COMPOSITES EUROPE 2012 Blog

When I first met Arwed on our Composites Show in Stuttgart 2007 we had some nice chat about his new developments about car rims made of carbon.

A few weeks ago we met each other again and he told me that development went well but he had some challenges regarding german law for using rims on
german streets. Although there are no thermal problems by heating the discs i.e. government gave him note that these kind of rims are not desired. Read Full Post

Technical principles, trends and innovations – in an international lecture forum, the COMPOSITES EUROPE trade fair will again present specialist lectures on current topics relevant to the industry in 2009. The COMPOSITES Forum will focus on all areas of composite applications. Topics range from crash-safe materials in the automotive field to sandwich panels in aircraft construction, from growth potential in the construction of wind energy parks to production and machining processes for composites. The programme features a total of 26 lectures and presentations in English and German.

From damage simulation to serial production
New technologies for the serial production of carbon-reinforced plastics (CRP) will be demonstrated by the IKV - Institut für Kunststoffverarbeitung of RWTH Aachen. The IKV scientists developed three new process chains enabling the production of materials with a fibre content exceeding 50 percent in less than ten minutes.

The mechanical behaviour of CRP sandwich panels in practical tests is explained by the speakers from Fraunhofer IWM for CRP foam core sandwich panels. In its lecture, the Fraunhofer Entwicklungszentrum für Röntgentechnik (EZRT) presents non-invasive test procedures, from 3D computer tomography to radioscopy to thermography and ultrasonic techniques.

Dassault Systemes Simulia provides information on possibilities for FEM analysis of lightweight fibre composite structures. The use of the finite element method allows predictions on processes of damage and failure in supercritical load conditions.

The combination of highly elastic composites and aesthetically pleasing design is demonstrated by Huntsman and D3 who cooperated closely in designing a sophisticated carbon fibre chair moulded in four parts. Products from Huntsman’s Araldite series were used in the project. The two companies show how complex parts can be produced simply and cost-effectively using simple tooling technology.

The COMPOSITES Forum is located in Hall 4 and designed as an open lecture area. Admission is free for all trade fair visitors.

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Only one more year to go: For 200,000 dollars well-heeled flight enthusiasts will then be able to fly with SpaceShipTwo to a height of 110 kilometres (68 miles) above the surface of the earth, where space begins. The idea for this so-called space tourism came from Richard Branson, the British billionaire, entrepreneur and founder of the Virgin record label. The specially established company Virgin Galactic (VG) is to implement his concept.

Branson is building the first private spaceport for space tourists in New Mexico, and is investing several hundred million euros in this. It is said that several tens of thousands of would-be space tourists have already applied for a flight with SpaceShipTwo. These suborbital spaceplanes are being developed by Scaled Composites, which had already produced the previous model SpaceShipOne, with which it won a renowned competition.

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