Foam core system for wind blades

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Excerpt: The Compaxx 700 foam core for wind turbine blades is the first in a line of new core materials that will help manufacturers extend blade life with high performance sandwich composites. The materials come from Dow Formulated Systems, a business unit of The Dow Chemical Co. Sandwich-panel fatig …

Lightest weight carbon noncrimp fabric ever

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Excerpt: The lightest weight, double-bias-carbon fabric is now available. The C-BX 0300 (100 gsm) is the newest product in the VectorUltra line of reinforcements . “For the first time, we have a product that is lightweight and offers better mechanical properties than traditional 1K woven carbon fabrics,” …

Material manufacturer receives DOE award for low-cost carbon fiber

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Excerpt: Zoltek Companies Inc. was notified by the U.S. Department of Energy / National Energy Technology Laboratory that it has been selected for negotiations leading to a $3.7 million financial assistance award for its application “Development and Commercialization of a Novel Low Cost Carbon Fiber”. Th …

High-strength alloy achieves specification

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Excerpt: SAE International has issued Aerospace Material Specification 6516 for Ferrium M54, an ultra-high-strength, high-toughness steel that is also highly resistant to stress corrosion cracking. The material covers the procurement of bars, forgings, and forging stock of M54 as a double-vacuum-melted ( …

Bummer: China slows PM materials so OEMs looking elsewhere

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Excerpt: Here’s a fly in the direct-drive ointment. China has been the world’s largest supplier of rare-earth materials, those used in high flux permanent magnets needed for direct-drive generators. The nation recently curbed production of the materials, most likely for its own use. China had supplie …

DOE picks 6 projects for R&D funding

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Excerpt: U.S. Energy Secretary Steven Chu says six projects have been selected to receive nearly $7.5 million over two years to advance next-generation designs for wind turbine drivetrains. These R&D projects will focus on reducing the cost of wind energy by increasing component reliability or redesi …

What Works in Aerospace Can Work in Wind

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Excerpt: What do the areospace and wind industries have in common? They both depend on high-performance steel. Illinois-based QuesTek Innovations LLC (www.questek.com) has developed two types of gear steels that are already commercially available and in use in aerospace applications, but are suitable for …

800A plasma cuts thick stainless steel and aluminum

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Excerpt: The HyPerformance HPR800XD can pierce 3 in. (75mm) and sever 6.25-in. (160mm) thick metal and just as easily cuts thin metal—including gauge—without the need to switch torches. The HPR800XD system’s thick piercing capability is attributed to PowerPierce, patent-pending technology that elim …

Instant grout seals transformer enclosures

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Excerpt: The recent InstaGrout Barrier seals transformer pad, J box, and switchgear base openings simple. The material helps prevent outages and service disruptions by creating a resilient and impermeable barrier that keeps out moisture and stops rodents, snakes, and insects such as wasps, spiders, and fire …

Rare-earth oxides facility opens in U.S.

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Excerpt:   Molycorp Inc. just announced that it has secured the final funds necessary for the capital build-out of its estimated $781 million expansion and modernization project at its flagship rare-earth oxides facility at Mountain Pass, California. The first phase of its mining project is expected …