CMPND

In Ohio's growing wind energy market sector, those in the materials business probably know about the scarcity of balsa wood for such uses as wind turbine generator blades. But few think about other applications that are much less visible, such as the construction of specialized rail cars, where the same problem exists – dependence on balsa wood.  Over 98 percent of the world's balsa wood grows in the tropical forests of Ecuador. The supply of balsa wood has become unreliable with increasing geo-political uncertainties. Consequently, any industry that uses large quantities of balsa wood is actively seeking alternative materials. One Ohio company, Webcore Technologies, LLC, in Miamisburg, has developed TYCOR®, a strong, lightweight polymer composite material as a viable alternative to balsa wood.

TYCOR is a fiber-reinforced foam core product used in composite sandwich structures. The proprietary material includes fiber reinforcement through the thickness of closed-cell foam sheets that form vertical webs, which in turn is infused with epoxy or other resin to form a very strong, lightweight sandwich structure. TYCOR can be engineered to provide an optimum combination of structural performance, weight and cost in many applications in wind energy, transportation, infrastructure and defense.

WebCore collaborated with CMPND (the Center for Multifunctional Polymer Nanomaterials and Devices) at The Ohio State University, Owens Corning, General Electric, University of Dayton, and the National Composite Center to form a consortium, which won a $8 million grant from the Ohio Department of Development (ODOD) under the Third Frontier Research Commercialization Program (TFRCP). The consortium is focused on commercializing new composite and nanomaterials from Ohio companies and research laboratories in strategic applications in wind energy, transportation, and defense markets.

WebCore teamed up with TPI Composites, a leading developer and manufacturer of large-scale composite structures for the wind energy, transportation and military vehicle markets, and worked closely with TPI to successfully replace balsa wood with TYCOR in composite floor panels for railcars.

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WebCore Technologies, LLC, is based in Miamisburg, Ohio, just outside Dayton, and occupies a 70,000 square foot state-of-the-art facility where key operations include manufacturing, sales, engineering, technology development, and corporate management.

CMPND was awarded $22.5 million from the State of Ohio 's Third Frontier Project in 2005. In return, by 2009, CMPND will contribute toward nanotechnology research and commercialization more than $29 million in cash contribution and nearly $49 million of in-kind support from Ohio industry, federal funding agencies, collaborating national labs, and participating universities.

 

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