SBIR Phase I:Pultrusion-Based Production Automation for Revolutionary Low Cost Carbon/Carbon Structural Elements

This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project will develop and demonstrate a pultrusion-based continuous, automated, near net shape manufacturing technology. The technology may be able to reduce the finished cost of constant cross section carbon/carbon composite structures by an order of magnitude or more. The resulting change to accepted cost/performance paradigms arising from this revolutionary reduction in carbon/carbon price will open a wide range of new commercial markets that until now have been constrained by cost to using much lower-performance pyrolytic graphite. The research includes design and fabrication of a lab-scale, automated production line, plus process optimization runs and analytical characterization of the resulting carbon/carbon test samples. Key technologies to be demonstrated include the continuous matrix impregnation of moving dry carbon fiber preforms as they pass through the wet-out portion of the processing equipment, plus continuous in-line rigidization of a high char yield matrix. The resulting "green" composite is expected to be developable into a commercially viable high-density carbon/carbon part after a single carbonization cycle. Mechanical and thermal properties of the low cost carbon/carbon will be many times better than the current commercial materials this product will replace. Carbon/carbon has unique high temperature thermal and mechanical properties. A few large dollar-value markets that will eagerly accept and apply commercially-priced carbon/carbon components include heat treating furnace structures, steel-making electric arc furnace electrodes, fuel cell components, heat exchangers, thermal radiators and crucibles.