STTR Phase I: Light-Weight Bio-Based Nano-Enhanced SMC Formulations

STTR 第一阶段：轻质生物基纳米增强 SMC 配方

• 批准号: 0810682
• 负责人: Larry Dickinson
• 金额: --
• 依托单位: 3F, LLC
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2008
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2008-07-01 至 2009-12-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=0810682&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: STTR; Phase; Light; Weight; Bio

This Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) Phase I project shall utilize a multi-organizational team with uniquely experienced and multi-disciplinary personnel to demonstrate the feasibility of a new family of innovative sheet molding compounds (SMCs) that are partially bio-based and have lower density while having similar performance and cost. Kenaf natural fiber will be blended with glass fiber and combined with commercially available soy-oil based resin and select nano-materials to produce new SMC formulations that will be manufactured and validated experimentally. Innovations include 1) chemistry approaches to address the known problems of moisture absorption and strength retention in natural fiber composites and 2) fiber processing methods that will enable the use of standard fiber processing machines and existing SMC manufacturing equipment. The new lighter weight SMCs will find initial application in off-road farm equipment, automotive trunk floors, wheel wells and other non surface-critical components that currently use metal or heavier SMCs. Multiple companies who currently make SMCs and/or SMC components will license the new material technology through the National Composite Centers (NCC) newly forming SMC consortium. The development team, innovative materials combinations and processing approach have been carefully selected to enable rapid commercialization of the new technology once demonstrated.Innovative materials and combinations of materials have potential to provide cost-effective engineered materials systems that provide significant weight savings for automotive structures, thus leading to higher vehicle fuel economy. Additionally, the full or partial use of bio-based renewable materials will reduce the consumption of and dependence on petroleum based products. The exciting "green" aspect to this program will assist NCC's educational mission as students have great interest in environmental issues and the use of renewable resources to make a sustainable environment. NCC's cooperative education program may be utilized in support of the proposed work. Positive R&D results may serve as the basis of setting up conferences with high schools through NCC's multi-source video and videoconferencing center. As a lead agency for the effort, NSF's funding of this program will also support President Bush's American Competitiveness Initiative whose goal is to "increase investments in research and development, strengthen education, and encourage entrepreneurship" and enable America to "remain a leader in science and technology." A focus of this research proposal is to develop technology that will enable cost-effective US manufacture of materials and components; thus supporting other "Made in America" type Federal initiatives.

本小企业技术转让（STTR）第一阶段项目将利用一个由经验丰富的多学科人员组成的多组织团队，以证明一系列新的创新片状模塑料（SMC）的可行性，这些SMC部分基于生物，密度较低，但性能和成本相似。红麻天然纤维将与玻璃纤维混合，并与市售的豆油基树脂和选择纳米材料相结合，以生产新的SMC配方，该配方将被制造和实验验证。创新包括1）化学方法来解决天然纤维复合材料中的吸湿和强度保持的已知问题，以及2）纤维加工方法，该方法将能够使用标准纤维加工机器和现有SMC制造设备。新的重量更轻的SMC将在越野农场设备，汽车行李箱地板，车轮威尔斯和其他非表面关键部件，目前使用金属或更重的SMC的初步应用。目前生产SMC和/或SMC组件的多家公司将通过新成立的SMC联盟国家复合材料中心（NCC）许可新材料技术。经过精心挑选的开发团队、创新材料组合和加工方法，使新技术一经验证就能迅速实现商业化。创新材料和材料组合有潜力提供具有成本效益的工程材料系统，为汽车结构提供显著的重量减轻，从而提高车辆的燃油经济性。此外，生物基可再生材料的全部或部分使用将减少对石油基产品的消耗和依赖。令人兴奋的“绿色”方面，这一计划将有助于NCC的教育使命，因为学生有极大的兴趣，在环境问题和利用可再生资源，使一个可持续的环境。NCC的合作教育计划可用于支持拟议的工作。积极的研发成果可以作为通过NCC的多源视频和视频会议中心与高中建立会议的基础。作为这一努力的牵头机构，国家科学基金会对这一计划的资助也将支持布什总统的美国竞争力倡议，其目标是“增加对研究和发展的投资，加强教育，鼓励创业精神”，并使美国“保持科学和技术的领导地位”。“这项研究计划的重点是开发技术，使美国制造的材料和部件具有成本效益，从而支持其他“美国制造”类型的联邦倡议。