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.

Project Contribution to the LIGHTer Program Goals

The present initiative aims to support a wider use of lightweight materials in harsh environments by providing solutions for surface protection of composites. The project will thus contribute to the LIGHTer innovation theme ‘lighter through improved material properties and innovative solutions’, with the aim to meet the objective ‘20% weight reduction by improved product properties and innovative solutions’. Moreover, the surface protection solutions developed in the project will lead to lower cost for equipment installation for certain applications, thus contributing to the innovation theme ‘lighter with lower cost’.

Project partners

RISE SICOMP
RISE IVF
RISE Safety
GKN
Chalmers
Involved composite suppliers (Podcomp, Composite Design Sweden)
Involved end-users (GKN, Saab Kockums, Podcomp)

Projektet delfinansieras av Vinnova.

01 Sep - 2018

Projektstart

31 Aug - 2022

Projektslut

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