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Morgan designs composite structure for transit vehicle

30 Jan '15

2 min read

Morgan Advanced Materials - Composites and Defence Systems, leading manufacturer of advanced products using composite materials, has developed a large single-piece composite structure for innovative Personal Rapid Transit (PRT) vehicle.

The design for the composite pod for the system, by specialist manufacturer Vectus, contains a door surround with a nine metre circumference. The Commercial Composites engineering team at Morgan Advanced Materials has come up with a way of manufacturing the structural frame in a single piece which would be rigid and lightweight, yet flexible enough to meet the required performance parameters, according to a press release.

Morgan designs and manufactures products in a variety of composite materials in highly demanding applications in sectors ranging from defence to medical.

For this project, Morgan’s team recommended a carbon fibre core which was both woven – structured in two directions for flexibility and ease of surface finishing – and unidirectional, allowing the design to be optimised on a structure for different load cases. The part was then finished using a phenolic resin system, which offers enhanced fire resistance compared to epoxy-based products.

The door surround is now fully operational on the PRT unit, which conveys an estimated three million tourists annually around the Suncheon Bay reserve.

Chris Davies of Morgan said, “The alternative to the process we recommended would have been to split the moulding into two or three parts and employ traditional composite manufacturing process with wet lay-up. However, this would have been much less structurally efficient, as well as creating bond lines and material overlaps which would have potentially compromised the smooth, sleek appearance required.”

Morgan Advanced Materials - Composites and Defence Systems has over 40 years of engineering pedigree in the design and manufacture of advanced products using composite materials. The company has over 10,000 employees across 50 countries serving specialist markets in the energy, transport healthcare, electronics, petrochemical, and industrial sectors. (GK)

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