US Advanced Manufacturing initiative opens R&D institute on fiber-reinforced composites
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US Advanced Manufacturing initiative opens R&D institute on fiber-reinforced composites
based at Michigan State University; the Compressed Gas Storage Application Center will be led by the University of Dayton Research Institute in Ohio; and the Wind Turbine Application Center will be led by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory in Colorado. There www.iacmi.org will be two enabling technology centers: the Composites Virtual Factory HUB at omposites that combine polymer produce and recycle composites so that Purdue University, which will create tools resins with reinforcing carbon or they can be widely used by the automobile to model and simulate the manufacturglass fibers are lighter and stronger than and renewable energy industries. There ing phenomena under development at the steel. They impart strength and stiffness to will also be a push to develop new kinds other IACMI centers; and the Materials aircraft, satellites, military vehicles, and of composites and novel applications. and Processing Enabling Technology luxury cars without adding bulk. “Composites have been around for Center at the University of Tennessee. These fiber-reinforced composites decades,” said Craig Blue, Director of These five centers, along with the could also help create the next generathe Advanced Manufacturing Office University of Kentucky and ORNL, are tion of lightweight energy-efficient vehiat the Oak Ridge National Laboratory the IACMI’s seven core partners. The inicles, larger wind turbines that produce (ORNL) and CEO of the Institute. “The tiative also involves a 122-member conmore energy, and resilient compressed primary user has been aerospace. One sortium of other universities and national gas storage tanks for vehicles that run major impediment to the prolific usage laboratories, as well as industry leaders on natural gas or hydrogen. But comof composites is their cost and the energy including BASF, Dow Chemical, Honda, posites are expensive, energy-intensive intensity of the materials.” and Boeing. These partners will provide to manufacture, and difficult to recycle. The IACMI’s stated goals are to lower $189 million in funding, with another $70 To overcome these barriers, the US the cost of carbon-fiber-reinforced polymers million from the US Department of Energy federal government launched the Institute by 25%, reduce the energy used in manu(DOE) Advanced Manufacturing Office. for Advanced Composites Manufacturing facturing of such composites by 50%, and Blue said that one of the government’s Innovation (IACMI) in January. The fiveto increase the recyclability to 80%. primary reasons for launching the initiayear, $259 million initiative led by the Five major research centers will tive is to be able to meet the latest corUniversity of Tennessee, Knoxville, will be launched under the IACMI, four porate average fuel economy standards, drive innovation in advanced composite of those based in Midwestern states which require cars to have fuel efficiencies materials, manufacturing, and recycling. where nearly 70% of the US aut
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