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Fibers (Contd. from previous issue): Key Markets, End Products
Key Markets and End Products
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Wind Energy
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India is now home to over 12 international and domestic wind turbine manufacturers including the likes of Suzlon, Vestas, WinWind, RRB Energy, etc. Plans are ongoing to manufacture blades with rotor diameters of 100M+ in India. Carbon fibers are the enabling material for blades above 45M in length. Zoltek has partnered with GBT (Global Blade Technology) from Netherlands to provide the wind energy industry with all the support tools its needs to move towards Carbon fibers.
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CNG pressure Vessels
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With the introduction of high tech buses in India that run on CNG there is a growing need to effectively manage the weight of the CNG cylinders that these buses are carrying. Type 2 (Metal Liner + Hoop wrap composite) and Type 3(Aluminum liner + Full wrap composite) have tremendous potential here. Currently all such cylinders continue to be imported and it’s only a matter of time before we see the commercial production of these cylinders domestically.
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| Infrastructure |
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Most of the bridges, building, piers etc., in India are now beginning to age. The Fiber wrapping of beams and columns for seismic retrofitting and structural rehabilitation represents an easy and cost effective solution to this problem. CFRP plates and Uni Directional Carbon fiber wraps are today widely being used to enhance the life of bridges and decks and to retrofit beams and columns.
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Automotive
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Europe and the Americas have now begun to look at carbon as a strategic material and there is a lot of activity surrounding the Carbon fiber/weight reduction and fuel efficiency programs of many automotive majors. There is a great potential for fabrics weavers, preform manufacturers, intermediate product form developers (SMC, BMC, LFT) and Tier 1 Automotive suppliers in India to be a part of this growth.
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| Oil & Gas |
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The Oil & Gas industry has a huge need for tethers, drill risers etc that need to be strong, stiff and corrosion resistant. Pultruded Carbon fibers work well in these environments. Buoyancy modulus utilizing milled carbon fibers are also in demand.
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Electricity Transmission Cables
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The High throughput HT transmission cable utilizes a carbon core conductor. The negative CTE (Coefficient of Thermal expansion) of Carbon offers the ability to build longer spans of cable.
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Other products such as Aircraft secondary structures, Boat hulls, Propeller Shafts, Roller Blades, PC casings, X – ray tables, Orthotools, Carbon – Carbon brakes for Aircrafts and cars and sporting equipment offer tremendous scope for Composite fabricators to develop end products in Carbon with a minimal capital investment.
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To summarize – The future of carbon fiber usage will be driven by the world’s need to Generate new forms of energy or reduce fossil fuel consumption to ensure a cleaner and greener tomorrow.
– Akhil Hebbar, Zoltek
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| We thank Mr. Hebbar for sharing this enlightening article with us. |
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| In our Next Issue: |
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In our next newsletter our Info-Tutorial will focus on MoldWiz sacraficial release and its uses. Do send in your case-studies and articles for publishing in our YouSpeak column. Write to us at
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| response@elink.co.in |
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Contact us
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Plot No: 3B+3, Unit No: 6, D-1 Block, MIDC, Chinchwad, Opp. ADOR Welding Ltd, Chinchwad,
Pune – 411019
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Telefax: 020 – 30724590 020 – 30727824
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| www.elink.co.in |
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