SCIENTIFIC APPLICATIONS OF COMPOSITES 45
Vicki P. McConnell
45.1 INTRODUCTION
Science may be seen as a journey, encompass-
ing both inner and outer space on the quest for
greater understanding of the universe. This
can take literal form, such as the journey
toward ever farther, faster flight regimes of
experimental aircraft like the X-30, or here on
Earth aboard a high-speed train that levitates
on magnetic rails. Or the journey can take the-
oretical form in scientific instruments that
measure the smallest particles of matter on
Earth and peer into the black holes‘ of space.
From the human eye to ’eye in the sky’ space
telescopes, science continually extends our
vision of the universe.
Science and composites have always inter-
sected in the R&D laboratory with new
materials and process discoveries, and in the
fabrication of actual structures used in scien-
tific applications. The material selected for the
Hubble Space Telescope metering truss, for
example, and the process used to build the
components of that structure are directly
related to its ability to accomplish a unique sci-
entific mission.
As one might expect, pure science is rarely
accomplished in a vacuum; helpful data are
drawn from commercial, industrial and mili-
tary programs and may return to those venues
if the scientific application involves technol-
ogy transfer. Government and private sector
sources may team up to make the scientific
Handbook of Composites. Edited by S.T. Peters. Published
in 1998 by Chapman & Hall, London. ISBN 0 412 54020 7
research possible. And while national technol-
ogy agendas are largely determined by the
presiding political administration, there is
nothing temporary or partisan about the expo-
nential growth of global competition.
Government agencies in the USA have
worked over the years to form a long-term
national technology strategy that integrates
materials science. These have included the
National Critical Materials Council (estab-
lished by Congress in 1984), the White House
Office of Science and Technology (which coor-
dinated President Bush’s National Materials
Initiative and the $1.8 billion Advanced
Materials and Processing Program), the
National Center for Advanced Technologies
(NCAT) formed in 1989 by the Aerospace
Industries Association, the Department of
Commerce’s Advanced Technology Program
administered by the National Institute of
Standards and Technology (NIST), and the
Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency
(DARPA) within the Department of Defense.
Grants totalling nearly $500 million were
awarded under President Clinton’s
Technology Reinvestment Project (TRP) in this
program’s first year, 1993. TRP channels
defense department funds to projects that
emphasize dual-use technology for both com-
mercial and military applications, with the
ultimate goal of enhancing cost and informa-
tion sharing and ensuring that key USA
industries stay on the technological leading
edge (Lynch, 1993). The variety of composite-
related TRP projects have ranged from rapid
densification of carbon-carbon components,
968 Scientific applications of composites
infusion-molded infrastructure products,
marine craft and dockside structure develop-
ment to electric vehicle body and propulsion
systems.
45.2 APPLICATIONS
For the scientific applications described in
this chapter, carbon fiber-reinforced ther-
mosets and thermoplastics offer a superior
strength-to-weight ratio over metal and other
materials, as well as extremely close fabrica-
tion tolerances, complex contours and load
tailorability, part consolidation through inte-
gral design, and resistance to multiple
degradation factors. In some cases, parts and
structure simply could not be made to meet
performance parameters without the use of
advanced composite materials.
45.2.1 SCIENCE-MISSIONSPACECRAFT
For composites, the hard vacuum of space pre-
sents a rigorous environment which may
include atomic radiation, thermal cycling, UV
ionizing radiation and micrometeroid impacts.
In answering the challenges of these synergis-
tic effects on spacecraft, advanced composites
provide crucial payload weight savings, near-
zero CTE, and good dimensional stability
when material formulation or design takes
hygroscopy and outgassing into effect.
Composites are commonly used in optical
benches, precision mounts (including struc-
tural trusses), solar arrays and booms (Lubin
and Dastin, 1982).
Spacecraft truss structure
Carbon fiber/epoxy tubes joined into truss
structures are commonly used for supporting
instruments on science spacecraft, such as the
propulsion subsystems and upper-stage
assembly for the radar-mapping Venus probe
Magellan. Some 60 tubes in the truss range in
diameter from 25-100 mm ( 1 4 in) and in
length from 180-1830 mm (7 in-6 ft). They
were designed for compression load capabili-
ties from 860-6000 kg (1900-13 230 lb). The
same thermoset prepreg used for Magellan
parts worked well in the science and
radioisotrope thermal-generator booms and
low-gain antenna struts and mast on the
Galileo Jupiter observer.
Originally envisioned as one of four 'great
observatories' in the sky, NASA's Hubble
Space Telescope (HST)took its place in 1990 as
the largest optical system in orbit - the size of
a railroad boxcar weighing 11 567 kg (25 500
lb) (McConnell, 1989). Capable of studying
wave lengths from far UV to far IR, the focal
length of this 'eye in the sky' is 607 mm (189
ft). Pointing accuracy and stability are critical
- the telescope may hold direction for as long
as 24 h at a time depending on the object of
focus (Fig. 45.1).
Supporting the secondary mirror in precise
alignment with the primary mirror is a carbon
fiber /epoxy metering truss, engineered to
maintain stability of the nominal 5080 mm
(200 in) spacing between the mirrors within
+15 x lo4 mm ( 6 0 microinches) in the pres-
ence of A1"C (e0"F) excursions at mean
temperature of -73°C (-100°F). The truss was
fabricated by Boeing Defense & Space Group
(Huntsville, AL), along with a carbon
fiber/epoxy focal-plane structure that sup-
ports five primary science instruments and
three fine-guidance sensors.
Additional composite HST parts include a
support-systems module equipment shelf that
holds three positioning gyros, and the fine-
guidance keel. Discrete internal ribs direct load
paths out the main core members and prevent
curvature in these parts. Shelf and keel were
designed by Perkin-Elmer (Danbury, CT) and
fabricated at Composite Optics Inc. (San Diego,
CA). COI has developed a proprietary mois-
ture-barrier plating technology to seal epoxies
from the effects of moisture prior to launch.
Both COI and Jet Propulsion Laboratory
(Pasadena, CA) have built spacecraft test arti-
cles using a carbon fiber/cyanate ester
(McConnell, 1992b) composite that shows less

Fig. 45.1 Composite structural truss (a) aboard Hubble Space Telescope (b)aligns primary and secondary
mirrors. (Sources:NASA, Perkin Elmer.)
moisture absorption than epoxies and greater
toughness than either epoxies or BMIs. Lastly,
HST’s high-resolution spectrograph optical
bench was manufactured by Hercules
Aerospace Co. (Magna, UT) to specifications
from Ball Aerospace Systems Group (Boulder,
CO). Carbon fiber/epoxy offers CTE equal to
quartz and maintains 2 m (6.5 ft) of optical sur-
faces to within 0.0254 mm (0.001 in).
Launched in December 1995, the Solar and
Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO) was
designed to be pointed directly at the Sun to
study the interactions between the Sun and
Earth’s environment. The largest moving
instrument aboard SOHO is the Ultraviolet
Applications 969
Coronograph Spectrometer (UVCS), designed
as an occulted telescope to focus on solar
winds (McConnell, 1993~).As with HST, opti-
cal mechanisms require accurate and
repeatable positioning, so UVCS’s design cen-
tralized upon a three-segment carbon
fiber/epoxy structure. Ball Aerospace Systems
Group and COI built the seven-sided truss of
flat panels that result in cylindrical shape.
Some 80 separate stability requirements had to
be met, along with strict mass requirements
(the structure weighs 21.7 kg (48 lb) but sup-
ports 91.6 kg (202 lb) of instrumentation), and
the ability to survive launch loads of 18G.
High-modulus pitch-based carbon fiber /epoxy
970 Scientific applications of composites
prepreg met weight, mass and optical stabil-
ity parameters with no outgassing or
microcracking. Especially thin prepreg
(0.063 mm (0.0025 in) cured ply thickness)
also enhanced the thermal conductivity of the
fiber, an added stability factor (Kilpatrick,
1992).
AXAF orbiting observatory
Slated for launch from the Space Shuttle in
August 1998, the Advanced X-Ray
Astrophysics Facility spacecraft will bridge
the gap between the two Great Observatories
currently in orbit: Hubble Space Telescope and
Compton Gamma Ray Observatory.
TRW (Redondo Beach, CA) is prime con-
tractor for AXAF and the spacecraft will
contain four sets of unique cylindrical, grazing
incidence mirrors. These are mounted concen-
trically in a nested array. Carbon fiber/epoxy
is used in equipment compartments attached
to the central cylinder, large curved and coni-
cal shell structure, mirror support sleeves, and
solar array panels. Eastman Kodak built the
2643 long optical bench that forms the main
structural element, with carbon fiber skins
over honeycomb core.
LDEF composite specimen testbed
Proof positive of the hostile effects of space
startled cosmonauts on the Mir space station
in 1992 when they found not a shred
remained of the Soviet flag after a year in
orbit on the station's exterior. Further proof
comes in data retrieved from NASA's Long
Duration Exposure Facility (or LDEF), a 12-
sided circular spacecraft launched into low
Earth orbit (LEO) from the Challenger shuttle
in April 1984 and retrieved in 1990 (Fig. 45.2).
By 1993, postflight analysis of the 86 experi-
ment trays containing more than 10 000
different material specimens has been carried
Fig. 45.2 End panel of LDEF
spacecraft shows effects of space
exposure on materials speci-
mens. (Source:NASA.)

out by a team of international scientists.
Research on LDEF's composites specimens
has provided a benchmark for next-genera-
tion space materials, such as those that make
their way onto the international space station
(Stein, 1993).
The six-year duration of LDEF's exposure
to the LEO space environment provided the
longest term flight data ever retrieved for
analysis at that time. Post-retrieval sympo-
siums have shared analytical conclusions,
and NASA selected M/Vision software from
PDA Engineering (Costa Mesa, CA) as one
format for the sizeable LDEF Materials
Database which contained research informa-
tion on about 35% of the LDEF materials by
the end of 1994.
An important conclusion drawn from LDEF
specimen analysis is that environmental
effects are dependent upon the location of
composite hardware on a spacecraft - leading
or trailing edge, shielded or unshielded from
degradation factors (only metal matrix com-
posites with aluminum matrices showed no
location-dependent degradation; magnesium-
matrix composites oxidized on sample edges)
Fig. 45.3 LDEF orientation in orbit. (Reprinted with permission of Bland A. Stein, NASA Langley Research
Center.)
Applications 971
(Fig. 45.3). Atomic oxygen is identified as the
most detrimental factor to polymer-matrix
composites, especially on uncoated surfaces
(George, 1992). Erosion has been observed to
0.127 mm (0.005in) (about one ply of laminate)
on leading edge components made from car-
bon fiber with epoxy, polyimide and
polysulfone matrices.
Micrometeroid damage was not cata-
strophic on any LDEF specimens, but can
compromise surfaces and lead to substrate
erosion (Blair, 1992) (Fig. 45.4).Another con-
clusion drawn based on post-flight analysis
was that predicting erosion rates and formu-
lating material with enhanced A 0 resistance
should key on fiber resistance as the dominant
factor. A prediction model for A 0 erosion
yield in polymer materials has been developed
(Tennyson, 1993), based on the repeatable
atomic composition of the polymer.
An LDEF follow-on spacecraft, the
European Retrievable Carrier (EURECA) was
retrieved by the shuttle Endeavor in June, 1993
after 11 months in a 370 km (230 mile) orbit.
EURECA's mission focused on materials and
fluids in low microgravity and LEO exposure
972 Scientific applications of composites

45.2.2 THE X-30 NATIONAL AEROSPACE

PLANE (NASP)
This NASA/ Air Force single-stage-to-orbit
technology demonstrator program begun in
1986 generated significant advanced research
into aerothermodynamics, propulsion, and
new enabling materials (Fig. 45.5). These
accomplishments were due in great part to
unprecedented teaming among competitive
aerospace companies contracted for the pro-
ject. NASP was designed as a piloted vehicle
capable of horizontal takeoff and landing on
conventional runways (with an airbreathing,
hydrogen slush-fueled engine), hypersonic
cruise (speed range to Mach 25), low Earth
orbit, and operation at temperature extremes

Fig. 45.4 Two LDEF composite samples show

micrometeroid damage in center. A 0 erosion
affected only epoxy in E-glass/epoxy sample (a)
but uniformly degraded matrix and fiber in carbon
fiber/epoxy sample (b). (Source: Christopher
Bland, Lockheed Missiles & Space Co.)

on solar array components. Shorter duration

experiments (from 11 to 40 h of exposure)
flown aboard the shuttle Atlantis in July 1992
focused on further analysis of atomic oxygen
effects (particularly flux reaction and erosion
rates) upon nearly 1500 material and coating
samples. These experiments included NASA’s
Fig. 45.5 Materials science results in technology
EOIM-3, and payloads sponsored by the transfer from NASP demonstrator vehicle research
University of Alabama and Case-Western (a) to a computer part that speeds up data access
Reserve University (Friebele, 1992). (b). (Source: NASk/Air Forch.)
 Applications 973
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974 Scientifi'c applications of composites
(cryogenic to 2760°C (5000°F)). R&D efforts
resulted in innovative materials science
among five composite categories (Mcconnell,
1990), with more than 2000 airframe and
scramjet propulsion components, structure,
and systems built (Table 45.1).
Until October 1994, NASP represented the
hypersonic flagship program of the USA. At
that time, the initial program goals transitioned
into the hypersonic system technology pro-
gram (HYSTP), funded jointly by the US Air
Force and NASA and which will focus on
development of hypersonic scramjet propul-
sion. Yet resulting scientific R&D from the
NASA program generated considerable tech-
nology transfer to a broad range of commercial
applications, including oilfield pipe, auto
engines and hip joint implants. One of the tita-
nium MMCs developed did not exist before the
NASP program and is 100 times more resistant
to corrosion than standard aircraft titanium.
An aluminum/beryllium alloy tested in NASP
heat exchanger prototypes has since found
application in computer actuator arms, provid-
ing a 20% increase in data access speed. Big
Three automakers have studied NASP-devel-
oped titanium MMCs and alloys to cut weight
by 50% in valves, piston rings, cam shafts, con-
Fig. 45.6 Composite aeroshell
and nose cone enabled DC-X
single-stage-to-orbit prototype
launch vehicle to fly nose-first
takeoff and tail-sitter landing.
(Source: McDonnell Douglas
Aerospace.)
necting rods and other engine parts. Thin-
gauge titanium aluminide foil has been tested
in heart valve assemblies and pacemaker cases.
Adaptation of computational fluid dynamics
(CFD) - the study of high-speed laminar air
flow developed to maximize NASP's body con-
figuration - has proven useful in analyzing
aircraft and automotive aerodynamics, as well
as blood flow in artificial hearts. Dr. Steve
Charles of the Center for Retina Vitreous
Surgery (Memphis, TN) began work with the
Rockwell Science Center (Thousand Oaks, CA)
in February 1992 to apply NASP-developed
CFD to modeling fluid flow inside the eye. CFD
will help analyze the role played by rapid eye
motion (up to 600"/s) in retinal detachment,
and possibly enhance the precision of surgical
procedures. Dr. Charles performs some 15 000
vitreous retinal surgeries annually and ulti-
mately expects to use CFD to design a new
suite of surgical tools, 'applying hard science
rather than guesswork to the entire tool set'.
45.2.3 DELTA CLIPPER EXPEFUMENTAL
LAUNCH VEHICLE (DC-X SSTO)
Under a $60 million contract from the Ballistic
Missile Defense Organization, McDonnell

Douglas Aerospace (Huntington Beach, CA)
developed its Delta Clipper experimental pro-
totype (DC-X) to prove the practicality,
reliability, operatability and cost efficiency of a
reusable single-stage-to-orbit (SSTO) flight
vehicle. Comparative figures suggest that
reusable rockets like a full-scale DC-X could
reduce commercial/military payload delivery
costs to under $500/lb - an attractive alterna-
tive to the $10 OOO/lb for the Space Shuttle
(1993 figures).
The one-third scale DC-X prototype had
completed five suborbital flight tests before
being grounded by an on-board explosion that
damaged the composite aeroshell. Despite this
accident, DC-X landed safely and the shell
was repairable. Data collected in the first flight
test series formed the advanced technology
backbone for an upgraded DC-XA vehicle,
developed jointly by McDonnell Douglas
(now the Boeing Co.) and NASA (with some
$43 million in NASA funding) in 1995. The
DCX-A was renamed the Clipper Graham in
1996, and completed several milestone flights
that year: altitude of 10 300 ft with 550 ft lat-
eral movement, and a second flight 26 hours
after the first to demonstrate rapid turn-
around.
Rapid prototyping played an essential role
in the cost effectiveness of building the DC-X
prototype, including construction of compos-
ite aeroshell, nose cone, and base heat shield
components (McConnell, 1993~). The aeroshell
and nose cones were fabricated by Scaled
Composites (Mojave, CA); five aerodynamic
composite flaps on the carbon fiber/epoxy
aeroshell provided the ability to ascend nose
first and return to Earth for a 'tail sitter' land-
ing. Composites accommodated the program's
ambitious scheduling with rapid aeroshell
construction (nine months) and by allowing
continuing modifications without huge cost
overruns. Lay-up of woven fabric composite
skins over foam core resulted in aeroshell wall
thickness range of 12.7-38.1 mm (0.5-1.5 in).
Besides enduring external temperatures to
149°C (300°F) and internal temperatures to
Applications 975
-73°C (-100"F), the aeroshell incorporated
built-in longitudinal longerons to handle
engine/truss, parachute deployment and
landing gear loads.
Glass fiber/epoxy was used in the 762 mm
(2.5 ft) tall nose cone since it required signal
transparency for antennae. McDonnell
Douglas decided that carbon fiber/epoxy
skins over syntactic foam in the DC-X base
heat shield provided the best material system
for meeting weight, price, and scheduling
demands. The shield (about 396 mm (13 ft) on
a side) featured a unique 'super circle' sec-
tional design, joined with titanium fasteners.
Both the prime and subcontractor worked to
the philosophy of building real structures to
collect and prove data before moving on to
more expensive program goals, something of a
first in such R&D efforts.
The durability of composite aeroshell mate-
rials and overall system design was proven in
the June 1994 explosion; according to the pro-
gram director, the 1220by 4570 mm (4 by 15 ft)
vertical tear would probably have demolished
other launch vehicles. McDonnell Douglas
developed and fabricated a robust carbon
fiber/epoxy liquid hydrogen tank for DCX-A
in 1996,8 ft in diameter and 16 ft tall, but 33%
lighter than previous aluminium alloy tanks.
45.2.4 GROUND-BASED SCIENTIFIC
INSTRUMENTS
Wind tunnel blade
While CFD places air-flow analysis within the
domain of computer mathematics, there is
nothing quite like proving an aerodynamic
concept in a wind tunnel. At NASA's Ames
Research Center (Moffett Field, CA), different-
sized wind tunnels can accommodate small
models of experimental structures and shapes
as well as full-scale vehicles (such as tractor
trailers and an F/A-18 aircraft). Compressors
generate high-speed air flow with rotating
blades, usually constructed of aluminum or
laminated wood. In the Ames tunnel with a
976 Scientific applications of composites

3352 mm (11ft) test section, composite design sandwich structure of syntactic foam core
and prototyping work supported by Dr. Clem covered with hybrid glass and carbon
Hiel, a former NASA senior design engineer, fiber/epoxy skins laid up at 0/+30/-30 ori-
and his associates has examined the potential entation. Though syntactic foam can typically
of using composite blades in the compressor, be four to eight times higher in weight than
which is capable of speeds to 711 rev/min. traditional foams, mechanical properties are
These blades would offer the advantages of several orders of magnitude higher. This is
improved damage tolerance, longer fatigue due to the energy-absorbing capacity of glass
life, higher damping and improved safety in microspheres inside the foam core, which
the event of catastrophic failure. also localize damage when they are crushed.
Design of a prototype composite blade in In addition, local regions of skin failure are
1995 (Fig. 45.7) (which is 1067 mm (42 in) clearly visible to the unaided eye by an exter-
long, 406 mm (16 in) wide at the root, taper- nal imprint. Carbon fiber skins served as the
ing to 241 mm (9.5 in) at the tip) featured a structural backbone by providing high spe-
cific strength and stiffness, while the foam
core supported skins against impact. Glass
fiber skins acted as sacrificial protective coat-
ing and visual enhancement of impact
damage during residual strength assessment.
Dr. Hiel reports that the prototype composite
blade tested to seven times the expected com-
bination of centrifugal and air loads, and was
clearly capable of carrying higher loads when
the test fixture failed. Manufacturing the
blade through resin transfer molding (RTM)
could result in a blade that would compete
with aluminum in acquisition costs while
reducing weight significantly (Hiel, 1993).

Particle accelerators
To study the exotic mixture of protons, neu-
trons, nuclei and the smallest particles of
matter - quarks - inside the atom, physicists
have turned to complex scientific instruments
that generate enough voltage and acceleration
to create high-energy particle collision.
Analysis of the collisions in this 'quark soup'
could reveal mysteries among the building
blocks of matter.
At Newport News, VA, the Southeastern
University Research Association oversees
operation of the Continuous Electron Beam
Fig. 45.7 Wind tunnel blade made of carbon Accelerator Facility (CEBAF). Here a continu-
fiber/epoxy skins over syntactic foam core (left) ous electron beam with up to 4 billion eV of
weighs 50% less than aluminum counterpart. energy is steered by superconducting magnets
(Source:NASA Ames Research Center.) through up to four orbits of an underground
978 Scientific applications of composites
ground tunnel in Ellis County, TX. The SSC
design was based on a dual ring of 10 000 elec-
tromagnets accelerating needle-thin proton
beams at 20 trillion eV cryogenic temperature
and ultrahigh vacuum. After a decade of work
and investment of $2 billion, however,
Congress cancelled the program. While much
was made in the national press about the
wasted effort (and the huge hole in the
ground), SSC composites research has yielded
unprecedented results that were directly
applicable to other ongoing high-energy
physics applications (such as the Relativistic
Heavy Ion Collider at Brookhaven National
Laboratory in Upton, NY, the Tevatron
Collider at Fermi National Accelerator
Laboratory in Batavia, IL, the Tokomak
Physics Experiment in Princeton, NJ, and the
European International Thermonuclear
Experimental Reactor).
For SSC dipole magnets (each nearly 18 288
mm (60 ft) long and weighing 11 340 kg (12.5
tons)) and smaller quadrupole magnets, com-
Fig. 45.9 Glass fiber/epoxy end saddles were fabricated and tested for Superconducting Supercollider
magnets. (Source:Brookhaven National Laboratory.)
posite prototype support post tubes were fab-
ricated to test various designs to balance
multiple performance parameters with cost
constraints (Sondericker 1991; Nicol 1992,
1993; Hiller, 1991, 1992, 1993). Material and
process systems examined included continu-
ous carbon fiber/epoxy laminates,
injection-molded chopped glass fiber/PEI,
and RTMd glass fiber/bismaleimide.
Machine-woven near-net shape preforms were
also considered, along with RTMd phenolic
triazine (McConnell, 1991a) (Fig.45.9). In other
components, such as coil spacers and end
parts, the predominant prototyping method
was machining glass fiber/epoxy, though
options considered included highly
crosslinked BMI doughs and other polyimide
resins with chopped glass, fabricated by low-
pressure techniques such as structural RTM.
'Magnets were built for SSC that were never
seen before in the world', recounts John
Morena, who served as the primary compos-
ites materials and processes advisor on the
 Applications 979

project. ’There were many “lessons learned” as Under the National Maglev Initiative in
a result of the years of composite materials 1992, four maglev teams developed concept
development and applications,’ he adds. ’This definitions with funding from the Intermodal
initial work has provided the composites com- Surface Transportation Efficiency Act (ISTEA).
munity with the ability to predict the All concepts were geared toward transport
performance of advanced composites and vehicles capable of 482 km/h (300 mph)
other polymer materials in cryogenic and high speeds and incorporated some utilization of
energy physics applications. These original composites. Among team members in the
materials are now used in MRI, superconduct- early ‘90s were aerospace companies Beech
ing magnet energy storage, magnetic Aircraft and Grumman Corp. Drawing on its
levitation systems, fusion, power transmission extensive aerospace design/fabrication exper-
and space applications.’ Others involved in tise, Grumman Corp. - Aerostructures Div.
magnet prototyping were General Dynamics, (Bethpage, NY), began development of a 2/3-
Westinghouse Electric, Babcock & Wilcox, as scale electromagnetic system, based on
well as the Fermi and Brookhaven laboratories superconducting iron core magnets spaced
and the SSC on-site laboratory. Morena notes a50 mm (2 in) from guideway rails. According
particular materials characterization study to Richard Gran, Director of Advanced
conducted as part of Supercollider R&D: sub- Concepts at Grumman, ‘the advantage of this
jecting thermoset and thermoplastic resin design as compared to a repulsive magnet sys-
systems to high proton irradiation at cryogenic
tem is that no secondary suspension system is
temperatures (lo9rads at 4.2K).One intriguing required; passenger compartment acceleration
result: undercuring some thermoset compos- is monitored (Shaw, 1993).Though Grumman
ites can increase their longevity in the cold intended to finish construction and testing of
irradiation environment without sacrificing its first magnet by April, 1994, funding issues
performance (Morena, 1994). precluded completion: The company merged
with Northrop Corp. (Los Angeles) and then
with Lockhead Martin by 1997, no maglev
45.2.5 MAGLEV TRANSPORT SYSTEMS OF THE
development existed within the newly framed
FUTURE
business entities.
One potential application of SSC research on Also intent upon prototyping a maglev sys-
superconducting magnets could be magnetic tem is Maglev 2000 of Florida Corp. (Stuart,
levitation (or maglev) of high-speed trains EL.) formed by SSC materials/processes con-
over elevated guideways. Maglev is consid- sultant and co-inventor John Morena with
ered by many to be the transportatiodfreight physicist Dr. John Danby and nuclear engi-
solution of the future. Composites offer a neer/rocket scientist Dr. James Powell. Danby
whole list of attributes in vehicle/guideway and Powell are considered the pioneers of USA
structure and in superconducting coils and maglev technology. Prior to publishing their
electromagnetic shielding: high strength and first papers on magnetic levitation (Powell,
stiffness with low weight, nonconductivity, 1996), Danby reports that concepts of electro-
nonpermeability, corrosion resistance, low dynamic levitation and propulsion had
thermal conductivity and high heat capability surfaced periodically but were not considered
at low temperature. Overall weight savings of practical. Early in his career, he worked on
carbon fiber/epoxy or phenolic vehicle floor building particle accelerators while Powell was
beams and shell structure (sandwich panels of involved in advanced reactors. ’Fixed field
honeycomb core with carbon fiber/epoxy magnets on a moving vehicle can induce cur-
skins) could better aluminum by 15%of body rents underneath or around the vehicle
weight (Cope, 1993). sufficient to levitate it,’ explains Danby. ’This
980 Scientific applications of composites
requires a strong force to keep the vehicle sep-
arated from the guideway in a stable way. We
formulated the geometries to accomplish that
strong stability with efficient inductive,
shorted metal-loop elements on the guideway
and superconducting magnets on the vehicles.’
The highly successful Japanese maglev devel-
opment is based on the ideas of Powell and
Danby (McConnell, 1993a).
In 1990, they came together with Morena to
build a proposed 32-80 km (20-50 mile) route
in Florida with inital design featuring a unique
guideway with 8 inch spacing that dampens
noise and vibration, and completely enclosing
electromagnetic and dynamic fields. It will
demonstrate full speed (300 mph) nonmechan-
ical switching capability. Unique to the Maglev
2000 design is the ability to carry and individ-
ually deliver heavy freight (such as tractor
trailors) to stations on major highways.
Specific utilization of composites will likely
draw upon Morena’s SSC experience with low-
cost fabrication processes such as RTM and
resin film infiltration. Guideway and vehicle
test articles are being built in 1997. The cost of
Phase 1is estimated at $4 million with comple-
tion slated for June 1998; in Phase 11, a full
scale 120 ft long advanced transport freight
and passenger vehicle would be constructed
with composite outer secondary shell.
45.3 CONCLUSIONS
The scientific journey continues, surviving
budget cuts, continual goal assessments, and a
changing global culture. Composites are
intrinsic to reaching any progressive destina-
tion, whether that be in space or moving
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