OFFICIAL PARTNERSPRESS PARTNERS

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This year, submissions for the Innovati on Awards programme were impressive, both in quanti ty and diversity, and more importantly in quality. The choices that had to be made to reward to best projects were only rendered more diffi cult by the large range of projects presented this year.

Just as last year, a high number of submissions came from the automoti veindustry, thus perfectly illustrati ng the current market trends. Process improvement was also one of the most represented theme, highlighti ng the important of cycle ti me reducti on.

With 13 categories ranging from raw materials to process, to applicati ons in various fi elds such as Aeronauti cs, Automoti ve, Constructi on, Marine and Bett er Living, the winning projects off er a complete overview of the composite value chain, and the many future opportuniti es that are sti ll to be taken in the fi eld of composites.

Digimat-AM is an innovati ve soft ware program fully dedi-cated to modelling the Fused Depositi on Modelling (FDM) and Selecti ve Laser Sintering (SLS) printi ng processes for reinforced materials. The goal of Digimat-AM is to be able to “print right the fi rst ti me” by opti mising the manufacturingprocess quality (minimising the part deformati on, for exa-mple) and by predicti ng the as-printed part performance.

This unique tool being a major step forward for the develop-ment and design of compositeparts by AM, bringing the per-formance and efficiency of 3D-printed parts to the level required for the industry.

Digimat is the only soft ware on the market that will allow end-users and printer OEMs to bring reliability to the print-ed parts, thanks to warpage predicti on, evaluati on of many process parameters by simu-lati on, eliminati ng the cost of the trial & error previously needed to opti mise these pa-rameters. Moreover, as the impact of printi ng directi on can be assessed, the numerical simulati on reduces the need for many mechanical tests down to a few validati ons.SO

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Figure 1 Predicti ng the failure indicator distributi on due to burst pressure of a printer polimotor plenum using Sinterline® material. Courtesy of Solvay Engineering Plasti cs.

E XSTREAM , SOLVAY ENGINEERING PLASTICS

SOLVAY SPECIALITY POLYMERS

Digimat Additi ve Manufacturing

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One of the main concerns of building and infrastructure manufacturers regarding com-posite materials is their ability to withstand environmental degradati on, and in parti cularUV light. To face this issue, Covestro developed the Desmocomp® matrix mate-rial. This polymer is based on aliphati c polyurethane (PU) and presents good weathering and UV resistance to protect the composite from environmen-tal infl uences1, thus makingthe use of UV stabilisers, UV veils and protecti ve coati ngs unnecessary.

To provide a complete soluti onfor exterior applicati ons, compo-sites based on Desmocomp® can also rely on the good mechanical properti es of PU, such as dimensional stability

(low thermal expansion coeffi -cient), thermal insulati on, and good chemical and fi re resis-tance, as well as anti -graffi ti properti es.

Thanks to an innovati ve single-component system, it is easy to process and cost eff ecti ve as no injecti on boxes, meter-mix pumps or additional investments are needed.

Bs1d02: low-fl ammability, low-smoke, no dripping (DIN EN 13823: 2010).RA

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COVESTRO DEUTSCHLAND AG

Desmocomp®, a novel soluti on for composites

This innovati on is the result of a series of innovati ons de-veloped by the Research and Technology Insti tute M2P (IRT M2P) along with its partners. The 10 companies workedtogether to provide the so-luti ons that would make the project a success.

The fully-automated platf ormthat was created is based on C-RTM (compression re-sin transfer moulding) which impregnates the part faster andbetter than RTM and is compatible with reactive thermoplasti c and thermoset resins, making the process fl exible and adaptable to the needs of car manufacturers.

Thanks to an automated environment (loading and unloading) and cutting-edge equipment especially deve-loped for the project, the Fast RTM platf orm can pro-duce large (up to 3 m²), fullynet-shape, functi onalised andstructural composite parts in cycle ti me of 120 seconds. To ensure traceability and qualityof the resulti ng parts, this platf orm is also fully instru-mented with automati c data acquisiti on, process parameter traceability, energy consump-tion measurement systems and on-line non-destructive control systems.

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IRT M2P Partners: ARKEMA , CHOMARAT , COMPOSE , COMPOSITE INTEGRITY BY INSTITUT DE SOUDURE GROUPE COMPOSITE PLATFORM , FAURECIA , HEXION , HUTCHINSON , PINETTE P.E.I. , RENAULT , SISE

Fast RTM

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This innovati on is a fully-auto-mated direct fi bre placement machine, called Voith Roving Applicator (VRA).

The VRA uses untreated rovingand binder powder to gene-rate a net-shaped dry stack. This results in the assembly of a near net-shape preform stack step by step, with local reinforcements or layers that can be placed at any angle in any area.

The main advantage of this manufacturing process is that the resulti ng preform is fullyadapted to the mechanical requirements and loads of the fi nal part, with great fl exibility and fast adaptati on.

This innovati on has a strong goal of reducing producti oncosts. Untreated roving and

binder are used for their cost eff ecti veness, but also becausethanks to the VRA, these raw materials can be processed into a useable preform directlyfrom the fibre in one step – without having to use costly intermediate steps or semi-finished products, and with almost no waste.

VOITH COMPOSITES GMBH & CO KG M

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Voith Roving Applicator

In this process, fi bres are impregnated and drawn to the head of a numerically-controlled machine able to place them in a precise and repeatable manner. Once ex-truded by the printi ng head, the material is irradiated by a dedicated UV lamp to quickly cure the resin.

The choice of focusing on ther-mosetti ng resins with curingti mes shorter than one second makes it possible to place conti nuous fi bres at speeds of about 50 mm/s for now, there-by rapidly generati ng products characterised by signifi cantly higher working temperatures compared to conventi onal thermoplasti c resins.

To opti mise the internal and external shape of the object, +LAB developed a slicing al-gorithm that can predicti vely plan the machine movements to place reinforcing material where the maximum stresses appear in the fi nal object. Fur-thermore, the algorithm can also vary the fi bre/matrix rati oup to 60% in volume, thus diff erent parts with the same shapes can be produced and customised according to their in-service loads.

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+LAB POLITECNICO DI MILANO UNIVERSITY Partners: OWENS CORNING , KUKA ROBOTICS

Smart manufacturing of conti nuous-fi bre composites: Atropos

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The aim of this project is to develop of the near net shape T-RTM (thermoplasti c resin transfer moulding) process for high volume producti on.

This roof structure demons-trator is made of a complex multi -preform part with hybrid texti les and integrated metal inserts, impregnated by a low viscosity polyamide 6 (PA6) by HP-RTM. This low viscosity al-lows bett er impregnati on of the fi bres, a higher fi bre-volume-fracti on, and thus improved mechanical properti es and an overall reduced wall thickness, which reduces material cost.To further reduce cost, the

expensive carbon fi bre was partly replaced by glass fi bre, thanks to in-ply hybridisati onwithin a non-crimp fabric (NCF).As such, a low amount of carbonfi bres is enough to add sti ff nessto the glass fi bre layers. All these opti misati ons lead to a 16% material savings for the roof frame compared to epoxy resin RTM.

FORWARD ENGINEERING GMBH Partners: KRAUSSMAFFEI , ALPEX TECHNOLOGIES GMBH , DIEFFENBACHER , SAERTEX , HENKEL , HANDTMANN , TUM/LCC

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L Process integrateddie-casted onsert (AI)

Process integratedthreaded insert (steel)

Front Pins (steel)Bonded

Adhesive

Roof Frame (T-RTM)Composite structure(PA6-CF/GF)

Roof Outer Shell (S-RTM)Composite Class-A panel (PU-CF)

T-RTM

LG HAUSYS HYUNDAI MOTOR COMPANY

With increasing pressure on automobile manufacturers to reduce the carbon footprint of their vehicles, weight reducti onis becoming a prerequisite.

This innovati on aim to reducethe weight and cost of a roofrack through the use of conti nuous-fi bre thermoplas-ti c (CFT) composite. To achieve this goal, LG Hausys developeda manufacturing process wherethe CFT, made of polypropyleneand glass fi bres, is fi rst pre-formed to the desired shape and then overmoulded to form the ribs that will add rigidity to the rack. In the fi nal step, the formed roof rack is painted using a new sur-face treatment technology.

The advantage of this project is that the technology wasdeveloped for high design freedom, enabling better adaptati on of the rack on the roof. This innovati on reduced the weight of the part by 28%, while maintaining the required performance. The number of parts is also reduced to 1 from 5 in existi ng aluminium roof rack.

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Lightweight One-Piece roof rack

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Traditi onally, ship doors are made of steel or aluminium which is detrimental to weight but also to corrosion resis-tance. Corrosion being a threat and involving huge costs, VABO Composites developed a “plug-and-play” composite ship door and hatches designedto replace existing metal soluti on.

The door and hatches are pro-duced by RTM in a modular moulding system, which allows the producti on of several door dimensions at a lower cost.

The advantages of this innova-

ti ve ship door are obviously the fact that composite materialshave great corrosion resistanceand are lighter than metals – a fully equipped door with dimensions 1800 x 800 mm is less than 45 kg, i.e. approxima-tely 60% weight saved versus the steel version–thus improvingthe balance and fuel effi ciency of ships.

The doors successfully passed fi re resistance tests and have excellent acousti c damping andinsulati on properti es, meaning there is no need to add in-sulation as it is the case for aluminium and steel doors.

VABO COMPOSITES BV Partners: ICO BV , SPIL COMPOSITES

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“Plug-and-play” composite ship door

IHI Corp., together with its partners, developed an inno-vati ve lightweight composite system for fan cases and the fi rst thermoplasti c composite structural guide vane (SGV).

To increase fuel effi ciency inaircraft engines, larger fan cases are required. Using compositesfor the primary structuralfan case and SGV was the route IHI chose to increasethe size without adding weight.IHI managed over 20% weight savings over previous gene-rati on aircraft engines, thus contributi ng to further fuel consumpti on reducti ons.

With this project, it is the fi rst ti me that thermoplasti c com-

posites are selected for primarystructure parts in aircraftengines. The main advantage is that they show low dela-minati on aft er high velocity impact. The thermoset used in the fan case was also deve-loped to show superior impact energy absorpti on against high velocity impact, which is one of the main criteria for both these engine parts.

IHI CORPORATION Partner: IHI AEROSPACE

AERO

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Courtesy of Japanese Aero Engine Corporati on

Fan Case

SVGInnovati ve Composites Fan System for Aero Engine

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When the Pajares high-speed railway tunnels met the pro-blem of conti nuous water infi ltrati on, few of the available soluti ons were able to solve the issue. The innovati ve com-posite panels developed by Acciona proved to be the best soluti on.

From a mechanical point of view, the use of composites made it possible to meet the structural requirements while being thin enough not to change the tunnel’s diameter and being compati ble with catenary systems. The design fl exibility off ered by composites also allowed Acciona to develop a system with leak-proof joints and anchorage system.

The 9.2-metre-long panels were also fl exible enough to adapt to the shape of the tunnel and its irregulariti es.

Finally, the handling and instal-lati on of the panels in the tunnelwere easy and fast thanks to the light weight nature of composite panels.

ACCIONA CONSTRUCCIÓN SA Partners: OWENS CORNING , SCOTT BADER , CELO APOLO CONSTRUCTION SYSTEMS , LUMINDUSTRY , BYK CHEMIE GMBH , NANJING LOYALTY COMPOSITE EQUIPMENT MANUFACTURE CO. LTD. C

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Innovati ve composite panels, an alternati ve to steel and concrete, for high speed railway tunnel constructi on

Whereas the use of compo-sites in bow risers in now quite common, this riser was made uti lising an unconventi onal but stress-adapted design, makingit up to 40% lighter than currentsolutions (carbon or alumi-nium) while also improvingthe mass-specific stiffness byabout 43% compared to a refe-rence riser made of aluminium.

To be able to manufacture an actual part, IPF used the Tailored Fibre Placement (TFP)technology to produce four preforms with a truss-like structure. With this highly ver-sati le technology, IPF managedto demonstrate the capability of a variable-axis composite design. Because current state-of-the-art composite manu-facturing is mainly based on multi -axial design, the realisa-

ti on of a stress-adapted design may be quite hard.

The applicati on of composite materials according to precal-culated variable-axis directi ons can therefore lead to superior part performance, using the anisotropic nature of fi bres in the best possible way, and can help to use far less resources, thus allowing for cost savings.

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LEIBNIZ INSTITUT FÜR POLYMERFORSCHUNG DRESDEN E.V. IPF Partner: HOCHSCHULE FÜR TECHNIK UND WIRTSCHAFT, FACULTY OF DESIGN

Recurve bow riser

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FAURECIA AUTOMOTIVE PERFORMANCE MATERIALS APM

This innovati on focuses on re-ducing environmental impacts throughout the material’s life cycle. Whereas traditional composites make it possible to reduce the CO2 emissions of vehicle during their in-servicelife, bio-sourced compositescan help further reduce thisimpact with the help of non-fossil based resources during both the manufacturing pro-cess and end-of-life disposal.

NAFILite™ combines a micro-cellular foaming process based on injection (with mould-opening technology) with the existi ng NAFILean™ material grade: an injectable and recy-clable material made of 20% hemp fi bres and polypropylene.The NAFILean™ compound with 20% renewable content is injected with some additi ves

in a closed mould. The mould is then slightly opened to accommodate the material’s expansion (due to CO2 release).

This resulti ng foam is 30% lighter than the current market reference for injected structu-ral parts used in automoti ve interiors. The combinati on of weight savings, renewable na-tural fi bres and a recyclable thermoplasti c material reduces its environmental impact by up to 30%.

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NAFILite™, a microcellular foamed material reinforced with natural fi bers for automoti ve weight saving improvement

BRØDRENE AA , SAERTEX GMBH & CO KG DIAB GROUP , REICHHOLD

When Brødrene AA was com-missioned to develop a ship for use on tourist excursions in the UNESCO World Heritage-listed fj ord of Nærøyfj ord, it faces the challenge of com-bining mass tourism and the need to preserve the environ-ment with an impact as low as possible.

The only soluti on that provi-ded the required sti ff ness to realise the designers’ intenti on was carbon fi bre reinforced polymers and carbon sandwichmaterials. All of the ship’s struc-tural elements are made out of carbon sandwich laminates (decks, walls, stairs, ceilings…), including the 42-metre-longand 5-metre-high hulls of the catamaran structure which are done in a one-shot vacuum in-fusion process.

The low weight of the sand-wich laminates also enabled the ship to be propelled by electric motors with lower power, making it clean and silent. In this project, the use of composite materials was mandatory to be able to pro-vide the required design while making the ship environmen-tally friendly in the process as well.

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Vision of the Fjords, Ship of the Year 2016 in Norway

LUXINNOVATION GIE 5, avenue des Hauts-Fourneaux L-4362 Esch-sur-AlzettePhone (+352) 43 62 63 - 1 Fax (+352) 43 81 20 info@luxinnovation.lu www.luxinnovation.lu

Composite materials companies thrive in Luxembourg: global tier 1 suppliers who work alongside niche specialists boast outstanding skills in both complex and structural composites as well as composites tooling materials.

The new National Composite Centre – Luxembourg (NCC-L) adds to the competitiveness of the sector, while Luxembourg is positioning itself as an international centre of excellence in composites technology.