Public Funding for Materials Engineering Research Laboratory Limited

Awaiting Public Project Summary

Cables need to cross rail lines at regular intervals as part of the signalling system & must be electrically isolating. There are major disadvantages with the current methods of cable crossings which cause significant disruption when they fail & are expensive to install. Futhermore, urban rail systems can generate unwanted noise and this is often due to the use of concrete or steel sleepers. This project will deliver a range of unique, reinforced thermoplastic sleepers to address the practical issues of cable management & emission of sound to the environment and will demonstrate their performance in field trials with London Underground and Moorland & City Railways. This project addresses aspects of cost, carbon, capacity & customer satisfaction for the rail infrastructure. The project is a partnership of MERL Ltd, Oxford Plastic Systems Ltd and Testsure Technology Ltd with the TSB.

One of the barriers for high volume, rapid composite manufacture is the threat of damage. This is particularly an issue for pipes that are made in long lengths that cannot be easily joined if a damaged zone is found part-way along the length. This project aims to develop suitable equipment and methodology to continuously assess the quality of the composite pipe as it is manufactured using recently developed rapid scan, phased array ultrasonics. An ‘effect of defects’ study will be carried out that will allow the NDT information to be evaluated into a go/no-go decision. The project will also develop a tool and a methodology of repairing the composite during the manufacturing stage of the pipe such that the whole length does not have to be scrapped.

The NDT2DT project aims to develop software tools to bring together two state of the art technologies for composite material structures. In the recent years, significant advances have been made in rapid, phased array ultrasonic and X-ray tomography for 3D volumetric mapping of internal damage of composites. In parallel, the modelling techniques to assess damage tolerance (DT) are rapidly being implemented in finite element analysis (FEA) codes. This project is to join these two technologies together so that the non-destructive testing (NDT) inspection method will rapidly give a qualitative decision to the operator of the composite material asset being inspected. The proposed techniques can apply to quality control (manufacturing), maintenance or in-service inspections. Currently, the inspection methods used may detect damage but any assessment relies on the engineering judgement of the asset owner. The main objective of this project is to develop software tools that will enable the transfer of NDT information obtained on composite material structures directly into the FEA code for subsequent failure analysis.

Awaiting Public Project Summary

TSB BMAX PROJECT INFORMATION The project number Project number 100853 TP number 583-12206 The project title Tidal Turbine Blades – Maximising Reliability & Performance & reducing cost. (BMAX) The project description This application addresses Strand 1 development of second generation existing devices Aviation Enterprises Ltd (AEL) is acknowledged in the industry a key part of the supply chain for tidal turbine (TT) blades, and seeks to consolidate the technology by continued development of systems and materials. AEL has almost completed a comprehensive materials R&D programme under the Carbon Trust, and development of a more fatigue resistant resin under the TSB NEW-MMEETT programme, and has now developed and patented an innovative concept in root attachment systems. This consortium, which is based on the TSB NEW-MMEETT group seeks to build on this work to improve reliability further as well as improving performance and reducing costs in advance of the expected upturn in demand for blades in 2014. The main opportunities going forward, to be addressed are; 1.Further testing of the spar root concept to increase confidence & understanding of this structure, enabling slimmer versions to be developed to improve rotor performance. 2.The new resin developed by ACG under NEW-MMEETT needs to be taken into use and tested at high level, ideally in a spar root assembly and ACG have ideas for a new approach entirely that, in the longer term may provide significant cost savings 3. Better adhesive technology – improved adhesives with particular attention to fatigue performance and durability will be needed as we develop more efficient root joints. 4. To further develop the composite fatigue prediction software being developed by Bristol University The project participants Aviation Enterprises Ltd Wessex Resins & Adhesives Ltd. Materials Research Laboratory Ltd Umeco Ltd (Was Advanced Composites Group Ltd) University of Bristol The amount of grant offered to each participant. Aviation Enterprises Ltd £117140 Wessex Resins & Adhesives Ltd. £ 45322 Materials Research Laboratory Ltd £ 121524 Umeco Ltd (Was Advanced Composites Group Ltd) £149000 University of Bristol £120000

Awaiting Public Summary

The objective of this project is to develop a novel, low cost, high pressure (350-700bar) gaseous hydrogen storage vessel for the automotive and industrial markets. This tank aims to offer significantly improved fatigue performance than current solutions with the added benefit of being fully recyclable at the end of life. This step change in performance will be achieved by the development of monolithic thermoplastic composite pressure tanks. The project will research and develop new formulations of low cost engineering thermoplastic polymers and co-polymers that have excellent hydrogen barrier properties, are low density (resulting in a lighter weight structure) and are inherently recyclable so the product can be broken down and re-used at the end of its service. Working prototypes will be built and tested to: a) determine the enhanced durability capabilities of the monolithic vessel; b) test the prototype to current hydrogen storage standards; c) conduct a comprehensive life cycle and techno-economic analysis.

Awaiting Public Summary

Awaiting Public Summary

Curon is a new structural composite material that is UV cured and will last longer than conventional composites under fire and high temperature conditions. The material is currently used in roofing application; it was formulated for military applications and as a result has ultra high fire and temperature performance AND mechanical strength. Three key industrial areas have been identified for this project: The moulding of passenger seats, floors, doors, ceilings for public transport applications, the use in marine walls, floors, doors, ceilings and modules and the use in repair of steel piping in the processing and oil and gas industries. While 3 diverse applications, all have strict (fire) performance specifications. This material is still in its infancy for use in these high-end applications and a focused R&D programme is required through to prototype validation.

Awaiting Public Summary

Awaiting Public Summary