CompositesWorld
Issue link: https://cw.epubxp.com/i/546021
27 CompositesWorld.com NEWS N E W S N S N E W S E N W S W BASF high-performance materials are smart —and yes, beautiful. Our plastics and polyurethanes can be found in the innovative designs of some of the world's most popular automobiles. At BASF, we create chemistry for a better tomorrow. And a smarter ride. www.performance-materials.basf.us that lets beauty love brains. t h t l t We create chemistry mud. Buoyancy is achieved with Trelleborg's low-density syntactic foam system, consisting of a combi- nation of Trelleborg-manufactured hollow glass Eccospheres (micro- spheres and macrospheres) to provide uplift. The rugged exterior protective polyurethane skin report- edly provides excellent abrasion and impact resistance to avoid damage during handling and installation. All buoyancy installation hardware is fully composite (there are no metal fasteners/components), with composite stop collars on each joint of the drill pipe, which hold the buoyant units in place. The buoy- ancy system is qualifed for a maxi- mum pressure rating of 413.69 bar. Mark Angus, executive VP within Trelleborg's ofshore operation, sums up, "The buoyancy design will enable the use of heavier landing strings and allow rigs to run longer. In addition … [t]his design could allow older drilling rigs to step into feld depths where previously only ultra-deepwater rigs could operate." The system has been successfully feld-tested in the Gulf of Mexico. BIZ BRIEF Hexcel (Stamford CT, US) announced at the Paris Air Show (June 15-21, Le Bour- get, France) that it has teamed with its distributor Groupe Gazechim Composites (Béziers, France), and its afliate Com- posites Distribution (Orvault, France), to support MRO (maintenance, repair and overhaul) activities for composites- intensive aircraft. Composites Distribu- tion is launching a product called CAB (for Composite AeroBox) made by Sunaero (Genay, France), which can store frozen prepregs, ancillary room-temperature materials, and a hotbonder control panel, all within an easy-to-transport box. The concept enables quick repair of damaged composite parts in the feld, says Hexcel. The CAB unit, which supports a hot bonder and heater blanket, is reportedly approved by the Commercial Aircraft Composite Repair Committee (CACRC). BIZ BRIEF Composite Buoyancy System The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the US Department of Transportation's National Highway Trafc Safety Admin. (NHSTA) are proposing new fuel efciency and emissions standards for 2021-2027 model year medium- and heavy-duty vehicles that could reduce CO 2 emissions by about 1 billion metric tonnes and cut fuel costs by about US$170 billion. These vehicles account for 20% of greenhouse gas emissions, but comprise only 5% of on-road vehicles.