- Email: [email protected]
Composite craft reaches space
applications
Tram cars feature sandwich composites THE FRONT-ends of tram cars manufactured by Covia will use ROHACELL® 51 S foam core material supplied by Röhm Performance Plastics. The cars are part of the Houston, Texas, USA, electricpowered light rail system managed by Siemens Transportation Systems Group. Covia, based in Fredericia, Denmark, produced the tram cars for Siemens. Rohacell 51 S is a closed-cell rigid foam made of polymethacrylimide (PMI) and can be used in composite sandwich constructions for rail, ship and aerospace applications. Covia manufactured the tram components using Rohacell via
a vacuum assisted resin infusion process. Röhm says that a PMI foam core gives a significantly lower surface resin absorption compared to, for example, cross-linked polyvinyl chloride (PVC) foam cores, because of its 100% closed-cell structure. It has a curing temperature up to 130°C and a curing pressure up to 0.35 MPa (50 psi). Röhm claims that in comparison to other foams Rohacell S offers the best ratio of weight and mechanical properties as well as highest heat resistance. It also has outstanding mechanical and thermal properties. Rohacell S is resistant to organic solvents such as benzene, xylene and
The tram coaches are for a light rail system in Houston, Texas.
monostyrene as well as solvents for paints and adhesives, fuel constituents and most technical solvents.
Röhm Performance Plastics; email: [email protected]; website: www.performance-plastics.de or www.rohacell.com.
Composite craft reaches space
The White Knight turbojet aircraft climbs over the Mojave desert with SpaceShipOne attached underneath.
THE FIRST privately-built craft to be launched into space has components made of carbon composites. On 21 June, SpaceShipOne, manufactured by California, USA-based Scaled Composites, successfully made a one-man trip into space. Scaled Composite vice president Mike Melvill piloted the spacecraft up to a height of 100 km – the highest altitude ever reached by a non-government-financed
6
REINFORCEDplastics
craft. At this height, a state close to weightlessness occurs and the pilot can see the blackness of space and the blue line of the atmosphere above the curved surface of the earth. Scaled Composites’ concept of building a craft to fly into space dates back to April 1996 and the full development programme began in May 2001. The entire project cost less than US$40 million – much less than
July/August 2004
a government-sponsored programme, says Scaled Composites. $20 million came from Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen, also founder and chairman of Vulcan Inc, which developed some of the motor technology of the craft. According to Scaled Composites, many exterior and interior parts of SpaceShipOne are made with fibre reinforced plastic (FRP), including LTM ™45EL prepreg supplied by Advanced Composites Group. The fuselage and wing skin is mostly made of carbon fibre reinforced epoxy with a Nomex honeycomb core. In the interior, the nitrous oxidizer tank and fuel casing (the largest components of the hybrid motor) are made of composites and designed by Scaled Composites. The tank has a composite liner and the fuel casing is fabricated using a high-temperature composite insulator with a graphite and epoxy structure.
SpaceShipOne at a height of above 61 km.
After this one-man attempt, the company will aim to qualify for the $10 million Ansari X-Prize. This prize is on offer to the first privately funded vehicle to fly three people into space and repeat that flight within 14 days. Scaled Composites; website: www.scaled.com.
Tram cars feature sandwich composites THE FRONT-ends of tram cars manufactured by Covia will use ROHACELL® 51 S foam core material supplied by Röhm Performance Plastics. The cars are part of the Houston, Texas, USA, electricpowered light rail system managed by Siemens Transportation Systems Group. Covia, based in Fredericia, Denmark, produced the tram cars for Siemens. Rohacell 51 S is a closed-cell rigid foam made of polymethacrylimide (PMI) and can be used in composite sandwich constructions for rail, ship and aerospace applications. Covia manufactured the tram components using Rohacell via
a vacuum assisted resin infusion process. Röhm says that a PMI foam core gives a significantly lower surface resin absorption compared to, for example, cross-linked polyvinyl chloride (PVC) foam cores, because of its 100% closed-cell structure. It has a curing temperature up to 130°C and a curing pressure up to 0.35 MPa (50 psi). Röhm claims that in comparison to other foams Rohacell S offers the best ratio of weight and mechanical properties as well as highest heat resistance. It also has outstanding mechanical and thermal properties. Rohacell S is resistant to organic solvents such as benzene, xylene and
The tram coaches are for a light rail system in Houston, Texas.
monostyrene as well as solvents for paints and adhesives, fuel constituents and most technical solvents.
Röhm Performance Plastics; email: [email protected]; website: www.performance-plastics.de or www.rohacell.com.
Composite craft reaches space
The White Knight turbojet aircraft climbs over the Mojave desert with SpaceShipOne attached underneath.
THE FIRST privately-built craft to be launched into space has components made of carbon composites. On 21 June, SpaceShipOne, manufactured by California, USA-based Scaled Composites, successfully made a one-man trip into space. Scaled Composite vice president Mike Melvill piloted the spacecraft up to a height of 100 km – the highest altitude ever reached by a non-government-financed
6
REINFORCEDplastics
craft. At this height, a state close to weightlessness occurs and the pilot can see the blackness of space and the blue line of the atmosphere above the curved surface of the earth. Scaled Composites’ concept of building a craft to fly into space dates back to April 1996 and the full development programme began in May 2001. The entire project cost less than US$40 million – much less than
July/August 2004
a government-sponsored programme, says Scaled Composites. $20 million came from Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen, also founder and chairman of Vulcan Inc, which developed some of the motor technology of the craft. According to Scaled Composites, many exterior and interior parts of SpaceShipOne are made with fibre reinforced plastic (FRP), including LTM ™45EL prepreg supplied by Advanced Composites Group. The fuselage and wing skin is mostly made of carbon fibre reinforced epoxy with a Nomex honeycomb core. In the interior, the nitrous oxidizer tank and fuel casing (the largest components of the hybrid motor) are made of composites and designed by Scaled Composites. The tank has a composite liner and the fuel casing is fabricated using a high-temperature composite insulator with a graphite and epoxy structure.
SpaceShipOne at a height of above 61 km.
After this one-man attempt, the company will aim to qualify for the $10 million Ansari X-Prize. This prize is on offer to the first privately funded vehicle to fly three people into space and repeat that flight within 14 days. Scaled Composites; website: www.scaled.com.