Park Electrochemical tradenames composite strut

Park Electrochemical Corp. (Melville, N.Y., USA) on Oct. 10 announced SIGMA STRUT, the new name for its patented composite strut design. A strut is a structural load-carrying element that transfers loads between two points.

The SIGMA STRUT design is said to provide significant weight savings compared to metal struts and other composite struts. The SIGMA STRUT design uses a metal end-fitting, which is co-cured into each end of the strut without the use of adhesives. This technique allows the fittings to carry the full load of the strut body without having to rely on bond areas to carry shear loads as with typical designs.

SIGMA STRUT designs have been qualified for use on programs such as the Kistler Aerospace K-1 launch vehicle, NASA Space Shuttle Orbiters and NASA’s Max Launch Abort System (MLAS) program, which was developed with Northrop Grumman Corp. NASA has also tested the SIGMA STRUT design as part of the Structurally Efficient Tapered Strut (SETS1 and SETS2) programs in an effort to select one design to use across multiple NASA programs. In each of these programs the SIGMA STRUT design was chosen for its ability to meet all of the program requirements while still being the lightest solution available.