Project idea
The main goal of the project is to broaden the use of composites in harsh environments through innovative surface protection. Current industrial solutions for surface protection of composites are often based on evaluation of a limited amount of systems without optimization of surface pre-treatment and coating method. It is therefore obvious that the protection potential for composites is to date not exploited to their full potential. The present initiative will take an interdisciplinary scientific approach to combine coating systems, surface treatments, coating methods and evaluation for protection against fire and erosion and to build up a platform of competence within this important area. The consortium includes suppliers and end-users from different industrial branches. In order to exploit synergies between the different branches in the best possible way, the project will be implemented by a 2-stage approach: In the first stage, a number of surface protection systems will be screened regarding their protection potential for the most common composite materials used in the involved industries. All partners will collaborate to create knowledge that will be useful for the whole consortium.
The knowledge created in this stage will open new applications and markets for the involved composite suppliers. Moreover, the learnings will be summarized in educational material that will be made available to companies outside the consortium through webinars and courses. In the second stage, the involved end-users’ challenges will be addressed, where the results from stage one will provide valuable input. For three industrial case studies, protection systems will be evaluated according to branch-specific standards. The respective industrial partners aim to implement the developed solutions in (i) next-next generation aeroengines with market introduction in 2030 (ii) next generation military surface vessels planned for 2025 and (iii) next generation composite bathrooms.