SAMPE Journal -September/October 2011 - 5

A Note from the Technical Director

SAMPE Journal Technical Editor swbeckwith@aol.com

Dr. Scott W. Beckwith

Materials Technology Areas: Some of the ‘Mostly Untouched Frontier’ Still is Out There Advanced composites and other unique materials combinations that SAMPE as a society addresses have been making only minimal progress in entering market segments on several frontiers of our industry. As a society steeped in “composites”, and especially “advanced composite” materials because of our strong aerospace culture, we often neglect the fact that not everything in those categories consists of “string and glue”. Fiber-reinforced polymer matrix (and metal matrix) advanced composites tend to be SAMPE’s primary areas of concentration, materials in general encompass a much wider applications market in our world of ‘materials and process engineering’. Metal matrix composites, ceramics, new metal alloys, etc. are making strides in a number of of market applications. Consequently, we continue to engage other societies who primarily focus on research in areas where SAMPE’s interests in materials and process engineering exceed just the ‘composites’ areas we know because of our primary membership background. SAMPE has recognized that we are a society whose interest is “advancing materials technology” and not just ‘advanced composites’ technology. We recognize there are industries outside of aerospace that represent fertile ground for growth and educational opportunities. Some markets appear to be riper for growth and are showing signs of utilizing advanced materials technologies and new process engineering methodologies. Automotive is investigating advanced materials to address safety, energy, cosmetic and performance issues. In previous decades, trying to sell the use of either advanced composites or carbon fiber into that industry was met with considerable resistance due to the overall cost of the materials and process against metal structures already in production (steel, aluminum, etc.). And, while it still is met with resistance, the frontier appears to be opening up to advanced composites, ceramics, new metal alloys, and other unique material. “Automotive” has become an areas at recent and upcoming conferences where the materials, process engineering and design/analysis have started to generate considerable interest. There are, however, still a number of ‘untouched or only lightly touched frontiers: wind energy, oil and gas, alternative energy and infrastructure. All of these areas have either not taken full advantage of new materials technology due to lack of education, economic factors, and lack of industry standards. Wind energy is a prime example. Numerous conferences focus on wind energy. In general that focus has been on primarily the regulatory, licensing, governmental and environmental impact areas – not upon materials, design, analysis, testing and process engineering. Wind blades are most often made from traditional FRP (fiber-reinforced plastic) materials and processes. Many of these blades have suffered from inadequate design, materials and/or manufacturing process or process control problems. Repair incidents and new repair technology for damaged wind blades has grown significantly. A number of blades often need repair due to inadequate manufacturing process controls. Others are damaged in transit – as one might expect when blade lengths often reach 40-80 meters and are not exactly easy to transport or install without a small “bump” here and there along the way. Field damage due to lightning strike, unforeseen wind gusts and change in direction, storms while in open ground storage prior to shipment, and other factors, can lead to significant damage. Testing and analysis to extrapolate what is often an order of magnitude greater than aerospace fatigue cycles would see (say even 107 or 108 cycles) can be daunting when heat build-up enters as a test parameter due to the increased frequencies often needed to gain useful data. Wind energy, along with oil and gas, infrastructure, alternative energy are frontiers where materials and process engineering education are needed. SAMPE has the ability to help solve these challenges.

SAMPE Journal, Volume 47, No. 5, September/October 2011

SAMPE Journal -September/October 2011

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of SAMPE Journal -September/October 2011