SBIR Phase II: Fast and Low-Energy Manufacturing of High-Performance Fiber-Reinforced Composites

The broader/commercial impact of this Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II project relates to advancing oversized fiber-reinforced polymer components manufacturing by significantly reducing lead times for critical large-scale composites. Conventional mold-based production of large composite structures requires 4-14 months just to fabricate molds. This technology eliminates mold creation times and reduces part production to less than two weeks at a fraction of the cost, dramatically accelerating production of large-scale fiber-reinforced polymers. Faster fabrication of airfoils and structural components enables higher production rates and lower-cost manufacturing, helping manufacturers meet growing global demand for air travel and cargo, reduce order backlogs, and modernize fleets with more efficient designs. Shorter lead times also allow rapid design iteration and greater responsiveness to market shifts without disrupting production. From a national security perspective, this capability enables rapid scaling of unmanned aerial vehicle production, supporting mass, distributed defense architectures. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II project will prepare for commercialization of a technology for significantly higher production speed of oversized fiber-reinforced polymers. This technology allows shaping and curing of large amounts fiber-reinforced polymer simultaneously without molds for ultra-low lead- and cycle-times for oversized components production. This technology utilizes continuous part production via simultaneous shaping and curing, which itself is enabled by novel resins that undergo a triggerable, controllable outside-in curing reaction with low energy input and in milliseconds. The goal for Phase II is to prepare the manufacturing process and produce parts for commercialization to ensure that they can make airfoils in demand from potential customers, including process optimization and quality validation. The chemistry, operations, and machine involved in this technology will be modified to enable production of more complex parts (i.e., expand curvature possibilities), optimize production parameters for parts with carbon fibers, and demonstrate capabilities for sandwiched composites which are necessities for airfoil production. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.