Harvard Engineers Use New Resin Inks and 3D Printing to Construct Lightweight Cellular Composites
In wind farms across North America and Europe, sleek turbines equipped with state-of-the-art technology convert wind energy into electric power. But tucked inside the blades of these feats of modern engineering is a decidedly low-tech core material: balsa wood.
Like other manufactured products that use sandwich panel construction to achieve a combination of light weight and strength, turbine blades contain carefully arrayed strips of balsa wood from Ecuador, which provides 95 percent of the world’s supply.
For centuries, the fast-growing balsa tree has been prized for its light weight and stiffness relative to density. But balsa wood is expensive and natural variations in the grain can be an impediment to achieving the increasingly precise performance requirements of turbine blades and other sophisticated applications.
As turbine makers produce ever-larger blades—the longest now measure 75 meters, almost matching the wingspan of an Airbus A380 jetliner—they must be engineered to operate virtually maintenance-free for decades. In order to meet more demanding specifications for precision, weight, and quality consistency, manufacturers are searching for new sandwich construction material options.
Read more . . .
The Latest on: Lightweight Cellular Composites
[google_news title=”” keyword=”Lightweight Cellular Composites” num_posts=”10″ blurb_length=”0″ show_thumb=”left”]
via Google News
The Latest on: Lightweight Cellular Composites
- 'Nano stitches' enable lighter and tougher composite materialson April 16, 2024 at 8:12 am
To save on fuel and reduce aircraft emissions, engineers are looking to build lighter, stronger airplanes out of advanced composites. These engineered materials are made from high-performance fibers ...
- Lightweighting the Future: Carbon Fiber Composites Market to Reach US$ 39 Billion by 2033on April 16, 2024 at 3:10 am
The global carbon fiber composites market is projected to reach US$ 39,412.1 million by 2033, capturing a significant CAGR of 6.5% during the forecast period. Continuous developments in advanced ...
- Dr. Eduardo Soares, Director of Innovation and Product Management and member of the executive board, Amorim Cork Compositeon April 15, 2024 at 12:06 am
Dr. Eduardo Soares is the director of Innovation and Product Management at Amorim Cork Composite, where he is also a member of the executive board. He leads a team developing cork-based composite ...
- Expert survivalists recommend stocking up on these emergency kitson April 2, 2024 at 12:05 pm
Everything comes in a lightweight and compact Molly pouch ... However, mobile phones or cellular use might not be available during an emergency. Survivalists tend to advise people to consider ...
- Glass Fiber in Global Automotive Composites Poised for Growth with Increasing Demand for Lightweight Vehicleson March 27, 2024 at 10:14 am
This is attributed to the increasing demand for lightweight composite parts. The short fiber thermoplastic (SFT) material segment is expected to remain the largest over the forecasted period ...
- 4 things to consider for sustainable composites manufacturingon March 26, 2024 at 5:00 pm
The composites industry’s focus on sustainability is not new. What is new is the demand from customers of the composites industry — particularly OEMs — that their supply chains develop and implement ...
- What Is the Nasdaq Composite Index?on March 26, 2024 at 2:47 am
Nasdaq Composite Index: It represents Nasdaq-listed stocks, providing a snapshot of the tech-heavy market. Index Composition: Nasdaq's top-heavy nature with its tech giants significantly ...
- Nasdaq composite today: The index climbs to all-time highson March 21, 2024 at 4:26 am
The Nasdaq composite has historically had a high correlation with the S&P 500. The two indices even share common components, including Apple, Microsoft and Alphabet. Like the S&P 500, the Nasdaq ...
via Bing News