UMaine's composites center updates floating turbine deployment efforts
The 1:8 scale floating turbine to be tested off the coast of Maine will use a composite tower on top of a concrete semi-submersible platform.

WTTC opens upsized wind blade test facility
The Wind Technology Testing Center (WTTC, Boston, Mass.) opened its $35 million+ wind blade testing facility on May 18, 2011, the only lab in the U.S. that can test blades up to 90m/295-ft long.

UMaine’s Offshore Wind lab sports 70m/230-ft testing … and more
The Offshore Wind Laboratory’s new wind turbine blade test lab, part of a 38,700-ft² (3,595m²) expansion of the University of Maine’s (UMaine) AEWC Advanced Structures and Composites Center (Orono, Maine), was first announced in February 2009.

UMaine, NRG Systems, AWS Truepower, Leosphere form wind energy R&D partnership
Under the agreement, the University of Maine's Advanced Structures and Composites Center will design and build a laser-based sensing system that will gather data on offshore wind conditions.

The markets: Civil infrastructure (2012)
Aging civil infrastructure is an ever-present issue in both the U.S. and the rest of the world, and it offers a potentially huge market for composite materials. There are, for example, 69,223 structurally deficient highway bridges in the U.S. alone. These numbers have stimulated development of a number of composites-enabled technologies.

Tough resins for aggressive environments
New thermoset systems drive composites deeper into markets where fire, corrosion, stress and fatigue are ever-present threats.

Training surge: Too little, too late?
Hands-on programs are aimed at younger students by educators hoping to prevent shortages of composites technicians and engineers.

Maine report evaluates deepwater wind turbine feasibility
University of Maine and DeepCwind report, funded by the Department of Energy, highlights potential of offshore wind resources near Maine coast and outlines five-phase, 20-year plan for deployment of floating wind farms.

AEWC, DeepCwind to host developer's reception in October
Dr. Habib J. Dagher of the AEWC and DeepCwind, will host two receptions for industry leaders interested in deepwater floating offshore wind opportunities in the Gulf of Maine

Blades? Yes! Towers ... maybe
Although steel dominates the utility-scale wind turbine tower market, height increases, on- and offshore, are shifting the wind toward composites.

Composites 2010 Product Showcase
The ACMA’s Las Vegas exhibition reflected an industry in recovery.

New infusion regime for superthick laminates
 Innovative initiator chemistry yields long flow time, cure on demand and exotherm control for large, thick parts.

The cost equation
Keynote speakers at CompositesWorld Expo 2009 delivered news both sobering and encouraging to those who are trying to predict what the future holds for composites in the postrecession manufacturing economy.

Antiballistics: Composites in the cross hairs
An increasing quantity and variety of fiber/polymer solutions are stopping bullets and blast debris in armored ground vehicles and stationary structures.

CompositesWorld Expo 2009 Product Showcase
 Despite economic gloom, CWE’s second outing attracts innovation-rich exhibitors and a very motivated group of knowledge-hungry showgoers.

Raising the bar on WPC durability
Wood plastic composites weather the recession and questions about their weatherability.

A convergence of market outlooks
At the recent CompositesWorld Expo, held Oct. 28-30 in Schaumburg, Ill.

CompositesWorld Expo 2009 Highlights
Despite a gloomy economy, dozens of exhibitors and a motivated group of knowledge-hungry conference/show attendees brightened CWE’s second outing. 

CompositesWorld Expo 2009: Product Preview
 A pre-show peek at what’s in store for CWE conference attendees and show visitors.

Windpower 2009 highlights
 The show confirmed wind energy’s status as a recession-proof market for composites, but blade manufacturers were put on notice about the need to automate.

UMaine commercializes two hybrid composite/concrete bridge technologies
University unveils inflatable composite "bridge in a backpack" and a hybrid composite-concrete bridge system. Both are being commercialized this year.

The markets: Civil infrastructure (2011)
Despite demonstrable lifecycle-cost advantages, composites continue to meet resistance from civil engineers faced with first-cost restrictions.  In 2009, a promising new strategy that combines composites and conventional materials offered an affordable alternative.

Hybrid composite beams installed ahead of schedule in Illinois bridge
HC Bridge Maine LLC has completed an Illinos bridge that uses high-strength, high-endurance hybrid-composite beams.

Standing Up to Natural Disasters
Composites are answering the call for residential and commercial structures that can weather future "perfect storms."