JEC COMPOSITES MAGAZINE - Issue #79 - March 2013 - 40

Turkey: country guest of honor

The capacity of the firms producing for this application field is also
increasing.

Wind blades produced by Aero company

an initial stage, prototype trials
of composite materials are giving
positive results. It is likely that in the
near future, composites will replace
steel as reinforcement in hospital
construction, especially because
steel blocks electromagnetic signals.
A 20% growth is anticipated in this
area. Construction reinforcement is
a developing market, especially for
countries in seismic zones. Common
reinforcement applications are available for new building designs, for historical buildings and for rehabilitating old buildings against earthquake
risks, and for critical infrastructure
such as bridges, tunnels, airports and
hospitals. Woven and technical glassand carbon-fibre textiles, and the
composite structural profiles made of
these materials are being used more
commonly.

Of these, wind energy accounts for a
large share, and Turkey is in the lead
in Europe among countries with the
highest wind potential. The key elements of a wind turbine are the rotor
blades and the generator that produces the power.

Wind energy
The energy crisis, starting in the 21st
century with the depletion of fossilfuel and especially oil resources, has
placed clean, renewable energy on the
agenda. Renewable energy sources
include solar, geothermal, hydrogen,
biomass, hydroelectric, wave and wind
energy.

Wind energy should register growth
of up to 18-20% in the near future, as
it is being counted on to relieve the
energy bottleneck in Turkey.

Wind turbine blades are made of composites with high mechanical strength.
Epoxy, which is least affected by environmental impacts, is used as a matrix
and carbon, aramid and glass fibres
are used to ensure fatigue strength.
Due to its performance and advantageous price, glass fibre is particularly
sought after. However, the demand
for carbon fibre to strengthen the
blades is gradually increasing as blade
lengths are extended from 40 metres
to 65 metres in response to increases
in turbine capacities.

PPRC heating pipes
The demand for composite heating
pipes used in gas-fired combination
boiler systems is growing significantly.

40 jec composites magazine / No79 March 2013

Engineering plastics
Thermoplastic resins, especially when
reinforced with fibres, offer unique
advantages for composite products.
Designers are focusing on the properties of thermoplastic composites to increase product performance and lower
production costs. Thermoplastic resins are structurally robust and exhibit
extraordinary impact resistance. They
reach their maximum hardness when
cooled. Due to these features, they
can contribute to reduce the cost of
parts. Thermoplastics are recyclable
and applications for them are developing rapidly, especially in the automotive market. Reinforced thermoplastics account for 36% in value and 38%
in volume of the world’s composite
production. In Turkey, this rate is still
around 10%, so the country has room
to develop in thermoplastics.
Maritime
This is a dynamic sector in Europe.
Asian boat manufacturers are establishing partnerships with their
European counterparts, and they
are playing a greater role in Europe’s
boat industry. The number of boat
manufacturers producing large boats
is gradually increasing, and they are
now manufacturing boats longer than
30m. In parallel with this development, there is also some movement in
Turkey.
Car roof applications
Due to the advantages of glass mat
reinforced thermoplastics (GMT), car
roof applications for them are growing
faster than for polyurethane. n
More information:
www.kompozit.org.tr
First picture is courtesy
of SUBOR Boru Sanayi A.S.

http://www.kompozit.org.tr

JEC COMPOSITES MAGAZINE - Issue #79 - March 2013

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of JEC COMPOSITES MAGAZINE - Issue #79 - March 2013