- Email: [email protected]
Wire-reinforced electroformed nickel
COMPOSITES
news
unit in position. The front panel is of press-moulded smc with steel grill bars. Inside the cab, the engine cover panel is press-moulded in powdered-slatefilled grp (see Fig.3). The use of powdered-slate gives additional mass to the panel, helping to damp out low frequency vibratioins. A duplex construction is used, with a glass fibre wool core providing heat and sound insulation. This new cab unit design is also featured on British Leyland's new '500 system' range of trucks which includes updated versions of their established Lynx, Bison and Buffalo machines. Further details of the ARO process can be obtained from: Worldwide Plastics Development Ltd, West Morland Road, Kingsbury, London NW9 9R R; details of the trucks may be obtained from British Leyland, Truck and Bus Division, Leyland, Preston PR5 1SN
Wire-reinforced electroformed nickel
Fig.2 Cabinunit of the new British Leyland 'Marathon' truck: panels, made by the ARO process, are of smc/dmc on a steel frame
Fig.3 Powdered-slate-filledgrp enginecover (centre) in the cab of the new British Leyland 'Marathon' and '500 system' range of trucks
COMPOSITES. M A Y 1975
NASA Tech Brief B74-10018 gives details of a new process for reinforcing electroformed nickel. Electroforming is used to fabricate complex metal structures, but it is limited as a process to relatively pure forms of metals such as nickel and copper. Such metals are not strong enough for some applications - such as rocket engine thrust chambers, which are being made by electroforming - and high strength wires have been used to reinforce them. However, the use of conventional round wires brought problems such as void formation in the electroformed metal, as it was deposited, which weakened the structure. This problem has now been overcome by the use of half-round electrodeposition, without void formation. Using half-round stainless steel fibres, test cylinders were fabrecated, and increases in hoop strength of 50% were recorded compared to those of unreinforced, electroformed nickel. Further information is available in a NASA report NASA C R - 134480 (N74-17195) 'Development of elec-
99
ICOMPOSITES
lnews troforming technique', which can be obtained (at cost) from: Aerospace Research Applications Center, Indiana University, 400 East Seventh Street, Bloomington, Indiana 47401, USA
Ceramic glass fibres: rival to carbon? A new high strength glass fibre has been developed in the Physics Department of Bristol University. Reporting the discovery in Nature (6 December 1974), Dr K. H. G. Ashbee describes the fibre as having within it discshaped crystals of mica grown parallel to its axis. The effect of the crystals forming in this way is to reinforce the fibre itself. As yet only 1% of the fibres' volume has been crystallised, but this fibre is 33% stiffer and three times stronger than the glass from which it is made. This increase in the mechanical properties has promoted speculation that strengths approaching that of carbon fibre may be feasible. Naturally, this would be an important development, since glass fibre is very much cheaper to produce than carbon fibre, and unlike carbon fibres can be used in hot oxidising environments for example gas turbine engines. Whilst the implications for industry of the new fibre are, at the moment, described as 'long term', if strengths comparable to that of carbon fibre can be realised, then the glass ceramic fibre could well be used in the next generation of high temperature jet engines running at temperatures too high for existing alloys. University of Bristol, Information Office, 9 Woodland Road, Bristol BS8 1TB, England
New Norvl grades General Electric Plastics have introduced a new grade of Noryl glass-reinforced resin, called GFNI. The new material complements the existing range of Noryl reinforced resins by having 10% reinforcement. General Electric Plastics say that this new materials should fulfil
100
the requirements of fabricators who do not need the extra stiffness of 20% and 30% reinforcement (the existing Noryl materials), but do require properties such as dimensional stability, good mouldability, low specific gravity, and lower price. Using GFNI, a fabricator can, General Electric claim, cut costs, by replacing thermosets, metals, polyamides and other materials, Noryl GFNI giving lower part weight and lower cost per part. Further details can be obtained from: General Electric Plastics B.V., Plasticslaan 1, Bergen op Zoom, Holland
A S T M News ASTM have recently published Special Technical Publication 568, 'Foreign object impact damage to composites'. It contains contributions by various authors on aspects of impact damage, ranging from evaluation studies of composites in aerospace applications to studies on the impact resistance of composite plates.
engineering services -- Buyer's guide; Processing services - Buyer's guide; Manufactured Products and Components - Buyer's guide; Trade Names; Company Information (including addresses, fiNho's who' of personnel, company structure etc), The guide can be obtained from IPC Industrial Press Ltd, 3 3 - 4 0 Bowling Green Lane, London EC1R ONE, England
Celmar cleans up Celmar (British Celanese polypropylene glass fabric laminate) has been chosen for the fabrication of a scrubbing installation to be installed at Mullards Blackburn Ltd's plant in Iran (see Fig.4). This follows the successful use of Celmar in a similar installation in England. The scrubbers, used to absorb hot nitrous fumes from a process plant, using sodium hydroxide solution, were constructed by Blythe Plastics Engineering Ltd. British Celanese Ltd, 9 Henrietta Place, London W1A 2BB
The book, publication code 0 4 - 5 6 8 0 0 0 - 3 3 , is available from: ASTM, price ~22.75 (less 20% for ASTM members). ASTM, 1916 Race Street, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19103, USA
A year full of plastics The Europlastics year book 1974/75 (now re-titled 'European Plastics Buyer's Guide 1975) is now available, price £12. The guide, divided into seven sections, aims to provide a comprehensive listing of suppliers of plastics materials, machinery, ancillary equipment, engineering and processing services and manufactured products. The sections are: Index to Products; Materials and semi-finished products - Buyer's guide; Plant, ancillary equipment and
Fig.4 Scrubbingtowers made with Celmar, used to remove hot nitrous fumes from processplant
COMPOSITES. MAY 1975
news
unit in position. The front panel is of press-moulded smc with steel grill bars. Inside the cab, the engine cover panel is press-moulded in powdered-slatefilled grp (see Fig.3). The use of powdered-slate gives additional mass to the panel, helping to damp out low frequency vibratioins. A duplex construction is used, with a glass fibre wool core providing heat and sound insulation. This new cab unit design is also featured on British Leyland's new '500 system' range of trucks which includes updated versions of their established Lynx, Bison and Buffalo machines. Further details of the ARO process can be obtained from: Worldwide Plastics Development Ltd, West Morland Road, Kingsbury, London NW9 9R R; details of the trucks may be obtained from British Leyland, Truck and Bus Division, Leyland, Preston PR5 1SN
Wire-reinforced electroformed nickel
Fig.2 Cabinunit of the new British Leyland 'Marathon' truck: panels, made by the ARO process, are of smc/dmc on a steel frame
Fig.3 Powdered-slate-filledgrp enginecover (centre) in the cab of the new British Leyland 'Marathon' and '500 system' range of trucks
COMPOSITES. M A Y 1975
NASA Tech Brief B74-10018 gives details of a new process for reinforcing electroformed nickel. Electroforming is used to fabricate complex metal structures, but it is limited as a process to relatively pure forms of metals such as nickel and copper. Such metals are not strong enough for some applications - such as rocket engine thrust chambers, which are being made by electroforming - and high strength wires have been used to reinforce them. However, the use of conventional round wires brought problems such as void formation in the electroformed metal, as it was deposited, which weakened the structure. This problem has now been overcome by the use of half-round electrodeposition, without void formation. Using half-round stainless steel fibres, test cylinders were fabrecated, and increases in hoop strength of 50% were recorded compared to those of unreinforced, electroformed nickel. Further information is available in a NASA report NASA C R - 134480 (N74-17195) 'Development of elec-
99
ICOMPOSITES
lnews troforming technique', which can be obtained (at cost) from: Aerospace Research Applications Center, Indiana University, 400 East Seventh Street, Bloomington, Indiana 47401, USA
Ceramic glass fibres: rival to carbon? A new high strength glass fibre has been developed in the Physics Department of Bristol University. Reporting the discovery in Nature (6 December 1974), Dr K. H. G. Ashbee describes the fibre as having within it discshaped crystals of mica grown parallel to its axis. The effect of the crystals forming in this way is to reinforce the fibre itself. As yet only 1% of the fibres' volume has been crystallised, but this fibre is 33% stiffer and three times stronger than the glass from which it is made. This increase in the mechanical properties has promoted speculation that strengths approaching that of carbon fibre may be feasible. Naturally, this would be an important development, since glass fibre is very much cheaper to produce than carbon fibre, and unlike carbon fibres can be used in hot oxidising environments for example gas turbine engines. Whilst the implications for industry of the new fibre are, at the moment, described as 'long term', if strengths comparable to that of carbon fibre can be realised, then the glass ceramic fibre could well be used in the next generation of high temperature jet engines running at temperatures too high for existing alloys. University of Bristol, Information Office, 9 Woodland Road, Bristol BS8 1TB, England
New Norvl grades General Electric Plastics have introduced a new grade of Noryl glass-reinforced resin, called GFNI. The new material complements the existing range of Noryl reinforced resins by having 10% reinforcement. General Electric Plastics say that this new materials should fulfil
100
the requirements of fabricators who do not need the extra stiffness of 20% and 30% reinforcement (the existing Noryl materials), but do require properties such as dimensional stability, good mouldability, low specific gravity, and lower price. Using GFNI, a fabricator can, General Electric claim, cut costs, by replacing thermosets, metals, polyamides and other materials, Noryl GFNI giving lower part weight and lower cost per part. Further details can be obtained from: General Electric Plastics B.V., Plasticslaan 1, Bergen op Zoom, Holland
A S T M News ASTM have recently published Special Technical Publication 568, 'Foreign object impact damage to composites'. It contains contributions by various authors on aspects of impact damage, ranging from evaluation studies of composites in aerospace applications to studies on the impact resistance of composite plates.
engineering services -- Buyer's guide; Processing services - Buyer's guide; Manufactured Products and Components - Buyer's guide; Trade Names; Company Information (including addresses, fiNho's who' of personnel, company structure etc), The guide can be obtained from IPC Industrial Press Ltd, 3 3 - 4 0 Bowling Green Lane, London EC1R ONE, England
Celmar cleans up Celmar (British Celanese polypropylene glass fabric laminate) has been chosen for the fabrication of a scrubbing installation to be installed at Mullards Blackburn Ltd's plant in Iran (see Fig.4). This follows the successful use of Celmar in a similar installation in England. The scrubbers, used to absorb hot nitrous fumes from a process plant, using sodium hydroxide solution, were constructed by Blythe Plastics Engineering Ltd. British Celanese Ltd, 9 Henrietta Place, London W1A 2BB
The book, publication code 0 4 - 5 6 8 0 0 0 - 3 3 , is available from: ASTM, price ~22.75 (less 20% for ASTM members). ASTM, 1916 Race Street, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19103, USA
A year full of plastics The Europlastics year book 1974/75 (now re-titled 'European Plastics Buyer's Guide 1975) is now available, price £12. The guide, divided into seven sections, aims to provide a comprehensive listing of suppliers of plastics materials, machinery, ancillary equipment, engineering and processing services and manufactured products. The sections are: Index to Products; Materials and semi-finished products - Buyer's guide; Plant, ancillary equipment and
Fig.4 Scrubbingtowers made with Celmar, used to remove hot nitrous fumes from processplant
COMPOSITES. MAY 1975