ACCE Graduate Scholarship Winners were announced by SPE.
Press Release Summary:
Benjamin Hang's work focuses on development and use of tape-laying machine for automated production of tailored layups of unidirectional, thermoplastic tape for use in compression or injection molding processes and other forming methods. Francesco Deleo's work deals with developing numerical guidelines for explicit FEA of composite structures undergoing crash events to improve material models used in codes. He also works on developing better material models for fabric-reinforced composites.
Original Press Release:
SPE Announces Winners of Fourth-Annual ACCE Graduate Scholarships on Automotive Composites
Doctoral Students from University of Washington, Fraunhofer Institute of Chemical Technology to Receive Funds for Composites Research
TROY (DETROIT), MICH. - Two graduate students will each receive a $2,000 USD scholarship check from the Society of Plastics Engineers - Automotive & Composites Divisions as part of this year's SPE Automotive Composites Conference & Exhibition (SPE ACCE), September 15 & 16, 2010 to help underwrite research in composites for automotive and ground transportation. Benjamin Hangs, a doctoral candidate at the Fraunhofer Institute of Chemical Technology (ICT, Pfinztal, Germany) and Francesco Deleo, a doctoral student in at the University of Washington (Seattle), were selected from the pool of qualified applicants by the SPE ACCE planning committee and will report the results of their research during next year's eleventh-annual SPE ACCE, which takes place September 13-15, 2011.
Hangs' work focuses on development and use of a novel tape-laying machine for rapid, automated, and cost-effective production of tailored layups of unidirectional, thermoplastic tape for use in compression or injection molding processes and other forming methods. Deleo's scholarship project deals with developing numerical guidelines for explicit finite-element analysis (FEA) of composite structures undergoing crash events to improve material models used in the codes. He will also work on developing better material models for fabric-reinforced composites.
Benjamin Hangs graduated with honors earlier this year, earning a degree in Mechanical Engineering from the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT, Karlsruhe, Germany). During his studies at KIT, he attended several lectures on plastics technology, which led to an interest in plastics in general and composites in particular. That curiosity was further strengthened when, in the spring of 2009, Hangs began working as a student assistant to Dr. Frank Henning's Polymer Engineering department at nearby Fraunhofer ICT. (Henning also teaches at KIT.) Fraunhofer has an active partnership with Fiberforge Corp. (Glenwood Springs, Colo.), and as part of Hangs' work at Fraunhofer and research on his diploma thesis project, he did an 8-month internship with Fiberforge in the U.S., which introduced him to thermoplastic composites and the tape-laying technology. While at Fiberforge, Hangs investigated the effects of fiber angle and resin on the energy-absorption characteristics of continuous-fiber-reinforced tubes made from thermoplastic prepreg tape. Oak Ridge National Laboratory (Knoxville, Tenn.) subsequently did high-speed crush testing of these tubes within the framework of the HTML User Program. Results of this research work will be published in a journal this fall and Hangs will also present it at this year's SPE ACCE conference. After graduation in May, Hangs started work as a doctoral candidate at Fraunhofer ICT, where he is continuing with the work he began last year at Fiberforge.
Starting with Fiberforge's novel high-speed tape-laying technology, Hangs' scholarship project will investigate methods of integrating functions such as ribs, clips or screw bosses into thermoplastic, continuous-fiber-reinforced laminate structures. This will be achieved by combining them with traditional and novel compression and injection molding technologies. He will also investigate the application of force on a molded part's laminate structure to determine how to maximize the effects of fiber reinforcement to achieve better mechanical properties in thermoplastic composites.
Originally from Italy, Francesco Deleo is a doctoral student in the Department of Aeronautics & Astronautics at the University of Washington in Seattle, where he has previously earned B.S. and M.S. degrees in Aerospace Engineering. In the fall of 2005, Deleo joined the Automobili Lamborghini Advanced Composite Structures Laboratory (ACSL) at the university, where he worked to characterize new materials for automotive crash structures. In a period of a few months, he quickly became familiar with the lab's experimental work concerning composite materials, and his work evolved into a project co-sponsored by Lamborghini and The Boeing Co. to understand crash behavior of carbon fiber composites - work that has led to six journal publications and several presentations at leading industry conferences. Deleo has became the focal point for testing and analysis of composites undergoing crush loads at the lab and currently is the lead analyst at the ACSL, where he supervises all dynamic simulations, including crash and ballistic analysis and acts as the liaison for joint work between the lab and Lamborghini. Directed by Dr. Paolo Feraboli, former employee of Lamborghini and now assistant professor at the university's Aeronautics & Astronautics department, the ACSL lab was endowed in 2007 as a joint effort between the university, Lamborghini, The Boeing Co., and the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). Other sponsors include the Air Force Office of Scientific Research (AFOSR) and Office of Naval Research (ONR). The lab specializes in composites research with regard to damage initiation and propagation leading to catastrophic failure, and in particular to damage resistance and tolerance due to bird, hail, and lightning strike, as well as crashworthiness.
The ACCE typically draws over 400 speakers, exhibitors, sponsors, and attendees from 14 countries on five continents with fully one-third indicating they work for a transportation OEM involved in automotive, heavy-truck, agricultural, off-road, or aerospace/aviation. Held annually in suburban Detroit, the SPE ACCE provides an environment dedicated solely to discussion and networking about advances in the automotive composites industry. Its global appeal is evident in the diversity of exhibitors, speakers, and attendees who come to the conference from Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and Asia / Pacific as well as North America and who represent transportation OEMs and tier suppliers; composite materials, processing equipment, additives and reinforcement suppliers; trade associations, consultants, university and government labs; media; and investment bankers. The show is sponsored jointly by the SPE Automotive and Composites Divisions.
The mission of SPE is to promote scientific and engineering knowledge relating to plastics. SPE's Automotive and Composites Divisions work to advance plastics and plastic-based composites technologies worldwide and to educate industry, academia, and the public about these advances. Both divisions are dedicated to educating, promoting, recognizing, and communicating technical accomplishments for all phases of plastics and plastic-based composite developments, including materials, processing, equipment, tooling, design and testing, and application development.
For more information about the SPE Automotive Composites Conference, visit the Automotive Division's website at www.speautomotive.com/comp.htm, or the Composites' Division website at www.compositeshelp.com/, or contact the group at +1.248.244.8993, or write SPE Automotive Division, 1800 Crooks Road, Suite A, Troy, MI 48084, USA. For more information on the Society of Plastics Engineers or other SPE events, visit the SPE website at www.4spe.org, or call +1.203.775.0471.
® SPE is a registered trademark of the Society of Plastics Engineers. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.
TROY (DETROIT), MICH. - Francesco Deleo, a doctoral candidate at the University of Washington (Seattle), is one of two graduate students who will each receive a $2,000 USD scholarship from the Society of Plastics Engineers to help underwrite research in composites for automotive and ground transportation. Deleo's scholarship project deals with developing numerical guidelines for explicit finiteelement analysis (FEA) of composite structures undergoing crash events to improve material models used in the codes. He will also work on developing better material models for fabric-reinforced composites. Originally from Italy, Deleo holds B.S. and M.S. degrees in Aerospace Engineering from University of Washington and is the lead analyst at the school's Automobili Lamborghini Advanced Composite Structures Laboratory (ACSL), where he characterizes new materials for automotive crash structures. His work there has already led to six journal publications and presentations at several leading industry conferences.
® SPE is a registered trademark of the Society of Plastics Engineers. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.
TROY (DETROIT), MICH. - Benjamin Hangs, a doctoral candidate at the Fraunhofer Institute of Chemical Technology (ICT, Pfinztal, Germany), is one of two graduate students who will each receive a $2,000 USD scholarship from the Society of Plastics Engineers to help underwrite research in composites for automotive and ground transportation. Hangs' work focuses on development and use of a novel tape-laying machine for rapid, automated, and cost-effective production of tailored layups of unidirectional, thermoplastic tape for use in compression or injection molding processes and other forming methods. Hangs graduated with honors in Mechanical Engineering from the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT, Karlsruhe, Germany). During his undergraduate studies, he worked as a student assistant at the Polymer Engineering department at nearby Fraunhofer ICT and spent an 8-month internship with Fiberforge Corp. (Glenwood Springs, Colo.), where he investigated the effects of fiber angle and resin on the energy-absorption characteristics of continuous-fiber-reinforced tubes made from thermoplastic prepreg tape. Results of this research work will be published in a journal this fall and Hangs will also present it at this year's SPE ACCE conference.
® SPE is a registered trademark of the Society of Plastics Engineers. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.
