• Active or completed projects: 27
• Estimated ATP funding: $ 84.2 M
• Industry cost-share funding: $ 84.6 M

Potential for U.S. Economic Benefit. Doing more with less is a formula for good business. It also expresses the promise of composite materials whose engineering performance—high strength, good corrosion resistance—can exceed that of traditional materials while reducing the weight, maintenance expenses, and operating costs of cars, bridges, offshore oil rigs, and other structures. So far, however, the driving force to develop advanced composites—which typically combine the lightness of a polymer with the stiffness and strength of high performance fibers, such as glass or carbon reinforcing fibers—has been the additional performance that the materials allow and not their cost of manufacture.

The ATP Manufacturing Composite Structures focused program aims to help U.S. companies develop the technical capability for producing vast amounts of affordable high-performance composites for large-scale commercial applications. With that capability in place new annual markets in the range of tens of billions of dollars could begin opening to U.S. companies, according to industry projections. For example, a team of companies projects that 184 million pounds (83 million kilograms) of composites could be introduced in deep-sea drilling platforms totaling $2.9 billion over the next 10 years. If composites captured even 5 percent of the $130 billion needed to repair 230,000 of the nation's bridges, the market would total over $6 billion. Automotive manufacturers estimate that orders for composites in the $20 billion range are possible, in this case for building lighter weight vehicles that consume less fuel and lower investments in factories by reducing costs for tooling.

Technology Challenge. Present methods of manufacturing composites are too labor intensive or too product specific to work efficiently in larger volume commercial settings such as automotive manufacturing and bridge building. The ATP focused program proposes to turn the table on that situation. By the end of the program, participants should be able to demonstrate cost-effective manufacturing processes for making large composite structures for several classes of applications and be in a position to develop and adapt those processes for commercial-scale production.

One major technical goal is to reduce the cost of manufacturing. Another goal is to integrate design methodologies for composites to optimize overall performance. Also, the program agenda emphasizes development of sensor systems, some built directly into the composite structures where they will monitor in-situ the health of the composites throughout their manufacturing phases and performance lifetimes. These can help certify the materials' reliability for engineers and builders who are more familiar and comfortable with traditional materials. These and other advances should lower the cost of designing with composites since fewer prototypes will have to be built and tested.

Industry Commitment. A broad cross section of materials suppliers, component manufacturers, and end users have helped articulate the new ATP program and have expressed willingness to share its cost. These industries would, if successful in these high technical risk endeavors, design lighter and more efficient cars and buses, more capable and durable bridges, and lighter weight oil-drilling platforms that could open less accessible oil sources under deeper waters. All of the goals and benchmarks for this program were derived from industry-produced "white papers" and meetings with representatives from the composites R&D community.

Significance of ATP Funds. The ATP focused program is the means to trigger expansion of advanced composites beyond military applications and small commercial niches, such as sports equipment, into much larger commercial markets. In FY 1994, over $200 million of composites research was funded from nine different federal sources, but only a small portion of that funding was for technology development aimed at commercial markets. Most federal support, which accounts for more than half of all R&D in advanced polymer matrix composites, focuses on aerospace and military structures. That funding from the military, together with the inherent risk of developing new materials in markets where traditional materials have been used for decades, has kept private investment in non-military applications to a minimum. Moreover, efforts to build new markets for composites have been inhibited by industrial downsizing and reductions in research that would yield important information about the composites' performance—discouraging the market from selecting new materials over traditional ones. The ATP effort will enable U.S. industry to develop affordable advanced composites through this low cost manufacturing R&D effort. If technically successful, this focused program will help to realize the growth of the composite market into a robust and expansive business for surface transportation, civil infrastructure, and offshore oil commercial markets where to date the cost of these materials has inhibited their use.

Additional Information. For information about eligibility, how to apply, and cost-sharing requirements, contact the Advanced Technology Program:

(800)-ATP-FUND (800-287-3863)
http://www.atp.nist.gov
e-mail: atp@nist.gov
fax: (301) 926-9524
A430 Administration Building
National Institute of Standards and Technology
Gaithersburg, MD 20899-0001

For technical information, contact:
Felix Wu, Program Manager
(301) 975-4685
e-mail: felix.wu@nist.gov
fax: (301) 548-1087

Date created: January 1999
Last updated: April 12, 2005