Project description
3D imaging of innovative plastics
Fibre-reinforced plastics (FRP) are a new class of cheaper and cleaner materials that contain fibres of glass or carbon. Fibre orientation and distribution are of critical importance for the mechanical and physical properties of the final product. To assist this, scientists of the EU-funded FIONA project have developed a 3D tool, the FibreScanner3D, for the structural imaging of fibre-reinforced components. In collaboration with a worldwide leading manufacturer, the project's activities will focus on the scanner's performance validation and commercialisation. This will pave the way for the introduction and implementation of the FibreScanner3D in the FRP industry.
Objective
Fibre-reinforced material parts (e.g. glass/carbon-reinforced plastics, FRP) have recently emerged as a mechanically viable, cheaper and cleaner alternative to load-bearing metal parts – becoming a multi-billion market expected to be worth over USD170bn by 2020. Accessing the fibre orientation / distribution in the injection moulded components parts is extremely important, since the way fibres are distributed and oriented locally affects the mechanical and physical properties of the final part.
Building from leading research work from Paul Scherrer Institute (PSI) – a worldwide reference in imaging research – Xnovo has developed an X-ray module for structural 3D imaging of fibre-reinforced components – the FibreScanner3D. This module fills the existing gap in non-destructive 3D tools for fibre orientation characterization.
The current project is positioned to untap a very significant business opportunity by preparing our FibreScanner3D for full market roll-out, while also thoroughly documenting its performance and cost-benefit through demonstration activities in collaboration with a worldwide leading manufacture of imaging solutions. FibreScanner3D has the potential to become an FRP industry de facto standard, by becoming a reference solution for accessing fibre orientation/distribution on FRP components giving rise to more efficient design/development cycles and new applications due to composites properties optimization.
The EIC Accelerator pilot funding plays an important strategic role in the future business development of Xnovo. After assessing the feasibility of FibreScanner3D in the SME phase 1 project, we intend to pursue our strategic vision introducing the only commercial system capable to provide structural information on the component scale enabling direct characterization of fibre orientation/distribution in the market.
Fields of science
Programme(s)
Funding Scheme
SME-2 - SME instrument phase 2Coordinator
4600 Koge
Denmark
The organization defined itself as SME (small and medium-sized enterprise) at the time the Grant Agreement was signed.