For years now, Boeing and the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) have been working on certifying this jet as safe enough to fly with passengers. Many problems have been encountered along the way. For starters, back in 2005 a design disclosed that a crash deemed survivable by a 777, made mainly of metal, would be deadly for the 787 because of the jolt delivered from the fuselage crashing. Boeing now states that “a key design change and subsequent physical tests prove the final Dreamliner design is now as safe as a metal airplane.”

Another obstacle in ensuring safety is that running full-scale tests with jets is impractical and costly. Nowadays metal airplanes are being certified using computer simulations and smaller physical tests on parts like the wings, are validating the simulation results.

Paolo Feraboli, an assistant professor at the University of Washington School’s Automobili Lamborghini Advanced Composite Structures Laboratory, who has also been featured in a recent article we posted about the new Lamborghini diet, has been extensively involved in the 787 project.

Feraboli states,

“Unlike homogeneous metals, multi-layered composites are very difficult to simulate accurately on a computer. We don’t currently have the knowledge and the computational power to do a prediction based on purely mathematical models.”

A critique of using such an enormous amount of carbon fiber in the 787 deals with the hazard of post-crash fires. While the aluminum of a metal plane crumbles on impact, composites more often shatter. But in November of 2007, the FAA performed multiple fire tests which resulted in even more success of the composite plastics used in the 787 then metal. A huge plus is that the composite material allows for extra time for passengers to exit the aircraft, even without insulation.

“Ali Bahrami, head of the FAA’s Seattle office dealing with commercial-airplane certification, said the agency’s tests showed the carbon-fiber composite not only resisted burn-through impressively but also prevented toxic gases from penetrating inside.” Another plus!

The Vice President of the 787 Development team pointed out that the composite fuselage doesn’t break like glass, instead it tends to stick together by the fibers.

At this point, Boeing has completed all necessary tests and steps to move forward with the 787 Dreamliner. The FAA spokesperson implied that the certification is expected to come through by the fall of 2010.

Unfortunately, all of the tests and simulations will one day become real and we will finally know how the 787 reacts in a crash. As ridiculously cool as the 787 Dreamliner by Boeing sounds and looks, I don’t think you’ll find me on the trial run!

[Source: Seattle Times, Pictures from Boeing]

While Lamborghini headquarters is located in the relatively small town of Sant’Agata Bolognese, composite material research is being conducted in Seattle at the University of Washington. Dr. Paolo Feraboli is the director of the school’s Automobili Lamborghini Advanced Composite Structures Laboratory. Growing up, Dr. Feraboli worked at Lamborghini and then moved to the United States to earn a doctorates degree.

As years passed, Dr. Feraboli kept in touch with Lamborghini.

“In 2007 they contacted me, saying, ‘We’d like to really invest in carbon fiber technology, make it our key technology and we’d like to partner up with U.W. and Boeing.”

He continued explaining

“that to improve a car’s power-to-weight ratio, you can either increase horsepower or shed weight. But in reality, increasing the power, once you get to a certain level, becomes very difficult, and the kind of gains that you get by having a lot of horsepower becomes very small. On the other hand, if you drop weight you get exactly the opposite. Lamborghini identified that if you want to drop weight, you have to use carbon fiber.”

If it weren’t for the high cost, up to 2/3′s of a Lamborghini could be composed of carbon fiber. Sounds hot!

Back in March at the Geneva auto show, Lamborghini introduced the limited edition Gallardo LP 570-4 Superleggera, which translates to superlight in Italian. The carbon fiber components of this car were side mirrors, the rear wing and sections of the underbody. And interior parts including door panels, seat shells and the transmission tunnel. The 5.2-liter V-10 of this Gallardo produced 20.5% less emissions than engines previously used by the company.

Our dream is coming true; carbon fiber is on its way to taking over Lamborghinis (and other exotic cars). Are you as excited as we are? Let us know!

[Source: New York Times]

The thing you may be interested in is the part of the curriculum where they show how tough carbon fiber really is.  They show this by trying to break a piece with a variety of methods like a sledgehammer, and even rolling a small plane over a piece.  Take a look at the video and see for yourself:

Seeing this really gives you a true appreciation for how great of a material carbon fiber is.

Outside of this story, but still within the Boeing scope…Boeing put their new 787 Dreamliner under the “Ultimate-Load Wing Test”.  This is where load is applied to the airframe (while on the ground) to replicate 150 percent of the most extreme forces the airplane is ever expected to experience while in service.  During the test, the wings flex upward of approximately 25 feet.

The initial results were positive, but Boeing is doing more extensive analysis and review before they can consider it a complete test.

Project Background

Based in beautiful San Luis Obispo, CA, the Cal Poly Supermileage Vehicle (SMV) Team has been ranked within the top two in the US for fuel efficiency within the past three years. In 2008, they set their own team record of 2752.3 miles per gallon using a 50cc 4-stroke combustion engine and 89-octane Shell gasoline. While able to achieve astounding gas mileage numbers, the vehicle lacks much needed practicality. Within the past year, the team has been pushing to develop a new car with a goal of being able to achieve 500mpg.  It’s called an Urban Concept Vehicle, and bridges the gap between their ultra-high mileage prototype vehicle and cars currently on the road. Their new design, still under construction, will resemble that of a Smart car in size, but with styling similar to their current prototype vehicle, shown in Figure 1.

Figure 1: Cal Poly Prototype Vehicle

The Cal Poly SMV Team approached Cal Poly senior mechanical engineering students to ask them to build a custom composite seat for their car, as well as a set of carbon fiber wheels for the new vehicle. This post will outline the construction technique used by the Central Coast Composites team for the Urban Concept vehicle seat.

Materials

• Approx. 2’x3’x4’ block of high-density polyisocyanurate foam
• Foam cutting and shaping tools (saws and belt sanders worked well for rough cutting)
• Approx. 8 sq. yds. of 3K twill carbon fiber cloth
• US Composites 635 Medium Cure Epoxy Resin
• Perforated Release Film
• Breather Cloth
• Vacuum Bag
• Air Compressor
• Mixing containers, tongue depressors, and squeegees

Design Approach

Our design had to be under 7.5 lbs and able to support the weight and dynamic loading of a 200 lb driver during operation. We chose a full bucket seat over other designs because of simplicity and ease of manufacturing. Our seat would consist of a foam core wrapped in multiple layers of carbon fiber. A solid model was created in ABAQUS, a finite element analysis program, to determine the number of layers and fiber orientations needed for the composite seat. Our calculations showed that two layers around the whole seat would be sufficient in supporting the loads of the vehicle and driver during operation. It was also not necessary for us to orient the fibers in any other direction besides 0,90. In order to ease the manufacturing, we decided to layup two back layers first and allow it to fully cure before laying up the front two layers.

Procedure

Step 1: Cut Foam To Size

Our foam actually came in a large 2’x’4’x8’ block that needed to be trimmed to size. We cut off a large enough section for our seat and in order to conserve the expensive foam, we cut enough off for the back profile of the seat and then used some spray-on adhesive to glue a smaller piece at the bottom where the seat was going to go. If enough foam is available, this does not need to be done and the foam can be cut from one large block. Rough cuts to the angles were made using hand saws.

Step 2: Shaping The Foam

There were design constraints for our seat that limited the angles that the seat could rest at. This is why the seat is reclined back as far as it is. The seat contours were determined primarily by what was most comfortable. Rough shaping was done with a belt sander, allowing material to be quickly removed (and also made for a big mess). We used a shop vacuum in conjunction with the belt sander to avoid foam dust from flying everywhere. Small foam shaping files were used to detail the contours. We found and eliminated pressure points in the seat simply by sitting in it, sanding it down further, and repeating. This went on until all five members of the team deemed the seat comfortable. We had to constantly check for symmetry, which we did by lining the seat up against a wall with grid-like lines.

Figure 2: Rough shaping of foam plug

As shown in Figure 2, the seat top was shaped first, leaving a flat surface on the bottom that aided in creating a symmetrical and properly dimensioned seat. After the seat top was fully shaped, the bottom half was rounded out. We left a flat surface on the bottom for our seat bracket (not completed) to post-bond to.

Step 3: Cutting The Carbon Fiber Cloth

Dry carbon fiber frays easily when cut. This can lead to gaps forming in the weave and an ugly part. We attempted to minimize this by placing tape on the cloth and cutting along the tape lines. While it aided in cutting the cloth without fraying, it becomes necessary to remove the tape during the layup process. At first, we used painter’s blue masking tape, Figure 3, but this frayed the edges when the tape was removed. We also tried using transparent Scotch tape, which worked much better, but made it difficult to drape the cloth properly over the contours of the seat. The carbon was cut to size, two back layers and two front layers, while still dry and the tape left on so that it would not fray while impregnating the resin.

Figure 3: Using blue painter’s tape to prevent edges from fraying

Step 4: Preparing The Vacuum Bag

The bag was cut to size by placing the seat inside and allowing extra space for the bag to conform to the seat shape. By sealing off three sides of the vacuum bag and leaving one side open, we decreased the time needed to fully seal the bag later.

Step 5: Impregnating The Resin

For the medium cure epoxy selected, pot life ranged from 20-25 minutes. This was not much time to get all laminate layers wet and laid on our foam plug. The back layers were wetted first. We decided the best way to wet the layers was to lay both cloth layers inside an oversized vacuum bag and to place resin in between the layers inside the bag. Then the resin was spread throughout the cloth from the outside of the vacuum bag using the plastic squeegee. Once the cloth was fully wetted, it was immediately removed from the bag and placed on the foam.

Step 6: Placing Cloth On Foam

Despite having pre-cut the cloth, after wetting, the cloth stretched slightly, necessitating further cuts in order for it to drape properly. To our surprise, the scotch tape was much easier to remove with the cloth wetted, leaving little fraying compared to removing the tape while dry. The layer with masking tape did not perform similarly, so that layer was placed on first, tape side down. We left the tape in since it would not affect the performance or the appearance of the inner layer. The ends that draped over the edges were taped to the front side of the seat. These edges would be trimmed later so we did not mind placing extra tape on them to secure the back layers firmly to the foam.

Step 7: Applying Peel Ply and Breather Cloth

The peel ply does not drape well, so we had to make many cuts in the material in order to get it to fold over the contours well. Because the peel ply is removed later, pieces can be cut as much as necessary without affecting the layup. By this time, we were well past the 20-25 minute pot life of the resin, so the resin began getting tackier. This allowed us to easily stick small pieces of peel ply around the complex curves.  At least one layer of breather cloth was placed over the peel ply.

Step 8: Applying The Vacuum

Because the bag is already prepared, the foam with wetted cloth, peel ply, and breather cloth can be placed directly into the bag and sealed quickly. Using a vacuum pump and valve, a vacuum was applied to the seat for about two hours. Figure 4 shows the part under the vacuum. Figure 5 shows how the perforated peel ply allowed extra resin to be absorbed by the breather cloth. This helped keep the seat weight to a minimum.  Because the bag was sealed well, after removal of the vacuum, we experienced no problems with leaking.

Figure 4: Back layers under vacuum

Figure 5: Extra resin bleeding through perforated peel ply into breather cloth

Step 9: Trimming the Extra Cloth

A couple days later, we returned to un-wrap the seat and trim the overhanging edges. Figure 6 shows the part right out of the vacuum bag. The vacuum bag was saved for use with the front layers. Using a box cutter, the extra carbon was easily trimmed off.

Figure 6: Removal of peel ply on bottom layers

Step 10: Front Layers

For the front layers, steps 5 through 8 were repeated in a similar fashion. In order to keep the cloth adhered to the inner curvature of the seat, we tried stapling it to the foam. This worked to some degree, but in the end, we removed the staple in order to allow the cloth to shift during vacuum bagging. The carbon had to be trimmed more carefully prior to curing since we would not have the luxury of cutting into the bottom layers in order to remove loose ends on the top layers. Accidentally cutting into the back layers would also be detrimental to the strength of the part. We placed extra breather cloth, rolled into a tube, right at the back bottom of the seat in order to increase the pressure to the carbon there during curing and to minimize pleating. Figure 7 shows the front layers under vacuum.

Figure 7: Curing the front layers of carbon under vacuum

In hind sight, we should have placed more layers of breather cloth under the vacuum valve, as the valve left a distinct mark on the part’s surface despite the two layers of breather cloth already there.

Final Part

Figure 8 shows, from left to right, the seat’s front, side, and back as it stands. We noticed some marks on the front that appeared to be pleats, but these are just resin bubbles that will be sanded off. Prior to attaching the bracket, we plan to completely sand down the seat and apply a clear coat to it.

Figure 8: Final part shown from three different angles

Closing Remarks

Please note that camera lens distortion could cause the seat to appear more asymmetric that it truly is. That being said, we did have some issues getting the headrest symmetric for fear of taking off too much material. There are also a fair number of pleats on the rear layups. The front side was much better controlled during both the layup and vacuum bagging procedures. Being the first time my teammates and I have ever worked with carbon fiber to this degree, we are very satisfied with this part and our client, the Cal Poly SMV Team, is also happy with the way it has turned out. We learned a lot from this process and hope to apply all our new composite manufacturing knowledge to the design and build of carbon fiber car wheels.

Keep in mind there’s a bunch of different ways to make these, so we’re going to post a few that you can use.  If you’d like to contribute some, feel free to upload them to Flickr and add them to our Flickr carbon fiber group.  For now here’s 9 different styles you can choose to use.  I’ll explain how to get them on your phone at the end of the article so be sure to read below if you don’t know how.

Real Twill Weave Carbon Fiber Photo

The three pictures below are actual pictures of the carbon fiber weave that we took from our tri-fold carbon fiber/leather wallet which can be purchased here.

Real Standard Weave Carbon Fiber Photo

This is a picture of a clear-coated standard carbon fiber weave.  The picture was taken of the carbon fiber iPhone case (midnight black) that we sell here.

Standard Weave Carbon Fiber Pattern

Twill Weave Carbon Fiber Pattern

How To Make One Of The Above Patterns A Background On Your iPhone

In order to make one of the above a background picture, simply right click and save the one you like to your desktop.  You can then move into your pictures folder that iTunes syncs with, and it will be on your phone.  Alternatively you can also e-mail the picture to your iPhone and then save it to your pictures on the phone itself.  Once it’s on the phone, go to Photos, then the iphone album, you should see the picture there.  Click it and, then hit the icon on the bottom left that looks like a box with an arrow in it.  Then hit the option to “Use as wallpaper”.  Now when you turn on your phone before you unlock it, you’ll see the carbon fiber background!

January

Nike Mercurial Vapor SL Carbon Fiber Soccer Cleats: The Most Badass Shoe There Is

Jimmy Wong’s All Raw Carbon Fiber Lotus Elise

Purisme Carbon Fiber Letter Opener: A True Work of Art

February

Metabo P’7911 Porsche Designs Carbon Fiber Multihammer

Fully Custom Carbon Fiber GSX-R 1100 Show Bike Shows Up On eBay

Carbon Fiber Tramontana R, 720hp V12 Monster

March

All Carbon Fiber Money Clip With RF Blocking Laminate

Aston Martin One-77 Supercar: Carbon Fiber In The Raw

Colored Carbon Fiber Is Usually Texalium, But What Is Texalium?

Carbon Fiber Garden Series Part 1

Carbon Fiber PFD Spyder Table by Phil Frank

April

Bontrager Uses Lance Armstrong In Carbon Fiber April Fools Day Prank

Carbon Fiber Used On Vehicles At The NY Auto Show 2009

Formula D Now Has Carbon Fiber Trophies

May

Schedoni’s $4,400 Carbon Fiber Briefcase

Carbon Fiber Ciclotte Monowheel Excercise Bike

Jordi Mila Hot Rider Carbon Fiber Stool

June

Custom Carbon Fiber Joystick For You Gaming Nuts

Custom Carbon Fiber TV and Table Base/Support

Can Yalman’s Carbon Fiber Hexa Desk

Carbon Fiber Leather Cushioning Love For Your MacBook Pro and MacBook Air

Carbon Fiber Garden Series Part 2: 10 Foot Tall Carbon Fiber Flowers That Shoot 3 Feet of Fire

July

See How Pagani Builds Their Carbon Fiber Supercars

Le Jules Verne Eiffel Tower Restaurant Features Exclusively Molded Carbon Fiber Chairs

AUTOart Carbon Fiber Tissue Roll Dispenser

Carbon Fiber Stops Fart Smell – Now The Greatest Material In The World

Mansory Vincero Bugatti Veyron: $1 Million Extra For A Whole Lotta Carbon Fiber

August

$112,000 Carbon Fiber iPhone Case – The Most Expensive In The World

When Vicious Obsessions Collide

Step-By-Step: Custom Building Carbon Fiber Oakley Juliet Sunglasses

September

Spending The Day With Tecnocraft – Exotic Carbon Fiber Parts Manufacturer

Mansory Chopster – The Most Insane Porsche Cayenne Out There

Diamond Coated Carbon Fiber Debuted On Limited Edition Koenigsegg Trevita

Shelby’s $18,400 Carbon Fiber GT500KR Hood Causes Drama

Italy’s Aznom Releases $19,000 Black Widow Carbon Fiber Table

The One Kilogram Carbon Fiber Guadi Stool by Bram Geenen

October

Revolutionizing Transportation Using Carbon Fiber – With The Yike Bike

Ellie May, At 5 Years Old, Is The Youngest Person Ever To Have Carbon Fiber Legs

When You Want Carbon Fiber Look Without The Cost

Why The CFRP Wing On a Dodge Viper ACR Is Awesome

The Hybrid of Bridges and Carbon Fiber

November

Carbon Fiber, Can You Hear Me Now?

SEMA 2009: Seibon All Carbon Fiber Lotus Elise

Carbon Fiber and Leather Magnetic Money Clip

December

Department of Energy Invests $34 Million Into Carbon Fiber Manufacturing and Processing Technologies

Santa Sleigh Concept Gets Pimped Out With Carbon Fiber

Bell & Ross BR-02 Pink Gold: A Watch Fit For James Bond

Sneak Preview: New Carbon Fiber Laptop Case Coming Soon From CFG and Mach 3 Composites

The idea behind pumping money to lower carbon fiber manufacturing costs is because carbon fiber is critical to reducing the weight of vehicles.  What’s so great about that?  By decreasing weight, it also raises fuel efficiency, all while maintaining the same strength and safety that is found in steel autobodies.  The ultimate goal is to reduce the price of carbon fiber to $3-$5 per pound from the current $10-$20 per pound range.

The money will specifically be going to building a new carbon fiber technology center at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory in Oak Ridge Tennessee.  ORNL has developed advanced microwave-assisted plasma processes to help potentially reduce the cost.

Fred Baker heats and spins lignin in a melt spinner. Owing to a purification process developed at ORNL, the tiny holes in the spinnerette through which hairlike fibers are drawn are not blocked by sulfur salts and particles normally present in lignin. ORNL, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory and MeadWestvaco are jointly developing an industrial process for purifying lignin to reduce material cost.

Felix Paulauskas heats bundles of fibers in a controlled manner in a furnace. The microwave-assisted plasma (MAP) techniques he helped develop eliminate the nitrogen and hydrogen atoms in the precursor, lining up the carbon atoms to produce a graphite-like fiber that is stiff and strong. Paulauskas also uses the advanced MAP techniques to reduce the costs of carbonizing and graphitizing carbon fibers.

An orange robot sprays the fibers and a binder onto a form, making a mat-like, carbon-fiber composite preform. In production the form would have the shape of an automotive part, such as a car’s body panel.

[Sources: DOE, ORNL]

The arches are then covered with a fiber-reinforced decking and buried under several feet of soil. It turns out that that not only does the bridge look identical to your average bridge; it also costs the same, if not less. The tubes also protect the concrete from water and other natural elements therefore prolonging its life expectancy. Maintenance costs are expected to be lower along with reduced environmental impacts. This construction method is also referred to as “bridge-in-a-backpack” because of its light weight and portability. The contents of a bridge can be transported with the use of one truck.

This technology milestone was accomplished after years of research conducted by The University of Maine-based Advanced Engineered Wood Composites Center in Orono. AEWC director Habib Dagher was quoted saying “it has the potential to change everything in terms of bridge construction. It can change the way bridges are built in the future.” With so many road bridges in need of repair or replacement, this “bridge-in-a-backpack” technology may really catch on and could result in an advance for fiber-reinforced plastics being used for roadways.

Fiber-reinforced plastics, a.k.a., F.R.P, have yet to catch on because of the little experience engineers and contractors have with the materials. Not to mention, their costly price. Using F.R.P. in the construction industry can sometimes result in being twice as expensive as ordinary materials. Michael Drabenstott, the communications director for AltusGroup, guest blogged an article “Carbon Fiber Growing As Reinforcing Material In Precast Concrete” pointing out the pro’s of using carbon fiber in precast cement, mentioning its environmental friendliness and long life span.

There are now two bridges in Maine that have been rebuilt using the “bridge-in-a-backpack” technology, the Neal Bridge and the McGee Bridge in North Anson, ME. Over the next two years, an additional six bridges will be constructed using the carbon fiber tubing. Would you like to see more bridges being reconstructed or repaired using carbon fiber in your area? Do you trust its strength and durability on roadways?

[Sources: NY Times, Bangor Daily News, AEWC]

The three men’s plea agreements stated “they exported and attempted to export high-modulus carbon fiber material without the mandatory license.” Because this material is also used for rockets, satellites, spacecraft and uranium enrichment, the U.S. requires one to possess an export license.

According to statements released by the U.S. attorney’s office, Ding oversees multiple Singaporean import and export companies. Ding, Cheng, and Lim worked together, each playing a different role in the sequence. Unfortunately for the trio, they were unaware that they were also working with an undercover company from Minnesota which professed to supply aerospace materials. Cheng was sent to Minnesota by Ding twice, ordered to inspect the Minnesota company’s material. He was then instructed to export the material he bought, to Singapore and Hong Kong without the required export license on April 7, 2008. The men were indicted on October 28, 2008.

The acting assistant secretary of commerce spoke of this situation as being an example to all about the serious degree of illegal importing and exporting according to our nation’s laws. These men were held accountable for their actions and hopefully their experience will prevent future similar occurrences’. Do you think the crime fit the punishment? Should they have just gotten a slap on the wrist, or is jail time necessary?

[US Attorney's Office]

Lamborghini has been collaborating since 2001 with ACSL head professor, Paolo Feraboli, on various research projects with carbon fiber. Car manufacturers are very aware of the many benefits that carbon fiber offers and Lamborghini is no different. Carbon fiber has been replacing steel on various parts of a car since carbon fiber’s density is much lower than steel, which in turn lowers the weight of the car and enhances the car performance by increasing the power-to-weight ratio.

“Lamborghini remains committed to investing in its future, and advancing carbon fiber composite technologies is the key to achieving many our goals,” said Stephan Winkelmann, President and CEO of Automobili Lamborghini S.p.A. “As Lamborghini has long been influenced by aerospace technology, the University of Washington’s collaboration with The Boeing Company and the Federal Aviation Administration is the complementary fit to furthering our research and development programs that will continue to set the benchmark in carbon fiber technology.”

[Sources: Lamborghini, Motor Authority]