National manufacturing centre for internationally certified FRP composite bridges officially opened in South Australia

Processes now being used in a new factory at suburban Wingfield in South Australia will revolutionise the Australian infrastructure sector with production now underway of strong, damage-tolerant FRP composite structures through an international manufacturing deal.

Beginning of this month, Hon. Nick Champion MP, South Australia’s Minister for Trade and Investment, Minister for Housing and Urban Development and Minister for Planning, officially opened this state-of the art manufacturing facility. Highlights from speeches on the day included…

Commencement of manufacturing for lightweight fibre composite road and pedestrian bridges and jetties being distributed, and installed throughout the Oceania region.
In the shift from the Old Economy to the New Zero Carbon Economy, FRP products have a far lower carbon footprint than traditional bridge building materials like steel and concrete. Therefore, FRP products are a significant move towards a zero-carbon outcome.

Main market is infrastructure; road/pedestrian bridges, jetties, wharves, pontoons and lock gates.
Bridges now under construction, on the factory floor, for top level Australian clients and about to manufacture two bridges for New Zealand.

Bringing back manufacturing and innovation: Fiberglass Reinforced Polymer (FRP) products patented by InfraCore® Europe and now licensed to SIS for the Oceania Region have enabled SIS to invest in a manufacturing facility in Wingfield.

This has created 15 jobs and will generate trade opportunities, supporting employment growth.
The use of recycled plastic waste is a considerable challenge, but we have invested in research that will enable the use of recycled waste elements in the manufacturing of FRP structural decks.
The facility delivered its first contract in June, a 24m overpass pedestrian bridge deck for the Rail NSW Waterfall Station in New South Wales.

SIS Managing Director, Nick Wotton announced a commitment after completing engineering studies to
move to manufacturing bridges with a core made up of at least 50% recycled plastics as of June 2023 –
with a goal to move to 100 per cent over the calendar year.

“Aside from creating employment opportunities with up to 15 new jobs in the first 12 months, cuttingedge technology used in the material will be a game changer in the way bridges and other structures are manufactured and installed in Australia, New Zealand and the Pacific Islands,” he said.

SIS Launch_Nick Wotton, Nick MP and Uni Adel Professor Scott Smith.

“We’ve had a contract with InfraCore for the past four years and ultimately worked out that sea freight
costs and long lead times were not working, so we wanted instead to set up an Australian manufacturing facility.”

SIS moved to Wingfield in January after fully upgrading an existing 1800msq manufacturing facility.

“We believe that having spent almost 30 years in sustainable infrastructure we know the timing is right and the support is there from local, state and federal governments, along with the private sector, to be
investing here,” Wotton said.

Local Educational benefits: International President of the Institute for FRP in Construction (IIFC), and University of Adelaide Professor of Structural Engineering, Professor Scott Smith, endorsed the benefits of this new facility to Australia.

This event is the culmination of an intense 4-year program of technical collaboration between Sustainable Infrastructure Systems (SIS AU) and Dutch firm InfraCore® Company, (Rotterdam, Netherlands) a global leader in fibre composite infrastructure.

Aside from creating employment opportunities, with up to 15 new jobs in the first 12 months, cuttingedge technology used in the material will be a game-changer in the way bridges and other structures are manufactured and installed in Australia, New Zealand and the Pacific Islands.

Nick Wotton from SIS with model and the big mould behind.

The first pedestrian bridges bound for a commercial customer were completed in April for a contract with acclaimed international engineering & construction company Laing O’Rourke, for the NSW Government’s ‘More Trains, More Services’ development program.

SIS Managing Director, Nick Wotton has been involved in the sustainable product sector for 27 years mainly through recycled plastic and recycled wood-plastic composite products and structures. He was responsible for the design and construction of Australia’s first bridge made entirely of recycled wood plastic composite and is regarded as a pioneer in using recycled plastic to make sustainable products, including the product that won the 2008 ‘Best Green Product’ at the Infrastructure Australia Awards. Nick coordinates a team of designers, engineers and product development personnel. One of his contracts supplied products to a Jane Goodall Institute chimpanzee sanctuary in the Congo.

“We’re a born and bred SA business with a proven track record in sustainable product development and we’re excited about bringing new jobs into SA with a local production facility. Discussing recycling at its core, Nick said: “Without manufacturing uses for processed recycled materials, the circular economy simply doesn’t work and with our bridges we plan to use a significant amount of post-consumer waste plastic that would otherwise be sent to landfill”.

SIS Associate Director, Engineering, Luigi Rossi said: “This international cooperation also is about reflecting the company’s ethos; to take environmental sustainability to another level in infrastructure. It will reduce freight costs and lead times for our clients and will revolutionise the way bridges are manufactured and installed in our region, as we ramp up opportunities for export trade growth.

“There are many advantages of low weight FRP Bridges, including minimising on site safety risks as the construction of bridge elements occurs in manufacturing facilities. Being controlled environments, there is much less that can go wrong when it comes to safety. The next advantage comes by reducing the disruption to surrounding road or rail infrastructure during installation. Off-site production gives more predictable costs and minimises complications that can arise on a construction site. These FRP bridge elements are virtually maintenance free which assists stakeholders manage long term budgets”.

InfraCore co-founder/CEO Simon De Jong; speaking from Rotterdam: “It is a real honour to know that our high tech InfraCore® technology is now represented in Australia, New Zealand and the Pacific Islands by this great company, SIS – Sustainable Infra Structure Systems. Our cooperation will have a huge impact on the future of bridge building in this part of the world.”

The InfraCore® technology offers a standardized and modular structural approach, which creates proven and validated cost-effective, prefab composite (FRP) structures that are easily scalable, lightweight, sustainable, maintenance-free, heavy-duty, damage-tolerant and load bearing.

Globally, more than 1,400 structures, from pedestrian walkways to high-volume traffic & harbor bridges have been installed in the Netherlands, Belgium, Poland, England, France, Italy, Sweden, Norway, China, Canada and the US. The environmentally friendly fibre-reinforced polymer (FRP) structures are lightweight and incredibly strong, allowing for spans of up to 36 metres with a 100-year design life and maintenance-free system, based on a composite material of structural glass fibres in a thermoset resin matrix.

#fiberreinforcedpolymer#fiberreinforcedcomposite#polymer#fiberreinforcedconcrete#sciencefather#sciencefiction#scientists#frpinnovation#fiberawards#sciencefather#FRP#CompositeMaterials#PolymerMatrix#HighStrengthFibers#Lightweight#StrengthAndDurability#StructuralApplications#EngineeringInnovation#MaterialsScience#CivilInfrastructure#AerospaceTechnology#AutomotiveIndustry#ManufacturingTechniques#FiberArchitecture#FunctionalComposites#SmartMaterials#SustainabilityMatters#environmentalimpact

More Information: fiberreinforcedpolymer.com

International Research Awards on Fiberreinforced Polymer

 

Fibre Reinforced Plastic (FRP) Pipes Market Report 2022-2028 : Recent Trends and Business Opportunities

 

Fibre Reinforced Plastic (FRP) pipes are stronger than traditional steel pipes and could last longer than many people think. FRP pipes can be put in place quickly and installed without causing any disruption in the water supply, which is why they are becoming so popular with property managers and landlords.

The Fibre Reinforced Plastic (FRP) Pipes Market Research 2022 report inspects the present state of the market, which includes its definition, characterizations, applications, and business chain structure. It contains an organization's scene, a broad market, and a SWOT examination of the key producers. The report's examination was facilitated using primary and secondary data containing commitments from individuals in the business. The report likewise tracks the most recent Fibre Reinforced Plastic (FRP) Pipes market elements, for example, driving components, limiting variables, and industry news like mergers, acquisitions, and ventures. It can comprehend the Market and strategize for business extension in like manner.

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Geographic Landscape Analysis-:
The examination covers geographic investigation in Fibre Reinforced Plastic (FRP) Pipes Market that incorporates locales like North America Country (United States, Canada), South America, Asia Country (China, Japan, India, Korea), Europe Country (Germany, UK, France, Italy), Other Country (Middle East, Africa, GCC) and significant players/merchants. The report will market knowledge, future patterns, and development prospects for 2019-2026.

Fibre Reinforced Plastic (FRP) Pipes Market Segmentation-
Type
Thermosets {Epoxy, Polyester, Phenolic, Others
Application
Water & Wastewater, Chemical & Industrial, Oil & Gas, Power Generation, and Others

Research Techniques
The Fibre Reinforced Plastic (FRP) Pipes Market is determined through broad utilization of secondary, essential, in-house research pursued by master approval and outsider point of view like the expert report of venture banks. The secondary research frames the base of investigation, which includes broad information mining, alluding to checked information sources, for example, white papers, government, and administrative distributed materials, specialized diaries, exchange magazines, and paid information sources.

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Valuable insights presented in the Fibre Reinforced Plastic (FRP) Pipes Market Report-:
• A total scenery examination of Fibre Reinforced Plastic (FRP) Pipes which incorporates an appraisal      of the parent market.
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• Reporting and assessing ongoing Fibre Reinforced Plastic (FRP) Pipes industry improvements market    offers and methodologies of key players.
• Emerging specialty sections and local markets.
• A target evaluation of the direction of the Market.
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Our syndicated and custom research reports assist our customers in growing their businesses across a broad range of industries. In the fields of healthcare, chemicals and materials, ICT, Automation, Semiconductors & Electronics, Consumer goods, Energy, Food & Beverages, and Packaging, we include research studies in the form of syndicate reports, custom reports, market surveys, and consultancy projects.

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Wing-in-ground trials to commence for composite AirX Airfish craft

ST Engineering’s (Singapore) and Peluca’s (formerly known as Wigetworks, Singapore) joint venture, ST Engineering AirX (AirX), is collaborating with the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA) on the trials for the AirX Airfish wing-in-ground (WIG) aircraft. AirX intends to trial the single- and dual-engine AirFish 8 prototypes.

Airfish 8, which can seat up to eight passengers in a 17 × 15-meter footprint is constructed of carbon fiber-reinforced polymer and plastic/sandwich composites. The AirX operates just above the sea surface by using ground effect — the name given to the positive influence on the lifting characteristics of an aircraft’s wing when it is close to the ground. Also known as a WIG design, this type of craft “flies by using ground effect above the water or some other surface, without constant contact with such a surface and supported in the air, mainly, by an aerodynamic lift generated on a wing (wings), hull, or their parts,” according to the International Maritime Organization (IMO) website.

The vehicle is governed by IMO guidelines; it uses the same collision avoidance rules as conventional ships, and is reported to be much faster, fuel efficient and hence more sustainable in comparison. This collaboration is a step toward realizing the potential of such technology in areas such as maritime transportation and logistics services.

AirX will work with the MPA to identify an area off Changi, Singapore, for the conduct of the trials. MPA will also ensure that measures are in place so that port operations will not be affected during the trials, including sending out advance notification to vessels and the public to keep clear of the area. The trials, which will contribute to the establishment of an Engineering and Certification Centre of Excellence for WIG in Singapore to further attract professionals into the maritime domain, are expected to commence from the third quarter of 2024 at a frequency of twice monthly.

AirX will also work with a classification society on the process and compliance requirements for an Approval in Principle (AiP). The AiP is a validated third-party technical assessment and a certification milestone for the vehicle’s classification as a marine vessel before it can commence any commercial operations. The AiP will be awarded by a classification society upon assessment of the WIG craft’s compliance with safety, quality and environmental standards.

#fiberreinforcedpolymer#fiberreinforcedcomposite#polymer#fiberreinforcedconcrete#sciencefather#sciencefiction#scientists#frpinnovation#fiberawards#sciencefather#FRP#CompositeMaterials#PolymerMatrix#HighStrengthFibers#Lightweight#StrengthAndDurability#StructuralApplications#EngineeringInnovation#MaterialsScience#CivilInfrastructure#AerospaceTechnology#AutomotiveIndustry#ManufacturingTechniques#FiberArchitecture#FunctionalComposites#SmartMaterials#SustainabilityMatters#environmentalimpact

Multiscale mechanics and molecular dynamics simulations of the durability of fiber-reinforced polymer composites

Fiber-reinforced polymer (FRP) composites have gained widespread applications in many engineering fields, making it imperative to study long-term performance under service conditions. Due to their heterogeneity and multifield coupling conditions, the long-term performance of FRP composites has become a complex scientific problem that involves multiscale and multidisciplinary aspects. With advancements in nanotechnology and computational power, researchers have increasingly conducted studies on the deterioration mechanisms and durability of FRP composites using top-down experiments and bottom-up multiscale simulations. Here, we review micro- and nano-mechanics in relation to the durability of FRP composites, including progress in the use of atomic and molecular simulations. We elucidate the role of multiscale methods, particularly molecular dynamics simulations, in the study of FRP composites and outline its prospects, to illustrate how micro- and nano-mechanics contribute to research on the durability of FRP composites.
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Introduction

Fiber-reinforced polymer (FRP) composites have been widely used in aviation/aerospace structures1, shipbuilding, and other industrial fields due to their good corrosion resistance, high strength-to-weight ratio, and strong designability. These inherent advantages have propelled FRP composites towards becoming a pivotal reinforcement material in civil engineering2,3 and have been increasingly used in new construction4,5,6 over the past two decades. However, the ability of FRP composites to resist damage during long-term service, i.e., durability, in the face of complex service environments has become one of the most important scientific issues in the field of engineering.

The study of material damage is closely related to surface/interface issues, particularly for FRP composites, which are characterized by the interfaces between fibers and the polymer matrix. Therefore, an appropriate interface model that transfers the results obtained from atomic/molecular simulations to continuous medium simulation is essential for achieving cross-scale modeling. Additionally, microscopic defects such as bubbles and voids are inevitably introduced during the production process of FRP composites7. Even pure epoxies (e.g., amine-cured epoxies) contain nanopores that enable the transport and storage of moisture8. Given the various service conditions, FRP composites may be subjected to a combination of different environmental loads (e.g., ultraviolet radiation from sunlight; freeze-thaw cycles; diurnal/seasonal temperature changes; moisture from humidity, rainfall, immersion, or seawater; and alkaline solutions from concrete pore water)9. These external environments, particularly when combined with the aforementioned microstructures, may lead to the deterioration of FRP composites, ultimately impacting their durability. Hence, there is an urgent need to investigate the microscopic mechanism, identify a suitable coupling method, and integrate cross-scale simulations to achieve a quantitative explanation of the macroscopic phenomenon of deterioration.

With the advancement of experimental technology and simulation methods below the microscale10, an increasing number of researchers are attempting to explain the corresponding macroscopic phenomena from a microscopic perspective. In experiments, scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM)/high-resolution TEM have been used to observe the microstructure of FRP composites11,12,13,14, such as fiber-matrix interfaces, microcracks, voids in a matrix, etc. The fine details of microstructure provide an intuitive reference for computational modeling and understanding of the deterioration mechanism of materials. Atomic force microscopy (AFM) has been used to investigate the microstructure and mechanical properties of FRP composites15,16, such as the local modulus of the sample. X-ray computed tomography (CT) can non-invasive capture the three-dimensional structure of the material17,18 and provide the internal pore distribution and porosity, as well as generate a three-dimensional model for simulation or mechanical performance analysis. The glass transition temperature (Tg) and thermodynamic properties of epoxy can be determined by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC)12,14. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), and Raman spectroscopy are available to characterize and analyze the changes in the chemical components and molecular structure of FRP composites under different environmental conditions11,12,14,19, such as functional group and hydrogen bond. These experimental methods not only offer direct evidence for understanding the microscopic mechanisms but also provide reference and comparison for modeling and analysis of simulations, thus enabling the understanding of microscopic mechanisms from the atomic scale to the macroscale.

Multiscale simulation methods have been developed gradually, such as density functional theory (DFT), ab initio molecular dynamics (AIMD), reactive force field (e.g., ReaxFF) MD, classical MD, coarse-grained (CG) MD, Monte Carlo (MC) method, phase field method, finite element method (FEM), etc. The multiscale covers the atomic scale, nanoscale, mesoscale (or microscale), and macroscale (> 10‒3 m) as shown in Fig. 1, with this paper focusing on the scale that ranges from the atomic scale to the mesoscale. It should be noted that there is currently no uniform division of different scales and no absolute boundary between adjacent scales but a transitional area20, and this paper only divides the scale characteristics of FRP composites. Different theories and methods are required to deal with issues at different scales. At the atomic scale, quantum effects and charge transfer need to be considered, such as in the cross-linking reaction of polymer curing, material corrosion, and other chemical reactions. At the nanoscale, issues related to nano mechanics are considered, including nonbonding interactions (i.e., van der Waals interaction and hydrogen bond). For example, the adhesion between polymeric matrix and fibers mainly involves nonbonding interactions, and only a few specially treated fibers are additionally bonded by chemical bonds21,22. The mesoscale is where continuum mechanics and nano mechanics converge20. At the mesoscale, defects, interfaces, and nonequilibrium characteristics are common. The formation of microcracks and voids all involve interface problems, and the problems of voids in FRP composites are particularly important at the mesoscale. At this scale, more attention is paid to the problem of multifield couplings, such as the changes in the internal structure and mechanical properties of FRP composites under coupling effects of moisture, seawater, temperature, and voids. For instance, in a humid environment, water enters the interior of the FRP composite due to capillary action and diffusion, which affects the properties of the matrix and interface23. The most common macroscale methods are FEM simulations and experiments, which are widely used in the study of mechanical properties, and many models have been established in the study of FRP composites. In cross-scale modeling, the transfer of physical quantities in the transition area is a critical issue.
Fig. 1: Multiscale simulation framework of FRP composites.



It describes a bottom-up approach that comprises Ab initio, DFT, ReaxFF MD, Classical MD, CGMD, MC, Phase field, and FEM simulation methods and displays the time and length scales corresponding to each simulation method along with the corresponding schematic models.
Full size image

MD simulation has played a crucial role in bridging the gap between quantum chemistry and continuum mechanics, as shown in Fig. 1. It is a fundamental and versatile tool that can simulate the molecular structure and investigate the mechanical, chemical, and thermodynamic properties of materials from the atomic/molecular level. However, as MD simulations use a single atom or molecule as the simulation unit, the trajectory of all particles in phase space must be obtained by solving the Hamiltonian equation of the entire system, leading to extensive calculations and limiting the size of the simulation system. Macroscale failure or debonding of the structure is a large-scale disaster that involves a large time and spatial scale. As a result, establishing a direct relationship between nano/microscopic results and macroscopic phenomena is a challenge for MD simulation. Bridging the nano/microscale and the macroscale is both a challenge and an opportunity for interdisciplinary research. To this end, many research teams have proposed multiscale research methods to overcome the limitations of MD simulation24,25,26.

This review first provides a brief overview of the interdisciplinary and multiscale problems encountered in the study of the durability of FRP composites. It discusses the various factors, such as temperature, ultraviolet radiation, humidity, seawater, and corrosive action, that influence the properties of FRP composites, leading to thermodynamic, mechanical, chemical, and multifield coupling problems. It also introduces the accelerated method for durability testing and its applicable conditions. Since the deterioration of FRP composites during service involves interface problems, such as debonding, fracture, and delamination, two typical interface models are introduced. To understand the durability and deterioration mechanism of FRP composites from the nano/microscale perspective, the review introduces related physical and mechanical issues, such as van der Waals interaction, hydrogen bond interaction, disjoining pressure, and capillary action. After introducing these interdisciplinary backgrounds and foundations, the methods of bridging length and time scales in the durability studies of FRP composites are reviewed. It mainly introduces related multiscale simulation methods and their corresponding theories, as well as the physical parameters available at each length scale. MD simulations have played a bridge role between quantum chemistry and continuum mechanics in multiscale modeling. Therefore, the review provides a detailed overview of atomic- and molecular-scale simulations of FRP composites, including ReaxFF MD, classical MD, and CG MD, in the study of their mechanical properties and durability. Moreover, the review briefly introduces the problem of multiscale voids in FRP materials. While it is impossible to cover all advances in the field of micro- and nano-research of FRP composites in a single paper, this review focuses on a few typical topics of the vast subject. Due to the complexity of the subject and the limited knowledge of the authors, there may be inevitably neglected topics and deficiencies. Nonetheless, the main purpose of this review is to clarify the role of multiscale simulation methods, especially MD simulations, in FRP composite research and outline its prospects, hoping to illustrate how micro- and nano-mechanics contribute to FRP durability research.

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Scaling Up Sustainable Solutions for Fiber Reinforced Composite Materials

The transition to efficient and sustainable systems for energy and transportation infrastructure demands stronger and lighter materials. Often, engineers are compelled to turn away from traditional homogeneous materials in favor of composites.

“Fiber-reinforced composites have revolutionized a variety of application spaces. In many cases, they are not only a more efficient material — they are required,” says Dr. Matthew Korey, an R&D associate staff member at the Department of Energy’s Manufacturing Demonstration Facility (MDF) at Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL).

One example is large-scale additive manufacturing. “As you scale the technology up, you start introducing thermal gradients in your print, and some areas will cool faster than others. So you can’t do it with resin alone, you need the fiber reinforcement to help with the thermal management,” Dr. Korey explains. 

At the Manufacturing Demonstration Facility, a customized shredder for breaking down composite materials and taking real-time measurements of process outputs. Connections for sensors are visible at lower right. Photo Credits: Matt Stonecash

This performance comes at a cost, as composites can be energy intensive to manufacture and challenging to recycle. The scale of the anticipated need for composite materials — for lighter vehicles, larger wind turbines, more durable infrastructure and more — elevates the challenge to national significance, and has made the advancement of sustainable composite manufacturing an important area of research.

The Sustainable Manufacturing Technologies Group, led by Dr. Soydan Ozcan, conducts R&D on bio-composites and recycling practices for composites and polymers at the MDF. The group’s work is aimed at de-risking the adoption and scale-up of advanced manufacturing to enable circular economies, always with one eye on sustainability and the other on economic feasibility.

Two R&D associate staff members in the Sustainable Manufacturing Technologies Group, Dr. Amber Hubbard, left, and Dr. Matthew Korey, on the main floor of the Manufacturing Demonstration Facility.

Breaking Down Tough Composites

The very properties that make composites valuable in applications such as wind energy, automotive and aerospace can make them challenging from a sustainability perspective. Wind turbine blades, for instance, are too large to get in the building and too tough to cut with a saw. But, it is possible to recycle these materials and, in some cases, the resulting feedstock is both sustainable and cost-effective.

To refine size reduction of composites at scale, researchers have collaborated with Cumberland to run a specialized shredder and granulator with a capacity of 4,000 lb/hr., and able to accept parts up to 4 × 4 ft. The line has been outfitted with a sensor suite to capture the throughput, power draw and vibration, enabling real-time life cycle and technoeconomical analysis. By controlling ram pressure, the process can be optimized for the material being processed.

One of the key concerns with shredder operation, especially when working with tough composite materials, is uptime. By correlating wear with the output from the sensors, researchers discovered they could use the vibration of the machine to reliably indicate tooth wear. Instead of periodically shutting the machine down and opening it up to physically measure the knife blades, operators can run the machine until the vibration data indicates service is needed. Cumberland is now offering the sensor suite as an option for its customers.

Shredded ABS/Carbon Fiber material will be further processed into smaller granules.

Output from the granulator can be used as-is in some applications, but in others the variation in size can be a problem. The granulator screens out most larger pieces, but can produce 7-10% dust. Dust can be a problem for downstream processes, such as vacuum-fed 3D printing, for example. A Leistritz twin screw extruder and a Bay Plastics Machinery pelletizer further process materials into a pellet that can be used to make homogenous parts. Additives and biomaterials can also be added at the extrusion step. Planned research will apply the sensor suite approach to extrusion processes, seeking opportunities to reduce cost and increase sustainability.

While extrusion creates a high-quality, uniform pellet, it is also energy- and labor-intensive, and exposes polymer molecules to shear stresses and heat that can degrade their properties. An alternative approach is to strive for a cleaner, more uniform granule while skipping the extrusion and pelletization steps. Researchers plan to integrate a Witte classifier table into their size reduction line to sort out both oversized and undersized granules. As a separate product, the dust could go from being a contaminant to being a valuable output.

“For some applications, such as fluidized bed pyrolysis, they actually want the dust,” Dr. Korey says, “so they’re interested in seeing, ‘can we run this process to produce as much dust as possible, and how much energy would that take?’”

Biology as Sustainable Feedstock

Another active area of research at the MDF is looking at the other end of composite material life cycles, seeking to replace carbon-intensive feed materials with bio-derived.

“Even if you use a petroleum-based polymer matrix, you can offset 30% of that with a natural fiber, which will give you a more favorable life cycle assessment on the back end,” says Dr. Amber Hubbard, R&D associate staff member at the MDF.

Granules of PLA/wood flour composite processed by the size reduction line at the Manufacturing Demonstration Facility.

Natural fiber options include cellulose nanofibrils, wood flour, flax and hemp. These can provide tensile strength, improving mechanical properties in addition to displacing petrochemicals. While temperature limitations and compatibility issues mean that bio-derived materials may not always be a drop-in replacement for traditional resins, they are compatible with matrix materials such as PP and PLA. They are also recyclable.

The properties of some bio-based composites can be retained or even improved through recycling processes. Research suggests it might be due to the way that natural fibers deform when shredded and ground. Whereas carbon fibers simply break, natural fibers can bend and fibrillate. Fibrillation could be providing better penetration and adhesion to the polymer matrix.

The SM²ART program (a collaboration between ORNL, the University of Maine, and industrial partners) has shown that bio-fiber-reinforced composites can scale up for applications in construction that include insulation and even structures themselves. Last year, an entire 600-square-foot home was printed from bio-based materials at the University of Maine Advanced Structures and Composites Center. Recently, the project was recognized with the “Combined Strength Award” at CAMX.

Getting Advanced Manufacturing Into the Field

The overall goal of the MDF is getting manufacturing solutions from the lab into the field, where industry collaborators can benefit and advance the state of the art. The MDF partners with manufacturers primarily via two methods, a larger research proposal or a smaller technical collaboration. Large projects go through a competitive process, through which manufacturers submit a proposal in response to an announcement such as a DOE-funding opportunity announcement (FOA). These can take 6-12 months to acquire and carry a risk of the project being awarded to someone else.

More frequently, industry partners work with MDF directly on a specific manufacturing problem by entering into a collaborative research and development agreement (CRADA). Under a CRADA, research can begin sooner, enabling industry partners to start getting the data they need to commercialize a product or to justify a larger scale research project. Companies interested in working on a sustainability problem in manufacturing are encouraged to contact the Sustainable Manufacturing Technologies Group directly.

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Custom FRP Trench Drains Speed Up FGD System Installation

Since the introduction of the 1970 Clean Air Act (CAA), coal-fired power plants in the U.S. have been required to reduce undesirable emissions, particularly those of sulfur dioxide (SO2). Title IV of the CAA, also called the Acid Rain Program, set a further goal of reducing SO2 emissions by 10 million tons below 1980 levels. Phase I began in 1995 with controlling the emissions from almost 450 coal-fired units at more than 100 plants in the eastern U.S., thereby reducing SO2 emissions by almost 40%. Phase II began in 2000, continuing to reduce SO2 emissions and adding utility units larger than 25 MW.

The Clean Air Interstate Rule (CAIR) was promulgated in 2005 to manage emissions that drift from one state to another and to further reduce SO2 by an estimated 70%. The latest developments regarding CAIR are discussed in “Nation’s NOx Emissions Continue to Drop While Court Reinstates CAIR” in this issue of COAL POWER.

The favored SO2 removal process when dealing with stack gas is the wet scrubber; removal levels of 95% have been reported. Scrubbing SO2 from waste gas is a water-intensive process, necessitating effective trench drainage and sumps that will have a long life in a difficult environment. However, the flue gas desulfurization process requires the use of aggressive liquids that significantly shorten the life of typical construction materials such as metals and concrete. Fiberglass-reinforced plastic (FRP) is the material of choice for many components in a typical FGD system, including slurry recirculating piping, absorber vessels, and duct liners—among them, stack and chimney liners.

Prefab Trench Assemblies Save Time

ACO Polymer Products is the world leader in trench drainage, and the company manufactures a wide range of products for various applications. The ACO Aquaduct division further specializes in designing and manufacturing large-scale projects, using custom FRP trench drain systems to accommodate complex layouts around equipment in various industrial facilities. Since no two power plant drainage projects are ever the same, owners and contractors must work closely with their suppliers to obtain the right product fabricated with the right materials.

In brief, there are two methods of constructing a drainage system at a power facility. The first involves creating cast-in-place concrete trenches that are formed on-site. This approach requires extensive labor to construct the formwork for the drainage channels and sumps. When complex layouts, unusual angles, and varying slopes are involved, the costs escalate quickly. Additionally, in order to provide corrosion resistance, concrete channels must be coated once the concrete has cured. This results in further expense and additional scheduling difficulties.

Using prefabricated assemblies is simpler, faster, and saves much installation time. Working from carefully engineered plans, long, lightweight FRP drain channels and related components can be factory-produced, where the manufacturing process is efficient and production is closely monitored to ensure a high-quality product. Drain channels and components are shipped to the job site when that phase of construction is ready to begin.

Channels are then set up and connected on-site with two-inch overlap joints that are easily and positively sealed. Because the FRP channels are made from highly corrosion-resistant material, there is no need for a secondarily applied coating. Once the concrete surrounds are placed, grates can be installed, and the site is ready for the next phase.

For example, an engineering, procurement, and construction contractor installing a flue gas desulfurization (FGD) system to serve two 800-MW units in the Midwest reported savings on the order of 20% using prefabricated FRP trench drain systems as compared to the cast-in-place concrete alternative. Scheduling was also simplified, as the time required for coating and curing was completely eliminated. While 20% is a significant difference in the up-front price, benefits are also realized down the line, in optimal drainage performance and ease of maintenance. Additional benefits include those that follow:

• FRP trench drains and sumps offer a much smoother surface than concrete, which promotes better flow velocity and hydraulic performance in general.
• FRP drains are easily customizable to fit complex layouts, and dimensional factors such as width, depth, slope, and profile can be varied much more easily than with cast-in-place concrete systems.
• There are many design options, including double containment, if needed.
• In the rare cases when on-site modification may be required, the nature of FRP enables easy modification.

Engineers and contractors should remember to get the supplier’s engineering team onboard early in the design process to ensure that construction materials for the drainage system, sumps, and grates are correctly selected early in the project.

To close, here’s a photo essay of a typical trench and sump project, from the factory to commercial service.

1. ACO Aquaduct factory production of prefabricated fiberglass-reinforced plastic (FRP) drain channels ensures consistent product quality. Courtesy: ACO Polymer Products

2. FRP trench drain channels are shipped to the power plant job site for fast installation. Courtesy: ACO Polymer Products

3. The prefabricated FRP trench drain channel is set into the rebar grid of a power facility’s flue gas desulfurization (FGD) system foundation prior to the concrete pour. Courtesy: ACO Polymer Products

4. FRP trench drain sections are connected to form a run. Courtesy: ACO Polymer Products

5. Prefabricated FRP sumps are also used in FGD systems to handle corrosive fluids. Courtesy: ACO Polymer Products

6. Installed trench drain runs and sumps are installed and ready for the concrete pour. Courtesy: ACO Polymer Products

7. The concrete surround is poured around trench drains. Courtesy: ACO Polymer Products

8. The completed trench drain and sump system is ready for use. Courtesy: ACO Polymer Products

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