Rapid tow sheared composite tube

Having constructed a test cylinder with a novel method of laying down carbon fibre, an ESA-led project tested it to buckling point within a crushing machine that subjected it to the equivalent of 10 tons of force. The cylinder met its predicted specifications perfectly, outperforming a traditionally-made equivalent using the same constituent materials. The company involved, iCOMAT in the UK, has now been shortlisted as for the 2022 JEC World Composites Innovation Award – recognised as one of the year’s global top three main innovations in the field of aerospace composites.