The Composite-Expo 2024 exhibition continues its work!

Today the Fifth Scientific and Practical Conference “Practical aspects of the use of composite materials in various industries” will be held.

Organizers: “VK “Mir-Expo”, “Composite World” Magazine.

Venue: Expocentre Fairgrounds, Pav. 1, Conference room 2, 2nd floor (between towers B and C).

Conference program:

10:30 – 10:40
Greetings to conference participants
Bannikov Vladimir Alekseevich (General Director of VK Mir-Expo)

10.40 – 11.00
Materials for the manufacture of lightweight three-layer panels and structures
Speaker: Vlasenko Fedor Sergeevich Ph.D., Tech. director
LLC "Composite-Izdeliya", Russian Federation, Moscow

11.00 – 11.20
Ensuring technological independence of domestic manufacturers of composite electrical products. Replacement of imported infusion and matrix resins with Etal-Inject and Etal-200TVT compounds
Speakers: Dmitry Anatolyevich Kuchenev (Comm. Director), Tatyana Valentinovna Lapitskaya (General Director, Doctor of Technical Sciences)
JSC ENPC "Epital", Russian Federation, Moscow

11.20 – 11.40
Unique materials and designs from NIIKAM for aerospace and other industries
Speaker: Aristov Vasily Fedorovich (General Director)
"Research Institute of Space and Aviation Materials" LLC / "NIIKAM", Yaroslavl region, Pereslavl-Zalessky

11.40 – 12.00
Practical aspects of the use of new composite materials created using three-dimensional weaving technology in various industries
Speaker: Senchev Ivan Nikolaevich
LLC "CARBONTEKS", RF, Moscow

12.00 – 12.20
Polyester shipping. The use of polyester resins in the manufacture of hulls for river and sea transport
Speaker: Nikita Sergeevich Kotov, Technical Manager. customer support
Attika LLC, Leningrad region

12.20 – 12.40
Creation of large-sized equipment for laying out PCM using additive technologies
Speaker: Matveev Evgeniy Vladimirovich
LLC "F2 INNOVATIONS", RF, Perm

12.40 – 13.00
ITECMA adhesives for the production and repair of PCM products
Speaker: Mikrin Vadim Evgenievich (Deputy General Director)
ITECMA LLC, RF, Moscow

13.00 – 13.20
Experience in the development and application of automated non-destructive testing systems for composite products
Speakers: Ilya Olegovich Kotovshchikov, Ph.D.
Locus LLC, Russian Federation, St. Petersburg

13.20 – 13.40
Development of a composite cluster in the Ulyanovsk region
Speakers: Polina Gennadievna Salyukina, head of investment attraction
JSC "Ulyanovsk Region Development Corporation", Ulyanovsk, Russian Federation

13.40 – 14.00
Domestic engineering software for modeling composite structures, capabilities and examples of industrial projects
Speaker: Bormotov Alexander Sergeevich
Nova-engineering LLC, Russian Federation, Ekaterinburg

14.00 – 14.20
Technical solutions for composite prefabricated structures for Arctic conditions
Speakers: Litvinov Andrey Vladimirovich, Deputy. gene. director for production preparation and implementation of innovative products
JSC NPP ALTIC, Biysk, Altai Territory, Russian Federation

14.20 – 14.40
Manufacturing of high-temperature composite equipment using Composite-Products materials
Speakers: Rubtsov Maxim Aleksandrovich, product manager, Vlasenko Fedor Sergeevich, Ph.D., technical. director
LLC "Composite-Izdeliya", Russian Federation, Moscow

14.40 – 15.00
Development of applications of high-tech polymer materials in Russia
Speaker: Evgeniy Aleksandrovich Stepanov
LLC "SIBUR PolyLab", RF, Moscow

15.00 – 15.20
Preparation of high-temperature composite materials based on silicon carbide and refractory metal disilicides
Speakers: Kaledin A.V., Shikunov S.L., Zubareva Yu.N.
Federal State Budgetary Institution of Science Institute of Solid State Physics named after Yu.A. Osipyan of the Russian Academy of Sciences (IPTT RAS)

15.20 – 15.40
High thermal conductivity polymer composite materials
Speaker: Mikhail Artemovich Garshenin (lead engineer)
LLC "NIAGARA", RF, Moscow

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#CompositeExpo2024 #CompositeExpoExhibition

Today is the final day of the Composite-Expo 2024 Exhibition!

Leading industry companies will be glad to see you at their stands.

🕒 Exhibition opening hours March 28: 10.00 - 16.00

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#CompositeExpo2024 #CompositeExpo #ExhibitionCompositeExpo #composites #compositematerials

Dear exhibitors and visitors!

The official press release on the results of the Sixteenth International Exhibition "Composite-Expo 2024" is posted on the Composite-Expo website and the business program within its framework, held from March 26 to 28 at the Expocentre Fairgrounds, Moscow, Russia.

🔸 Book a stand at Composite-Expo 2025

Dear exhibitors and visitors!

A 📸 Photo report on the 16th International Exhibition "Composite-Expo 2024", held from March 26 to 28 at the Expocentre Fairgrounds, Moscow, Russia, was posted on the "Composite-Expo" website.
500 photos of the exhibition exposition, samples of products and equipment presented at the participants’ stands, as well as active communication between visitors and exhibitors.

🔸 Book your stand at Composite-Expo 2025!

Airbus flies bio-based carbon fiber helicopter nose panel

Proof-of-concept part used bio-based acrylontrile precursor with same performance as conventional CFRP but with significantly less CO2.

As revealed in a recent Airbus (Toulouse, France) article, “Developing biocomposites that are fit to fly,” the aerospace company is introducing bio-derived materials to aircraft production that can remove CO2 from the atmosphere.

Carbon fiber composites are produced from fossil fuels. They can also be made from sustainable organic materials. Airbus reports that it has created an experimental helicopter panel using such “bio-derived” fibers with a production process that starts with capturing atmospheric CO2.

Airbus is committed to leading aerospace’s decarbonization. While this clearly implies reducing the CO2 emissions of its products over their life cycle (Scope 3), any contribution helps, including cutting carbon from production. To that end, Airbus specialists are examining alternatives to fossil fuel-derived carbon fibers that are used to build structural aircraft components, such as fuselage shells or wings.

The aim is to develop, and eventually industrialize, a bio-based carbon fiber with the equivalent performance and safety of today’s petroleum-based composites. Airbus believes this can be achieved by adopting “power to X” technology that converts renewable energy into chemical products including synthetic hydrocarbons. These can then be used to produce bio-fibers — including a bio-based replacement for the petroleum-derived polyacryonitrile (PAN) precursor for carbon fiber. The process requires renewable carbon, which can originate from non-fossil sources such as biomass, or from capturing CO2 directly from the atmosphere.

Airbus researchers have used an acrylonitrile-derived biofiber to manufacture a proof-of-concept composite nose panel for Airbus Helicopters’ H145 PioneerLab. The non-structural nose is a safe test part and small enough to produce quickly and cost effectively. The panel was flight-tested in May 2024 to demonstrate the alternative fiber’s airworthiness and is reportedly as stiff and strong as the conventional part.

The Airbus team used a chemically identical, sustainable alternative to the conventional PAN precursor to produce the bio-based carbon fibers with the same performance level. The alternative acrylonitrile is derived from sustainable International Sustainability & Carbon Certification (ISCC)-certified non-fossil feedstocks such as wood and food waste, recycled cooking oils and/or algae, as well as renewable sources of ammonia and propylene.

Notably, full life cycle analysis (LCA) undertaken by Airbus suggests that producing sustainable acrylonitrile (and other bio-based chemicals and intermediates) generates significantly less CO2 than conventional petroleum-based materials. However, industrializing these new alternatives is still nascent. Scaling up to where corresponding CO2 reductions move the dial will require regulatory commitment and massive capital investment.

For now, the PioneerLab nose panel remains a proof of concept. The challenge for Airbus and other manufacturers is to work with supply chains to make bio-fiber production economically viable, and to ensure it can be ramped up cost effectively to meet accelerating aircraft production.

Bio-materials are just one of many pathways Airbus is pursuing to enable low-carbon aviation and mobility. Still, the less a vehicle weighs, the less it emits. Composites’ proven performance means they will play an important weight-saving role for many more years to come.

#composites #BioMaterials #CarbonFiber #HelicopterNosePanel

Photo: bio-based acrylonitrile was used in this demonstrator carbon fiber-reinforced polymer (CFRP) nose panel flown on the Airbus Helicopter H145 PioneerLab in May 2024. Source | Airbus

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Dear participants and visitors!

The final video report on Composite-Expo 2024 is posted on the official website and Youtube channel of the exhibition.

The Video materials 2024 section also contains exhibitors video interviews.

Stand bookings for 17th Exhibition Composite-Expo 2025 and 16th Exhibition Polyurethanex 2025 are actively underway!

Midnight production aircraft completes full transition flight

This is Archer’s second full-scale eVTOL aircraft to achieve this milestone, critical to being able to carry commercially viable passenger payloads.

At the beginning of June, Archer Aviation Inc.’s (Santa Clara, Calif., U.S.), Midnight electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) aircraft completed transition flying at a speed of 100-plus miles per hour. Archer has now achieved transition with two different full-scale eVTOL aircraft; at ~6,500 pounds, Midnight is believed to be one of the largest eVTOL aircraft to complete transition, which is critical to being able to carry commercially viable passenger payloads.

A transition flight occurs when the aircraft takes off vertically like a helicopter, accelerates forward, transitions from thrust-borne to wing-borne flight like an airplane with tilt propellers forward before decelerating and landing vertically.

Midnight is now the 7th full-scale eVTOL aircraft that Archer’s CTO, Tom Muniz, and chief engineer, Dr. Geoff Bower, have successfully built and flown in their respective careers. Archer’s first-generation full-scale eVTOL aircraft, Maker, successfully achieved transition in November 2022, 11 months after its first flight, and still flies regularly in the company’s flight test program. Midnight, Archer’s production aircraft, has followed his achievement just seven months later.

“Over the seven eVTOL aircraft I’ve built and flown in my career, they have gotten progressively larger as we pursued payloads that made the aircraft platform commercially viable says Bower. “Midnight is believed to be one of the largest eVTOL aircraft ever to achieve transition and one of the first that is purpose-built to carry enough passengers to be able to operate a successful air taxi business.”

Midnight’s flight test program will now continue its progress with plans to fly simulated commercial routes to demonstrate the aircraft’s operational readiness, executing high-rate flight operations, testing additional flight maneuvers that will be used in commercial settings along with continuing to expand its speed and endurance flight envelope.

#composites #BioMaterials #CarbonFiber #HelicopterNosePanel

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Belzona: How to repair and protect hydro equipment with polymeric technology

Given the expected and necessary growth of the hydropower industry over the upcoming decades, it could be argued that polymeric technology has a valuable role to play in supporting this growth. Applications, such as the one identified below, demonstrate how assets that would otherwise be decommissioned or sent to landfill can be given a new lease of life thanks to a combination of epoxy repair composites.

Given the expected and necessary growth of the hydropower industry over the upcoming decades, it could be argued that polymeric technology has a valuable role to play in supporting this growth. Applications, such as the one identified below, demonstrate how assets that would otherwise be decommissioned or sent to landfill can be given a new lease of life thanks to a combination of epoxy repair composites.

Hydropower capacity set to double by 2050

According to the International Energy Agency’s (IEA) Net Zero by 2050 Roadmap [1] (revised version 2021), the hydropower industry needs to be the ”third largest energy source in the electricity mix by 2050” – this involves a doubling of hydropower capacity by this date. This is in order to keep the planet aligned with a net zero by 2050 pathway.

To support this colossal scale-up of hydropower capacity, polymeric technology has an important part to play in terms of its role within hydropower plant maintenance. In order to keep a growing fleet of hydro plants running as efficiently as possible, systems such as epoxy repair composites and high-performance coatings can be deployed to repair and protect damaged assets.

Not only does this technology enable asset owners to make significant financial savings, but this circular economic business model is also extremely beneficial for the planet. It mitigates the carbon footprint that would otherwise be incurred through the process of replacing a damaged asset and sending it to landfill. In turn, by helping asset owners to avoid asset replacement, it could be argued that polymeric technology has an important part to play in supporting the transition to net zero by 2050.

Rebuilding sealing faces of hydro equipment

A common application area where polymeric technology can be deployed in hydropower plants is dam or lock gates. These gates are highly susceptible to substantial erosion at their sealing surfaces. Factors such as pressure, water flow and consistent friction contribute to compromised seals over time. Over the years, authorised Belzona distributor, Protecmo, has conducted a series of applications designed to repair and protect the sealing faces of hydro equipment for the long term.

For rebuilding the damaged substrate, Protecmo specify the 2-part epoxy paste, Belzona 1111 (Super Metal). As this system is specially designed for metal repair and resurfacing, it is perfectly optimised to rebuild damaged metal substrates in dam or lock gates. A solvent-free epoxy resin reinforced with silicon steel alloy, this composite repair material is corrosion-resistant, and also resists a wide range of chemicals. Thanks to its cold-curing properties, this successfully mitigates the need for hot work. The ceramic polymer, Belzona 1311 (Ceramic R-Metal), is also specified for metal rebuilding, but for situations where additional erosion resistance is required.

In order to provide long-term protection to the lock gates, Protecmo specifies the metal repair composite, Belzona 1321 (Ceramic S-Metal). This system provides excellent corrosion-erosion resistance for applications up to 60°C (140°F). This solvent-free epoxy coating also has outstanding chemical resistance and will bond to almost any rigid surface. Belzona 1331 is also used to protect assets against the effects of corrosion-erosion for temperatures up to 50°C (122°F). In addition, as Belzona 1331 can be spray applied, this makes it a practical choice for larger applications.

Polymeric technology supports the transition to net zero

Considering the expected growth of the hydropower industry, it is critical that vital assets are safeguarded against damage and degradation for the long term. Polymeric technology has an important role to play in facilitating this. By repairing and protecting a damaged asset instead of replacing it, epoxy repair composites and high-performance coatings are key drivers in supporting the transition to net zero.

About Protecmo:

From power generation to paper production, steel mills to petrochemical plants, Protecmo, the Belzona exclusive authorised distributor for the South of France, provides epoxy repair composites and high-performance coatings to solve a myriad of maintenance issues. The distributorship provides local, 24-hour technical support and on-site assistance.

#composites #repair #HydropowerPlant

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Autocomposites market is expected to double revenue by 2032

Increase in demand for lightweight vehicles, stringent regulations and a rise in EV adoption are factors that are currently driving growth in automotive composites, according to a recent report.

Allied Market Research (Wilmington, Del., U.S.), a full-service market research and business consulting wing of Allied Analytics LLP (Portland, Ore., U.S.) has published an analysis and forecast report for the 2023-2032 automotive composites market. According to the report, the market was valued at $7.4 billion in 2022, and is estimated to reach $16.4 billion by 2032, growing at a CAGR of 8.3% from 2023 to 2032.

The global automotive composites market is driven by rapid technological advancements. According to Allied Market Research, advances in composites manufacturing technologies — e.g., resin transfer molding (RTM) and automated fiber placement (AFP) — are making them more cost-effective and suitable for mass production. Furthermore, the rise of electric vehicles (EVs) is creating new opportunities for composites, to extend battery range and improve performance.

However, one of the primary restraints still impacting the automotive composite market is the high cost associated with composite materials as compared to traditional metals such as steel and aluminum; the manufacturing processes involved in producing composite materials, including molding, curing and finishing, tend to be more complex and capital-intensive; and, in addition, the cost of raw materials used in composites, such as carbon fibers and resins, remains relatively high. As a result, automakers face challenges in justifying the higher upfront investment required for integrating composites into vehicle structures.

Carbon fiber segment

By fiber type, the carbon fiber segment accounted for the largest share in 2022, contributing to more than two-thirds of the global automotive composites market revenue. Carbon fiber’s lightweight can improve fuel efficiency and overall performance of vehicles, especially in terms of acceleration, handling and braking. Furthermore, stricter emissions standards such as Bharat stage (BS-V and BS-VI) and fuel efficiency requirements are pushing automakers to explore lightweight materials like carbon fiber to reduce vehicle weight and meet regulatory standards; lighter vehicles generally produce fewer emissions and consume less fuel.

Thermosets segment

By resin type, the thermoset segment accounted for the largest share in 2022, contributing to more than half of the global automotive composites market revenue. Thermoset resins offer high strength, stiffness and dimensional stability, which are crucial for automotive applications. These resins provide durability and resistance to heat, chemicals and fatigue, making them suitable for various components in vehicles. Moreover, thermoset composites can be molded into complex shapes, enabling novel designs and integration of multiple functionalities into a single component. This flexibility enables automakers to optimize the design of automotive parts for performance, aesthetics and functionality.

Exterior segment

By application, the exterior segment accounted for the largest share in 2022, contributing to nearly half of the global automotive composites market revenue. Composites’ light weight make them particularly attractive for exterior components where reducing weight is crucial. Additionally, composites can be molded into complex shapes with ease, providing automakers with the to create distinctive exterior designs that not only enhance the vehicle’s aesthetics but also improve aerodynamics.

Asia-Pacific to maintain its dominance by 2032

By region, Asia-Pacific held the highest market share in terms of revenue in 2022, accounting for one-third of the global automotive composites market and is projected to register the highest CAGR of 9.0% during the forecast period. The Asia-Pacific region is a major hub for automotive manufacturing, with countries like China, Japan, South Korea and India leading the production.