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

这个小型企业技术转移（STTR）第一阶段项目将利用一个拥有独特经验和多学科人员的多组织团队来证明一种新型创新型板材成型化合物（SMCs）家族的可行性，这种化合物部分是生物基的，密度较低，但具有相似的性能和成本。红麻天然纤维将与玻璃纤维混合，并与市售的豆油基树脂结合，并选择纳米材料生产新的SMC配方，将进行生产和实验验证。创新包括1)化学方法，以解决已知的问题，吸湿和强度保持在天然纤维复合材料和2)纤维加工方法，将使使用标准的纤维加工机器和现有的SMC制造设备。新型重量较轻的SMCs将首先应用于非公路农场设备、汽车后备箱地板、轮井和其他非表面关键部件，这些部件目前使用金属或较重的SMCs。目前制造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）获得新材料技术的许可。开发团队、创新材料组合和加工方法都经过精心挑选，以便新技术一经展示就能迅速商业化。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，从而提高汽车的燃油经济性。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费和依赖。这个项目令人兴奋的“绿色”方面将有助于NCC的教育使命，因为学生对环境问题和使用可再生资源创造可持续发展的环境非常感兴趣。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。作为这项工作的牵头机构，国家科学基金会对这一项目的资助还将支持布什总统的美国竞争力倡议，该倡议的目标是“增加对研发的投资，加强教育，鼓励创业”，并使美国“在科学和技术领域保持领先地位”。这项研究计划的一个重点是开发技术，使美国制造具有成本效益的材料和部件；从而支持其他“美国制造”类型的联邦倡议。

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.