JEC COMPOSITES MAGAZINE - Issue #56 - April 2010 - 45

COUNTRY GUEST OF HONOR ITALY
Market

Assocompositi members (Fig. 2) reflects the current dynamics of the Italian market, mainly located in the northern and central parts of the country. However, very dynamic SMEs from southern Italy are progressively making their way onto the high-tech application scene, due to both aerospace activities and public financing. These SMEs are playing an increasingly leading role in innovation.

Overview
The aerospace sector is currently leading the way in innovation for the use of carbon-fibre reinforced composites. The Italian public aerospace company Alenia is supplying parts for the new allcomposite commercial airplane Boeing 787 Dreamliner. It is providing two fuselage sections up to 15 m in length and the 11-m long horizontal stabilizers. The parts account for about 14% of the entire structure and are produced in modern plants located in southern Italy. Alenia is using a range of innovative technologies for these parts, some of which have been patented. The finished parts are loaded into the 747 Dreamlifter airplane (Fig. 3) and delivered to the Boeing final assembly line in Seattle. Alenia is also manufacturing composite parts for Airbus and several other military and commercial aircraft manufacturers worldwide using either conventional autoclave curing or innovative AFP and resin infusion processes.

Fig. 4: Door panel produced using the D-LFT process

LFT for the production of long-fibre-reinforced thermoplastics, for example, eliminates the semi-finished product stage, delivering cost-effectiveness and high flexibility to the industrial process (Fig. 4). Italian companies are also leaders in the fabrication of composite profiles and body parts for trains, and top manufacturers of highperformance carbon and ceramic composite brakes. In the building and construction sector, the use of composite materials has been expanding thanks to very active cooperation between national universities and research centres. Such collaborative efforts have led to the publication of a series of technical recommendations for the rehabilitation of existing structures in concrete, masonry, wood and steel using composite materials for both external and internal strengthening. The recommendations for external strengthening, originally published by the National Research Council (CNR) in 2004, were recently incorporated into the National Technical Specifications for Construction, a document issued in 2008 by the Ministry of Infrastructures, which issues national standard procedures for the design and construction of civil structures. This major step has made composite materials available for a large number of different applications in building restoration and consolidation. Composite materials are currently being adopted in the region of L’Aquila which was struck by a devastating earthquake in 2009. Some examples of damaged column and beam strengthening are shown in Fig. 5. The Italian Research Council is currently involved in the drafting of material and application qualification procedures in order to ensure that composite materials are properly selected and used in all practical situations. Finally, the Italian nautical industry has a world-leading position in both pleasure and racing yacht building. Despite the severe financial crisis, causing orders to drop by 30% last year, Italian boat builders are still coming out with very innovative projects. One of the most interesting examples is WHY, an innovative 58 metrelong, 38 metre-wide yacht developed by a joint-venture between Hermès and Wally Yacht. WHY was presented in September 2009

Fig. 3: Central fuselage section of the Boeing 787 being loaded into the Dreamlifter at Grottaglie airport

In the transportation sector, the use of advanced materials is mainly limited to racing cars and motorcycles. All major Italian sport carmakers make widespread use of advanced composites. Several car part makers, located in the automotive districts in northern and central Italy, are also producing all-composite body parts and frames for customers worldwide in both the car and motorcycle industries. Companies are also cooperating with toplevel academic research centres to model the long-term and impact behaviour of composite primary structures. Italian companies in the automotive sector are also developing innovative technologies for the mass production of structural and semi-structural parts made of glass or natural fibres. The use of D-

No56 April 2010 / jec composites magazine

JEC COMPOSITES MAGAZINE - Issue #56 - April 2010

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of JEC COMPOSITES MAGAZINE - Issue #56 - April 2010