SBIR Phase II: Thermal Intensification for Continuous Thermoplastic Composite Forming

这个小型企业创新研究(SBIR)第二阶段项目的更广泛影响解决了与复合材料制造相关的历史性挑战，包括周期长、可回收性差、劳动密集型制造和能源密集型固化工艺，导致生产产能低和部件成本高。这些因素的结合限制了复合材料在建筑和汽车等大众市场的采用，尽管对轻量化解决方案的需求强劲。该项目提议在建筑产品中采用低成本复合材料，预计将通过降低初始安装成本和安装设备寿命内的服务和维护成本相结合，降低公用事业和基础设施项目的生命周期成本。在汽车应用中，减轻车辆重量意味着降低能源消耗，这意味着内燃车的燃油经济性更好，或者电动汽车续航里程更长，这两者都可以减少污染。由轻质复合材料实现的重量减轻是汽车制造商合规战略的重要组成部分，因为车辆重量减轻10%可以实现6-8%的燃油经济性改善。这个小型企业创新研究(SBIR)第二阶段项目涉及设计、制造和测试一台使用超声波焊接实现复合材料高产量的连续复合材料成型机。用超声波焊接代替红外加热进行热塑性固化，可以在达到或超过红外系统的生产速度的同时，实现体现能量(单位生产材料质量的能量)减少82%-85%。第二阶段拟议的研究活动将通过制造和测试适用于大批量汽车生产的下一代连续复合材料成型机，将体现的能源削减转化为生产速度的提高，目标是展示最低年产能为250,000个门板大小的单元。要解决的主要目标是：1)扩大和集成连续超声波焊接系统，2)制造能够以每小时200线米的线速度进行复合生产的1米宽的生产机，以及3)实施适合汽车质量标准的过程控制。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力优势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 of this Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II project addresses the historic challenges associated with composite manufacturing, including long cycle times, poor recyclability, labor-intensive manufacturing, and energy-intensive curing processes, leading to low production throughput and high part cost. This combination of factors has limited the adoption of composite materials in mass markets such as construction and automotive, despite strong demand for lightweight solutions. This project proposes implementation of low-cost composite materials in construction products is projected to reduce the lifecycle cost of utility and infrastructure projects through a combination of lower initial installation costs and lower service and maintenance costs over the life of the installed equipment. In automotive applications, vehicle weight reduction translates to reduced energy consumption, meaning better fuel economy in combustion vehicles or improved electric vehicle range, both of which reduce pollution. Weight reduction, enabled by lightweight composite materials, is a significant component of automaker compliance strategy, as a 10% vehicle weight reduction can achieve a 6-8% fuel economy improvement. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II project involves the design, fabrication, and testing of a continuous composite forming machine that uses ultrasonic welding to achieve high throughput of composite materials. Replacing infrared heating for thermoplastic consolidation with ultrasonic welding can achieve an 82-85% reduction in embodied energy (energy per unit mass of material produced), while matching or exceeding the production speed of the infrared system. The research activities proposed for Phase II will translate the embodied energy reductions into production speed improvements through the fabrication and testing of a next-generation continuous composite forming machine that is suitable for high-volume automotive production, with the goal of demonstrating a minimum production capacity of 250,000 door-panel-sized units per year. The key objectives to be addressed are: 1) scale-up and integration of a continuous ultrasonic welding system, 2) fabrication of a 1-meter-wide production machine capable of composite production at a line speed of 200 linear meters per hour, and 3) implementation of process controls suitable for automotive quality standards.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.