FEATURE

Automotive

Automotive chassis components lighten up with composites

Composite and hybrid components reduce mass, increase functionality on electric and conventional passenger vehicles.

Peggy Malnati
Contributing Writer

Consumer

Composites end markets: Electronics (2023)

Increasingly, prototype and production-ready smart devices featuring thermoplastic composite cases and other components provide lightweight, optimized sustainable alternatives to metal.

Filament Winding

Composites end markets: Utility infrastructure (2023)

For utility poles and pipes to protective structures and cell towers, composites offer advantages like corrosion resistance, durability and light weight for ease of transport and installation.

Materials

Composites end markets: Sports and recreation (2023)

Interest in higher performance and more sustainability drive new composite materials innovations in sporting goods and other consumer products.

Energy Storage

Composites end markets: Pressure vessels (2023)

The composite pressure vessel market is fast-growing and now dominated by demand for hydrogen storage.

Aerospace

Composites end markets: Aerospace (2023)

With COVID in the past and passengers flying again, commercial aircraft production is ramping up. The aerocomposites supply chain is busy developing new M&P for an approaching next-generation aircraft program.

Marine

Composites end markets: Boatbuilding and marine (2023)

While the recreational boating market is challenged to meet record-breaking sales in 2020 and 2021, composite materials and design innovation are abound, with a noticeable focus on 3D printing, biomaterials and sustainability.

Natural Fibers

Natural fiber composites: Growing to fit sustainability needs

Led by global and industry-wide sustainability goals, commercial interest in flax and hemp fiber-reinforced composites grows into higher-performance, higher-volume applications.

Hannah Mason
Technical Editor, CompositesWorld

Wind/Energy

Composites end markets: Energy (2023)

Composites are used widely in oil/gas, wind and other renewable energy applications. Despite market challenges, growth potential and innovation for composites continue.

Mass Transit

Composites end markets: Automotive (2023)

Electrification and a focus on sustainability lead to opportunities and innovations in composites, from battery enclosures to structural components and more.

Construction

Composites end markets: Civil infrastructure (2023)

Growth and potential grow for wider composites adoption in bridges, rebar and other concrete reinforcement and other infrastructure applications and repair.

Natural Fibers

Drawing design cues from nature: Designing for biomimetic composites, Part 2

As biomimetic design continues to inform composites manufacturing, technologies like 3D printing, tailored fiber placement, braiding and filament winding prove strong candidates for making these structures a reality.

Urban Air Mobility

The state of recycled carbon fiber

As the need for carbon fiber rises, can recycling fill the gap?

Molds/Tools

Metal AM advances in composite tooling, Part 1

Multiple metal additive technologies are gaining market acceptance and interest for composite tooling used in processes ranging from short-fiber injection to autoclave-cure prepreg.

Energy Storage

Composites end markets: Batteries and fuel cells (2023)

As battery electric and fuel cell electric vehicles continue to supplant internal combustion engine vehicles, composite materials are quickly finding adoption to offset a variety of challenges, particularly for battery enclosure and fuel cell development.

Ginger Gardiner
Senior Technical Editor, CompositesWorld

Materials

Drawing design cues from nature: Designing for biomimetic composites, Part 1

Biomimicry is an interdisciplinary methodology that can inform composites design and manufacturing via use of more effective and sustainable materials, structural fabrication and technological practices.

Aerospace

Thermoplastic composites welding advances for more sustainable airframes

Multiple demonstrators help various welding technologies approach TRL 6 in the quest for lighter weight, lower cost.

Mass, cost, durability improvements: EV battery enclosures, Part 2

As interest grows in composite battery covers and trays, composite materials suppliers work to meet current and future needs of automakers, battery module producers.

RTM

Price, performance, protection: EV battery enclosures, Part 1

Composite technologies are growing in use as suppliers continue efforts to meet more demanding requirements for EV battery enclosures.

Epoxies

Carbon fiber in pressure vessels for hydrogen

The emerging H2 economy drives tank development for aircraft, ships and gas transport.

Wind/Energy

Moving toward next-generation wind blade recycling

Suppliers, fabricators and OEMs across the composite wind blade supply chain ramp up existing technologies, develop better reclamation methods and design more recyclable wind blades.

Additive Manufacturing

Metal AM advances in composite tooling, Part 2

Toolmakers and molders continue to realize the benefits of additive versus conventional/subtractive manufacturing of molds and mold components.

Peggy Malnati
Contributing Writer

Thermoplastics

Cycling forward with bike frame materials and processes

Fine-tuning of conventional materials and processes characterizes today’s CFRP bicycle frame manufacturing, whether in the large factories of Asia or at reshored facilities in North America and Europe. Thermoplastic resins and automated processes are on the horizon, though likely years away from high-volume production levels.