CW Blog

CW has toured GE Aviation’s ceramic matrix composite (CMC) parts plant in Asheville, NC and also blogged about CMC future developments. Now GE has released a video walking through the complete process chain, including a few facts not included in our coverage.

I’m sure a lot of you are watching the current edition of the Tour de France bicycle race, as am I. The spectacle of human endeavor, together with the expert commentary (yes, Bobke), makes for great sports drama. A big part of the Tour, of course, involves the competitors’ bicycles, all made with lightweight carbon fiber composites. That said, since 2000 the Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI, Aigle, Switzerland) has imposed the 6.8 kilo rule, requiring that no bike can weigh less than 6.8 kg, or about 15 lbs, to prevent unsafe frames that are too light. Of course, any bike manufacturer can produce a bike of a lower weight through design and good material selection, but the rule stands — in fact, it’s rumored that team mechanics sometimes must add weights to the frames to meet that race weight requirement.  

That put me in mind of the many articles and News items CompositesWorld has published over the years about composite bikes and the design efforts and complex materials that go into them. I’ve compiled a list of most of these, from the oldest to the most recent.

Composite materials and innovations are constantly evolving. In addition to industry news, features, blog posts and podcasts, CW also maintains a comprehensive collection of product announcements provided by companies. This monthly roundup includes links to regular posts concerning the latest products of interest to the composites industry.

This month’s innovations include:

Nearly 200 attendees, including 62 speakers and panelists came together June 26-27 in South Portland, ME, US to gauge the relative force generated by the Northeast wind energy industry, compared to the rest of the country.

Celeste Wanner, an analyst at the American Wind Energy Association (AWEA, Washington, DC, US), kicked off the event with an update of the state of the National industry. In 2016, energy capacity from wind, surpassed hydropower as the number one source of renewable energy. At the end of the first quarter of 2018 AWEA estimated the cumulative capacity of US wind at 89,379 MW. Land-based turbines now generate more than 6% of the nation’s electricity. Bigger, more-efficient units that are capable of drastically cutting costs should continue to fuel growth even after the Production Tax Credit (PTC) expires next year, according to data presented by Wanner.

Today marks the start of the 2018 Farnborough International Airshow, held every two years at the town of Farnborough’s airport, in Hampshire just southwest of London. This year’s event, while it promises to offer the usual awesome aircraft displays — static and flying —and plenty of aerocomposite parts innovations, is being staged among some political and business challenges.