon bogies. The
list of examples where composites are
essential is practically endless!
And while composites are appreciated
for their structural weight reduction
capability, they also enable greater
design freedom, the integration of addon functions, fewer parts to assemble
and the absence of corrosion, among
other things. Enough to convince
newcomers who are breaking away
from the constraints of the old models.
We can all agree that composite
materials will surely help the
transportation sector, and more
particularly ground transportation, to
negotiate the changes to come. Given
the rise of cars that are self-driving,
ultra-connected or even airborne,
and hydrofoil water taxis , their
conceptual design is going to drive out
the established models. The design
freedom offered by composites will be
a considerable plus in the competition
among all types of materials. So there
is no shortage of advantages!

jec composites magazine

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Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of JEC COMPOSITES MAGAZINE - Issue #121 - May 2018
