The use of braided reinforcements enables the creation of composite parts with an efficient fiber architecture and provides manufacturers with a material that results in fewer processing steps and less waste than woven alternatives. The article provides an overview of braiding machinery, braid materials, and properties of braid structures.

A look at how the high energy breaks, conductive debris, and ergonomic issues unique to composites testing can be resolved with proper equipment set up.

By using modeling tools, a lightning protection conductor is tuned to manage strike damage on a semiconductive composite skin and provide conductive paths in the desired orientation with optimized weight.

Coating development using cold gas spray technology demonstrates the feasibility of bonding polymers to metal substrates and metals to polymer composite substrates with good adhesion. The examples addressed are polyetheretherketone (PEEK) coatings on steel and aluminum substrates and metallic coatings on carbon fiber reinforced polymer (CFRP) composites.

From graphene to next-generation composites to 3D printing, advanced materials and processes are helping sportswear manufacturers, sporting goods companies, and sports medicine practitioners take their game to the next level. This special report reviews some of the most innovative technologies making an impact on today’s sports and recreation industry. Technologies addressed include graphene used in sportswear, new production methods for carbon fiber composites, and 3D printed implants to address knee injuries.

Consumer demand for greater fuel efficiency and a changing regulatory environment have stimulated substantial interest in alternative materials for passenger vehicles. Automotive manufacturers now have a wide variety of choices available, ranging from various grades of steel and aluminum to the most advanced lightweight composite materials. This article describes testing innovations introduced to keep pace with the use of new materials in automobiles.

This article discusses the capabilities of a compression test system developed to evaluate composite coil springs for automotive suspension systems.

Chemical vapor deposition (CVD) of pyrolytic chromium carbide coatings (PCCCs) is proving to be a viable alternative to hard chrome plating used on cylinder piston group components. This article discusses the development and optimization of a CVD process for depositing PCCCs on piston rings and cylinder sleeves. It evaluates the coatings based on friction, wear, and adhesion properties in comparison with coatings produced by other methods.

Measuring material properties is disproportionately more complex for fiber-reinforced composites than for materials such as metals and plastics. It is further complicated by more than 150 composite test standards in use around the globe. This article assesses the challenges involved in testing fiber-reinforced composites and presents a rational approach for specimen preparation, handling, and fixturing that can simplify testing and improve throughput without sacrificing measurement accuracy.

This article compares two nondestructive test methods that are widely used to assess impact damage in carbon fiber-reinforced polymer composites. Infrared line scanning thermography (LST) and immersion ultrasonic testing (UT) are shown to be equally capable of detecting delaminations and internal cracking caused by low-velocity impacts, although LST was easier to use and provided results more quickly that were easier to interpret.

Self-deployable booms made of flexible composites have been successfully used on spacecraft and are currently being designed into future satellite missions. Structures of this type have been proposed for decades, but their use has been limited by the difficulty of predicting their behavior in zero gravity conditions. It is now possible, however, to realistically simulate the operation of such structures using FEA software and micromechanical modeling. This article explains how boom designs for satellites are being refined using simulation data and validated by physical testing.

This article evaluates the sliding wear behavior of fiber-reinforced 7075 Al alloy composites. It explains how the composite samples were made and shows how different fiber materials, volume percentages, and orientations affect hardness and wear resistance. It also interprets wear test results and what they reveal about wear mechanisms in metal-matrix composites.

This article explains how coating technology originally developed for use in nuclear power generating equipment is helping automotive engineers solve heat, wear, and performance challenges using new materials and design approaches.