Loading ...
Graham Harvey started as a structural engineer for Brown and Root. He became interested in composites and joined the marine industry 22 years ago. Looking ahead, he shares his views of the growth, and growing pains, composites have in store.
Graham Harvey started as a structural engineer for Brown and Root. He became interested in composites and joined the marine industry 22 years ago. Looking ahead, he shares his views of the growth, and growing pains, composites have in store.
The newly formed Utility and Communications Structures Working Group (UCS-WG), part of the American Composites Manufacturers Association’s Composites Growth Initiative (CGI), met with the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association (NRECA).
BYK makes additives for composite applications in the construction, transportation, automotive, recreation, and wind energy markets. Applications include wind blades, fiberglass tubs, boat hulls, automotive body panels, and duroskins for fiberglass doors. The additives are designed to improve the processing or air release in spray-up and lay-up manufacturing as well as the casting process...
This week in composites industry news: The Seattle Boat Show took place last week, giving attendees a chance to shop around with 90-minute sailboat rides, free stand up paddleboard lessons and other demos. Seawind Catamarans was named the Australian Marine Exporter of the Year during the Sydney International Boat Show. Florida-based Catalina Yachts launched its new Catalina...
Fiberglass siding has two primary applications. It is used in situations where there is a highly-corrosive environment (such as a fertilizer facility or salt shed) and when building owners want natural light to shine in their facilities. Though there hasn’t been much of a change in general fiber-reinforced plastic (FRP) use, one area where...
The defense industry has been one of the biggest investors in composites over the past few years. While much of the material is used in vehicles and infrastructure to protect lives, an equally-important consideration is the apparel soldiers wear.
When you consider the notion of using fiber-reinforced polymers (FRP) for strengthening and repair of structures, those structures are usually concrete. But North Carolina State University (NCSU) Professor Sami Rizkalla wanted to look beyond that, and apply the technology to steel structures. “The majority of civil infrastructure involves steel, so it makes sense to...
The Formula One (F1) industry is one of the more extensive users of composite materials, as the lightweight nature of composites aids greatly in race teams looking to clock the quickest time. But can F1’s unique composite techniques trickle down to the mainstream automotive industry?
When University of Miami Professor Tony Nanni came up with the idea to groove concrete and drop bars into the grooves for reinforcement, he thought he was the first, but it turns out it had already been discovered in another time and place: post-WWII Sweden.
Gordon Brown is a veteran of the composites industry, having worked at Strongwell, Owens Corning and Hexcel. Now a consultant, he developed the process behind Flexi-StiX, an idea to take extruded PVC tubing and give it structural purposes. Though the product could be used in many potential markets, it is initially being targeted in...
