Take our word for it

Composites UK has been working with the Aerospace Technology Institute (ATI) on an aerospace sector consultation paper, identifying the priority technology challenges for the UK aerospace sector.

The global aerospace composites market was valued at $11.5 billion in 2015 and is expected to grow to $24.8bn by 2025 with a CAGR of 9.1%. Closer to home, the UK’s aerospace composite market was valued at £270m in 2015 and is expected to grow to around £1bn by 2020 and anywhere between £1.3bn and £3.5bn by 2030, depending on platform realisation, demonstrating strong opportunities for the UK composite sector. This report builds on the aerospace segment of the 2016 Composites Leadership Forum’s strategy for the cross-sector opportunities for the UK composites industry.

Specifically highlighted are the technologies which should be prioritised for the exploitation of composite materials and the priority product areas for which companies are of interest across current and future aircraft platforms, structures, systems and propulsion components.

Going forward, the ATI will now work with the Composites Leadership Forum (CLF) and the UK composites community (through Composites UK) to identify suitable opportunities across aerospace, with other national programmes and with other sectors for composite technologies that generate technology impact and economic benefit for the aerospace sector.

Edward Andrews, Technologist at the ATI will be presenting findings from the paper at the Advanced Engineering Show on 31st October (12:00 – 12:30) and 1st November (12:30 – 13:00) at Birmingham NEC in the Aero Engineering Forum. Both sessions are free-to-attend.

The adoption of composites within the construction sector has historically been limited to lightweight non-structural elements such as sanitary items and cladding. More recently, the use of composites as main structural members has seen a resurgence. Bridges made entirely of composite are now being installed, with asset owners recognising the associated benefits.

Within the UK the projected growth in the use of composites for structural applications in the construction sector suggests high levels of growth with the UK Composites Strategy 2016 (Composite Leadership Forum, 2016) estimating significant growth. In addition to this, there are numerous technological advancements that will make composites a much more attractive solution.

At present, there are minimal resources for the bridge engineer to refer to, with no recognised design standards to follow. However, structural Eurocodes are in development and there are a number of guides from materials manufacturers. Composites UK has been working with the industry to develop a guide to help bridge engineers understand composites and how they can use them effectively in modern bridge construction.

Within the guide, the history of composite bridges in the UK is discussed, together with some of the key learning points relating to composites, the manufacturing process and the relevant design criteria. Sustainability is also an area identified, with recommendations made. The guide is intended to be a reference document for bridge engineers and asset owners. It is not a prescriptive design text/standard, although it does aim to highlight key lessons learnt by the industry to aid future applications, so engineers should be familiar with the content, and use the guide to help inform discussions with the supply chain and bridge owners.

James Henderson, Technical Authority for Composites in Construction, Atkins and Composites UK Construction Group Chair will be presenting an overview of the guide at the Advanced Engineering Show on Wednesday 31st October (13:30-14:30) at Birmingham NEC in the Composites Forum.

The guide will be officially launched at an industry event at CIRIA, London on 21st November 2018.

Chris Taylor, Composites UK Chairman

www.compositesuk.co.uk