SBIR Phase II: Advanced Manufacturing of Ultra High Molecular Weight Polyethylene and Metal Hybrid Structures for Bicycle Spokes

这个小企业创新研究（SBIR）二期项目的更广泛的影响和商业潜力是用更坚固、更轻的合成材料取代钢铁。这项技术的滩头阵地市场是高性能自行车辐条市场，这是一个1.8亿美元的全球市场。这项技术的潜在好处不仅仅是循环，因为聚合物-金属界面还有其他潜在的应用。电缆组件广泛用于各种应用和行业，如工业，航空航天，建筑和消费品。合成电缆组件终端技术的进步，将有助于制造更高强度重量比的电缆，从而提高运输应用的效率，提高张力系统的安全性。一个具有特殊社会效益的应用是轮椅轮子，减轻了重量，增加了身体残疾人士的便携性。对高性能聚合物终端技术的投资也将有助于弥合聚合物研究与工业之间的差距，帮助社会从学术界发生的聚合物科学发展中受益。最后，生产低成本绳索终端的能力将提高美国制造业的竞争力，因为大部分大批量生产都外包给了低成本劳动力市场。这个小企业创新研究（SBIR）二期项目将开发用于自行车辐条的超高分子量聚乙烯（UHMWPE）和金属混合结构的先进制造工艺。超高分子量聚乙烯的强度重量比是钢的15倍，但由于制造高强度金属粘合剂的困难，它不能用于许多应用。这项研究的主要目标是在编织纤维的中空腔内自动插入和粘合不锈钢棒，并自动创建眼接头。这些操作需要在有限的空间内对纤维进行精细的操作，通常是手动进行的。相反，我们将开发新的自动化机器来创建这些粘合，检查最终产品，并通过100%的过程检查来验证强度。本研究的另一个目的是开发一种编织超高分子量聚乙烯纤维的黑色表面涂层工艺。为了实现这一目标，我们将确定一种表面预处理程序，以增加UHMWPE的非极性骨架的功能，开发涂层化学，并创建一个与我们的制造工艺集成的在线涂层系统。该奖项反映了美国国家科学基金会的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

The broader impact/commercial potential of this Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II project is the replacement of steel with synthetic materials that are stronger and lighter. The beachhead market for this technology is the performance bicycle spoke market, which is a $180M global market. The potential benefits of this technology go beyond cycling because the polymer-to-metal interface has other potential applications. Cable assemblies are used in a wide variety of applications and industries such as industrial, aerospace, construction, and consumer goods. Advances in the termination of synthetic cable assemblies will enable the creation of higher strength-to-weight ratio cables and thereby increase efficiencies in transportation applications and improve the safety of tension based systems. An application of particular societal benefit is wheelchair wheels, where weight reduction increases portability for those with physical disabilities. Investment in termination technologies for high performance polymers will also help bridge the gap between polymer research and industry, helping society benefit from developments in polymer science occurring in academia. Finally, the ability to produce low-cost rope terminations will increase US manufacturing competitiveness because the majority of high-volume production is outsourced to low-cost labor markets.This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II project will develop an advanced manufacturing process for ultra high molecular weight polyethylene (UHMWPE) and metal hybrid structures for bicycle spokes. UHMWPE has a strength-to-weight ratio of fifteen times that of steel, but it cannot be utilized in many applications because of the difficulty in manufacturing high-strength bonds to metal. The primary objectives of this research are to automate the insertion and bonding of stainless steel rods inside the hollow cavity of braided fibers, and to automate the creation of eye splices. These operations require delicate manipulation of fibers in a confined space, and are typically performed manually. Instead, we will develop novel automatic machinery that will create these bonds, inspect the final product, and validate the strength with 100% in-process inspection. Another objective of this research is to develop a black surface coating process for braided UHMWPE fibers. To achieve this, we will identify a surface pretreatment procedure to add functionality to the non-polar backbone of UHMWPE, develop the coating chemistry, and create an in-line coating system that integrates with our manufacturing process.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.