JEC COMPOSITES MAGAZINE - Issue #148 - November/December 2022 - 43

Supporting the demanding needs of the UAM market
About Solvay
Founded in 1863, Solvay is a science company whose
technologies bring benefits to many aspects of daily life.
With more than 24,100 employees in 64 countries, it bonds
people, ideas and elements to reinvent progress. The Group
seeks to create sustainable shared value for all, notably
through its Solvay One Planet plan crafted around three
pillars: protecting the climate, preserving resources and
fostering better life. Its innovative solutions contribute to
safer, cleaner, and more sustainable products found in
homes, food and consumer goods, planes, cars, batteries,
smart devices, healthcare applications, water and air purification
systems.
and specialises in virtual engineering
for design and process
simulation, material
Novel material processing at Solvay Application Center
Th is can take time and can
be costly. In an eff ort to
reduce the overall material
qualifi cation eff ort, Solvay has
qualifi ed a range of products
to the centralised NCAMP
database, which are accessible
to the entire industry.
Th is is a route to achieving
FAA certifi cation in a quicker
and cheaper manner than
with a typical qualifi cation
approach.
Th e NCAMP databases include
accompanying material
and process specifi cations.
Th is can be extremely benefi cial
for many of the UAM OEMs
who have very aggressive
timeframes for certifi cation
and entry into service (EIS).
Additionally,
the
company's
prepreg materials have complimentary
design data to support
initial stress analyses for fast
and effi cient implementation.
Th rough its long legacy in aerospace
qualifi cation, Solvay's
world-class engineers are well
positioned to support its urban
air mobility partners' journey
to full vehicle certifi cation.
An application
engineering approach
Th e impressive UAM build rate
projections are set to exceed
current
commercial
aviation
volumes. For this reason, a
strong focus on material selection
for aerospace quality and
high throughput is important
to ensure a smooth transition
to full-rate, robust industrialisation
processes.
market
that will accelerate the
testing
Solvay
has a proven design-for-manufacturing
philosophy that
was born from its application
engineering culture and brings
its knowledge and experience
of high-rate manufacturing
and cost focus from working
in the automotive sector.
With two state-of-the-art application
centres, the company
has the ability to validate and
demonstrate high-rate composite
manufacturing processes
in-house to ensure the right
materials and processes are
selected for a given structure,
before they are implemented
in production.
Th e centres are utilised with
its industry partners for
customer
co-innovation.
collaboration
Th is
and
enables
Solvay to tailor its materials'
behaviour to be compatible
with industrial processes.
Its Materials Science Applications
Centre (MSAC) in
Brussels, Belgium, is focused
on thermoplastic
and characterisation, as well
as material processing, prototyping,
and advanced mechanical
testing. Th e centre is
equipped with state-of-the-art
apparatus, with capabilities for
thermoplastic pick-and-place,
compression moulding, and
overmoulding, all focused at
supporting digital automated
processing. Solvay's Th ermoset
Applications Centre is situated
in Derbyshire, UK and serves
its global customer base. Th e
centre specialises in virtual
engineering for tool design as
well as high-speed deposition,
forming, and rapid curing processes.
Th e centre also houses
a fully-automated manufacturing
line capable of converting
a roll of prepreg into a cured
part in minutes without human
intervention, demonstrating
the art of the possible.
technology
Sustainable solutions for
true zero-emission fl ight
UAM off ers huge potential to
make zero-emission air travel
a reality and Solvay is hugely
energized to play a key role
in the value chain. Th anks to
continuing innovation and
technological advancements,
there is no limit to where the
future of transportation and
aviation can go. Urban air mobility
is an emerging aerospace
global transition to sustainable
on-demand, passenger and
cargo air transportation. With
improved accessibility to
remote locations and more
effi cient metropolitan transportation
options, urban air
mobility is the next generation
of environmentally-friendly,
effi cient air transportation.
Th e company believes that
fi nding solutions to humanity's
biggest challenges requires
scientifi c breakthroughs that
protect its heritage for the
generations to come. Zeroemission
transport is a critical
part of achieving these goals
and through several of Solvay's
initiatives, including increasing
material use effi ciency,
research into bio-sourced
feedstock, materials recycling
and reuse (circular economy),
and use of sustainable energy
sources to manufacture materials,
this is starting to become
a reality.
Solvay is a member of the
Ellen MacArthur Foundation
and works with peers, customers
and industry partners
to rethink collaboratively the
way materials and products are
made and used.
More information:
www.solvay.com
N°148 November - December 2022 / jec composites magazine
43
http://www.solvay.com
JEC COMPOSITES MAGAZINE - Issue #148 - November/December 2022

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