Development of the Composites Sector Between 2010 and 2018

Composites

A new material group created by at least two different materials forming an interface between them without forming a chemical bond. Composites provide advantages such as high specific strength, light weight, superior dimensional stability, excellent elasticity, design flexibility, high corrosion and heat resistance, and low equipment costs.

Application Areas of Composites

• Maritime Sector, • Aerospace Sector, • Pipe Technology, • Bridges and Load-Bearing Systems, • Automotive Sector, • Wind Turbines, • Sporting Equipment.

Composite Usage by Numbers

• Ship and Boat Manufacturing: 25% • Transport: 30% • Construction: 15% • Chemical (Process): 10% • Electronics Industry: 5% • Consumer Goods: 7% • Aerospace and Space: 7% • Various: 1% Per Capita Composite Consumption - Source: Specialized Commission Report - Year: 2010

Development of Composites

With technological advances, the industry's and daily life's need for materials with lower weight and higher durability capacity established the necessity to produce new materials. The idea of developing new materials, which remained a concept in early years, was implemented with hypotheses developed in a short time and ceased to be a mere idea. Among these ideas, the one most supported and applied was the concept of composite materials. The composite material concept aimed to combine two or more materials to extraordinarily increase their individual performance. Concrete, which could strongly support zinc-coated sheet and similarly iron blocks, making them unbreakable, was one of the few primitive examples where this idea was demonstrated. Today, from ship construction to building construction, from household appliance manufacturing to space technology, composite materials are found almost everywhere. Although the production of composite materials appears to have been accomplished in the last few centuries, its earliest examples date back much further. The composite material concept was introduced and treated as an engineering subject in the early 1940s. Since the first applications, numerous innovations have been made in both reinforcement materials and matrix materials. By applying new combinations, new composite materials with much higher performance values have been developed. In short, composite materials showed very rapid development and continue to sustain this growth rapidly, transcending the quality of being a contemporary material to become the material of the future—the "chemistry of life." Per capita composite consumption worldwide is now used as a measure of development. Indeed, in countries that have completed their development process, per capita composite consumption has risen to approximately 10 times that of our country. In contrast, while the annual growth rate of composite usage worldwide averages 3%, the rate in Turkey is 12%, which is encouraging. If this development process continues, it is estimated that Turkey will be able to catch up with the consumption levels of developed countries in the near future.

Application Areas of Composites

Composites are widely used in various sectors including: aerospace/space/defense, household appliances and commercial equipment (manufacturing industry), construction, consumer goods and sports/entertainment, corrosion-resistant products, electrical/electronics, maritime, transportation and automotive, military applications, and agriculture/food.Maritime Sector:

Composite materials are not affected by the corrosive properties of seawater or the chemical erosion caused by potential fuel residues and pollution. Beyond this, ease of application, design flexibility, the ability to produce lightweight products, minimal maintenance requirements, easy repairability, and many mechanical strength properties have increased the use of composite materials in the maritime industry. Today, composite materials are used in the manufacture of sailing and motor-powered recreational and sports boats, rescue boats, canoes and rafts, water bicycles, jet skis, surfboards, large and small catamaran boats, aqua parks, and many other products. • Sailing/motor boats, • Rescue boats, • Buoys, • Canoes, • Floats-docks, • Jet ski, • Surfboard, • Marina equipment.

Aerospace Sector:

The aerospace and space industry continues to lead in composite material usage. This is due to the trends dominant in the market toward transition to lighter materials in the context of meeting targets for emission reduction and increased fuel efficiency. However, when compared with other sectors adopting composite technology, the approval process for new materials in the aerospace and space industry is longer, and the required time and opportunity costs are quite high. Nevertheless, over the past period, major OEMs in the aerospace and space industry have come to understand the advantages that composite materials offer compared to metals due to design flexibility, vibration reduction, and high strength relative to weight. Consequently, OEMs have begun using composite materials in load-bearing main structures and wings, fuselage, tail wing, rudder, winglets, and cowlings—high-volume components. More recently, composite materials have been introduced in secondary application areas such as windows, cabin compartments, armrests, and trim strips due to their superior properties in fire, smoke, and toxicity (FST) and antimicrobial characteristics. The industry's transition to thermoplastic use follows a cautious course due to the extremely conservative approach taken in the approval process for materials and obtaining certificates of airworthiness for aircraft use. However, due to advances in processing technology and advantages such as recycling opportunities and cost, high-performance thermoplastics such as polyetheretherketone (PEEK), polyaryletherketone (PAEK), polyetherimide (PEI), and polyphenylene sulfide (PPS) can compete with thermosets and their use is increasing in certain structural and interior applications. The commercial aerospace and space sector, which largely leads composite material usage, is expected to exhibit 5.5% growth by 2022. In a scenario where a series of OEMs in the aerospace and space sector focus on models in which composite materials are emphasized, strong growth in applications in this field is likely in the near term. The Boeing 787, Boeing 777X, and Airbus A350 XWB will be the leading aircraft in this regard. Additionally, the C-919, developed by Commercial Aircraft Corporation of China, Ltd. (COMAC) and using advanced composite materials in much of its fuselage, will bring many opportunities.

Figure 1. CTP pipe production using the classical filament winding method

Pipe Technology: CTP material was developed during World War II. Some advantages such as rapid manufacturability and durability enabled the use of this material in the manufacture of bridges, sea boats, etc. Following World War II, like many other sectors, the pipe manufacturing industry found widespread application. The first CTP pipe was manufactured in 1948. By member organizations of the CTP Pipe Producers Association, to date: 7,983 km domestically, 5,718 km internationally, for a total of 13,701 km of CTP pipe has been successfully produced, shipped, and put into service.

Raw Materials Used in CTP Pipe Production

• Continuous Filaments (Hoop) • Chopped Filaments (Chop) • Thermosetting Polyester Resin • Silica Sand

Pipe Application Areas:

• Drinking Water, • Irrigation, • Wastewater, • Rainwater, • Industrial, • Facilities, • Hydroelectric, • Power Plants, • Energy Projects.

Bridges and Load-Bearing Systems:

Composite bridges are bridge systems using both reinforced concrete and steel load-bearing structures together. To reduce displacements in the flooring system, stud bolts create a compressive zone on the steel, ensuring the reinforced concrete slab works together, thereby reducing displacement. Although the construction is somewhat more complex, economic bridge projects can be designed through improved deflection conditions. During the manufacturing phase, the steel typically carries its own weight and the weight of the wet concrete. However, once the concrete sets, the system gains strength and easily supports all traffic loads. Steel has good tensile and compressive values while concrete has high load-carrying capacity under compression. The composite structural system presents the advantages of both steel and reinforced concrete together, designing a load-bearing system that is light, strong, and economical. A simple composite bridge beam is designed for short spans (economical for 8m-10m spans, expensive for 15m spans, up to a maximum of 24m).

Automotive Sector:

Composite material is a superior engineering material obtained by combining environmental-resistant, flexible plastic and/or polyester matrix resin with high mechanical strength reinforcing glass, carbon, and/or aramid fibers that do not possess sufficient mechanical strength on their own. From 1946 onward, achieving commercial scale worldwide, composite materials have undergone numerous innovations in both reinforcement and matrix materials since their first applications. Through the application of new combinations, they have achieved higher performance values and have shown very rapid development, continuing to sustain this development rapidly. These materials have transcended the quality of being a contemporary material and have attained the quality of being the material of the future. Industry forecasts project annual growth rates of 6% to 9% in composite materials for the automotive sector over the coming years. The underlying basis of these forecasts is the role carbon fiber composite materials can play in helping manufacturers meet conditions in fuel economy and safety. However, these growth forecasts will depend on the sector's ability to meet a series of conditions related to cost, cycle time, and the product's status at the end of its economic life, and in this context, advances in material and processing technologies will be needed. The greatest growth potential in the automotive industry lies in body applications where composite materials currently hold only a small share. Automobile manufacturers, while providing consumers with attractive and enjoyable-to-drive vehicles, are simultaneously increasing their demand for lightweight materials in the axis of efforts to meet legal requirements in fuel economy and safety. Durable steel and aluminum producers' cost-effective pursuits to reduce vehicle weight have created an environment where market share has been gained. Despite being more expensive than steel, aluminum has become a widely used material in the past ten years due to manufacturers' willingness to pay a premium to lighten vehicles, reaching nearly 10% market share in vehicle chassis and body.

Figure 2. Composite material penetration in automotive

Wind Turbines:

The greatest expectations from wind turbine blades are: maintaining durability over long periods, providing additional aerodynamic contribution to turbine energy efficiency, and not losing integrity and surface quality against all external effects. To provide these properties, all work and trials conducted have shown that manufacturing wind turbine blades using composite technology is the most suitable method, and this has been supported by ongoing development in the materials used. Many different materials are used in wind turbine manufacturing. Achieving high efficiency from wind turbines is possible through proper material selection for each component. Therefore, material development and behavior under all conditions are being studied. Generally, five methods are preferred for material selection in all situations. These methods are: economic and performance characteristics, property measurement values, value analysis, damage analysis, and economic and benefit analysis. From a technological perspective, it can be seen that these materials began to be used in the aerospace sector after the 1940s. The aim here is to develop lighter but more durable materials with higher hardness values, wear resistance, and fracture toughness to replace conventional materials such as steel and aluminum alloys. On the other hand, as in the aerospace sector, in material selection for wind turbine rotor blade structure, composite materials have significant advantages over conventional materials in terms of specific mechanical properties—the ratio of mechanical properties to density—an important selection criterion. This situation has brought composite use to the forefront, particularly in turbine construction and rotor blade design. Sporting Equipment: Solid, lightweight, long-lasting, high tensile strength, low maintenance cost composite materials offering design flexibility are used intensively in the manufacture of sports and entertainment equipment. Main application areas include: surfboards, snowboards, kiteboards, canoes, skis, tennis rackets, golf clubs, pole vault poles, amusement park equipment, children's playgrounds, cartoon character displays, swimming pool bodies, etc.

Prepared by: Nükhet Sezer

Sources 1- Composite - CTP Handbook, Maskim Composite Products Manufacturing & Trade Ltd. Co. 2- CTP Pipe Producers Association 3- Composites Manufacturing Magazine 4- http://www.moment-expo.com/yasamin-ozel-kimyasi- kompozit-sektoru 5- http://www.celikkopru.com/kompozitkiriskopruler