Sandwich strength

摘要

From the glass fibre-aluminium fuselage sections on the Airbus A380 ('Glaring Addition', Design Engineering, 2 April) to the body panels on MG's X-Power SV sports car, composites are replacing traditional materials in an ever-growing range of automotive and aerospace applications. But while lightweight composite engineering projects are fast becoming commonplace, engineers are only just beginning to explore the use of composite materials for 'heavy-engineering' and civil projects. The growth of this area is perhaps best exemplified by the rise of SPS (Sandwich Plate System), a composite material originally formulated to protect oil platforms. Jointly developed by BASF and Anglo-Canadian engineering firm Intelligent Engineering, the material, which consists of steel plates bonded to a compact elastomer core, has already made a name for itself in the maritime industry, and is on the brink of replacing steel and concrete as the material of choice in a number of civil applications.