Industrial Productivity and Manufacturing
Technology
Carbon Fiber Composites
HyComp®, Inc. of Cleveland, Ohio has recast Lewis Research Center
development of PMR-15 polyimide resin into a line of high temperature carbon
fiber composite products to solve wear problems in the harsh environment
of steel and aluminum mills.
Early NASA work on advanced materials included the need for processable,
high-temperature-resistant matrix resins. A polyimide resin proved well-suited
for fiber-reinforced advanced composite aircraft engine components, giving
these engine parts higher strength and longer wear life.
HyComp was founded on shifting NASA's PMR-15 polyimide resin technology
from aerospace and military requirement to the commercial world. The result
was WearComp®, self-lubricating composite wear liners and bushings.
A durable and rugged material, WearComp combines carbon graphite fibers
with a polyimide binder. The binder, in conjunction with the fibers, provides
the slippery surface, one that demands no lubrication, yet wears at a very
slow rate. Strength, stiffness, and structural integrity are drawn from
WearComp's graphite fibers.
WearComp typically lasts six to ten times longer than aluminum bronze,
a time-honored material widely used in mill operations. Unlike bronze,
which can gall the mating steel surface, WearComp polishes the same surface
and imparts a self-lube film for years of service. It is designed for continuous
operation at temperatures of 550 degrees Fahrenheit and can operate under
high compressive loads.
HyComp's WearComp self-lubricating bearings negates a mill manager's
most aggravating maintenance problems--grease. Grease is expensive to buy
and apply, and costlier still to collect and dispose of. Whereas grease
on hot mill applications can char and seize moving bearing surfaces, use
of WearComp can reduce that problem dramatically. Without grease or sticking
problems, worker hours are reduced, downtime of machinery is lessened,
and there is a reduction in materials destined for the scrap heap.
A wide variety of chemical agents, including acids, hydraulic fluids,
oils and grease, leaves WearComp virtually unscathed. Impact tests have
shown the material to be far more damage tolerant than its aluminum bronze
counterpart.
| NASA materials research made possible
a new class of self-lubricating, high-temperature carbon fiber composites
now widely used in aluminum hot mills and steel rolling mills. |
WearComp materials help solve downtime problems on flash trimmers for
automatic butt welders on continuous steel processing lines. Composite
liners made of the material wear so slowly, operators report getting a
year or more of service. In comparison, aluminum bronze liners are typically
replaced every 13 to 16 weeks. Similarly, guides and rails last five times
longer after switching to WearComp liners.
Using computer assisted design techniques, WearComp materials can be
formed to specific, dimensionally accurate wear liners for wedges, pockets,
and other unique shapes. Rubbing blocks, valve seats, wheels, pulleys,
wear shoes and insulators are among the items produced using WearComp.
Because of the material's uncommon properties, bearings made of WearComp
can help relieve mill maintenance headaches. Use of the composite material
is gaining acceptance among a growing number of mill operators and maintenance
personnel.
WearComp materials add months to the life of equipment, making possible
major turnarounds in maintenance programs. These long-life, self-lubricating
bearing materials are now being used throughout the basic metal industries,
from bar and slab casting, through the hot rolling mills.
Nearly all of the aluminum strip processing in the United States and
Canada and most steel hot rolling mills and finishing lines are now utilizing
these composite materials.
® HyComp and WearComp are registered trademarks of HyComp, Inc.
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