SBIR Phase II: Development of High Speed Process Technology for the Manufacturing of Cost Effective Polymer Rebar

这个小企业创新研究（SBIR）二期项目将重点开发大规模生产纤维增强聚合物（FRP）钢筋所需的工艺。与未涂覆的钢筋相比，FRP钢筋具有显著的性能优势。这些优点包括重量减轻七倍，无腐蚀，从而使混凝土使用量减少30%（相应的二氧化碳排放量减少150亿吨），并且与钢筋产品相比，直径更小的产品具有同等的抗拉强度。FRP钢筋正在生产，但由于其成本高，市场接受度有限。在这个项目中开发的高速工艺将使价格与未涂覆的钢材相当，并使加工速度比目前的FRP制造提高一百倍。综合起来，这些改进将允许进入1400亿美元的全球钢筋市场，并允许大众市场采用FRP钢筋。此外，将探索玄武岩矿的废料，并在可能的情况下将其用作生产纤维的原料。该项目的更广泛影响/商业潜力包括创造就业机会和环境影响。通过实施这一流程，可以立即创造多达35个制造业工作岗位。该公司的高速工艺结合了热固性树脂和玄武岩纤维作为FRP复合材料的主要增强材料。在过去的20年里，一群拉挤者共同组织了纤维增强聚合物钢筋制造商委员会，并将FRP钢筋发展成为一种可行的产品，目前的市场价值为12亿美元。目前，没有玻璃钢钢筋产品的价格与未涂覆的钢筋相当，为了达到这种价格平价，已经发明了一种高速工艺。随着二期SBIR项目的完成，这一新工艺将得到优化和进一步发展。玄武岩纤维是一种新兴材料，具有替代碳纤维和其他纤维的多种用途，随着该项目的完成，玄武岩纤维将进入大规模工业应用。第一阶段项目允许确定不常用于拉挤的热固性树脂的性能特征，使产品验证成为可能。该二期项目将解决玻璃钢螺纹钢在工业规模生产中遇到的一系列制造挑战，使最终产品在商业上可行，价格与螺纹钢相当。

This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II project will focus on developing the process required to produce fiber reinforced polymer (FRP) rebar at scale. FRP rebar offers significant performance advantages when compared to uncoated steel rebar. These advantages include a sevenfold weight reduction, no corrosion - which in turn permits a 30% reduction in concrete usage (and a corresponding 15 billion ton reduction in CO2 emissions) - and equivalent tensile strength at smaller diameters compared to steel rebar products. FRP rebar is being produced but has limited market acceptance due to its high cost. The high-speed process to be developed in this project will allow price parity when compared to uncoated steel and enable a hundredfold improvement in process speeds compared to current FRP manufacturing. Combined, these improvements will allow entry to the $140 billion global market for steel rebar and allow mass market adoption of FRP rebar. Additionally, basalt mine waste will be explored and, where possible, utilized as a raw material for fiber production. The broader impact/commercial potential of this project includes job creation and environmental impacts. With implementation of this process up to 35 manufacturing jobs can be created immediately. The company's high speed process combines a thermoset resin and basalt fiber as primary reinforcements within the FRP composite. A consortium of pultruders has collectively organized the Fiber Reinforced Polymer Rebar Manufacturers Council and has developed FRP rebar into a viable product over the last 20 years, with a $1.2 billion market at present. Currently, no FRP rebar product is offered at price parity with uncoated steel rebar, and to reach this price parity a high speed process has been invented. This novel process will be optimized and further developed by the completion of this Phase II SBIR project. Basalt fiber, an emerging material with the potential to replace carbon and other fibers in a variety of applications will be brought into large-scale industrial usage with the completion of this project. The Phase I project permitted the determination of the performance characteristics of thermoset resins which have not been commonly used in pultrusion, enabling product validation. This Phase II project will address a range of manufacturing challenges that will be encountered in the production of FRP rebar at industrial scale, allowing a commercially viable final product that can be offered at price parity with steel rebar.