HPMI has state-of-the-art composite materials design, processing and characterization equipment. Currently, HPMI labs spread over four locations. A new $17M, 45,000 square foot building is under construction and will be ready for occupancy in the Fall of 2008.
Watch progress of the building under construction. Click on the images below to take a virtual tour of our new facilities: Entrance Laboratory Floor Plans: 1st Floor 2nd Floor Facilities and Capabilities
The IPPD team at the HPMI specializes in (1) replacing metal structures with composites, and (2) designing and producing unitized composites/metallic structures. The HPMI has multiple capabilities as follows: - Concept exploration and definition - Feasibility assessment and cost trades study - Proof-of-concept demonstration - Sub-scale and full-scale production
Specific Capabilities: Processing and Fabrication RTM and VARTM High-temperature VARTM (Tp = 800F, and Tg = 750F) Realtime permeability measurement in a closed mold (GRASP) Mold design and CNC fabrication Compression molding (800F, 150T, 2' x 2') Extrusion (8-zone, 400 oC, 40:1 (L/D), 1-5 lb/hour) Vacuum bagging of prepregs Composites with acoustic attenuation (micron size particles) VARTM for multifunctional composites (with honeycomb and embedded sensors) 2Phase reconfigurable tooling system Large-sized RIDFT (up to 5' x 10') Mid-sized RIDFT (up to 3' x 4') UV curing testbed Nanotube dispersion (sonication and surfactants; powder mixing) Nanotube functionalization Nanotube buckypaper films (70 sq. in., 20 ~ 40 microns thickness) Magnetic alignment of nanotubes Superconducting magnet for tube alignment Nanotube-reinforced composites Nanotube/thermoplastic composites Nanotube-reinforced, multifunctional composite thin films Laser cutting of nanocomposites Waterjet cutting of composites 3D printer Cold cathode vacuum Vacuum oven High-temperature oven Sonicators Hot press Centrifuge Humidity chamber Dispermat GerberCutter Testing and Characterization Thermal analysis (DMA, DSC, TMA, TGA) FT-IR analysis, including microscope (micron level) Optical microscope with CCD camera Multimode AFM (0.3 nm resolution) High-resolution SEM Ultramicrotome Raman spectrometry analysis Rheometer Viscometer MTS 858 table top test frame (25 kN load cell) Shimadzu AGS-J micro test frame (500 N and 1 kN load cells) Drop weight impact tester (6m/s) 4-probe electric resistivity tester In-situ electrical resistivity testing system Permeability testbed (linear) Environmental property test Oxygen index tester Non-contact 3D digitizer/scanner CMM Surface area and porosity analyzer Sample degas system UV-Vis-NIR spectrophotometer DC & AC current source Nanovoltmeter 1100V source meter Electrometer/high resistance meter Resistivity test fixture 20 MHz function/arbitrary waveform generator Thermal conductivity measurement EDAX Genesis XM4 Sputter coater Vacuum controller Rotavapor Radiant power energy meter FloCell Mixing extruder Modeling and Simulation RTM flow simulation (3D, isothermal) VARTM flow simulation (3D, isothermal) Optimization model for LCM mold design Composite structural analysis (ABAQUS, MARC) Thermal analysis (ABAQUS, MARC) RIDFT forming and wrinkle prediction (PAM-FORM) Modeling of conductive network-electrical property relationships for polymer/carbon nanotube composites Molecular dynamics simulation of nanotube-epoxy interactions at nanoscale (Materials Studio (SGI Origin 300), LAMMPS (Teragold IBM p-Series 690)) Molecular dynamics modeling of interfacial bonding and load transfer (Materials Studio (SGI Origin 300), LAMMPS (Teragold IBM p-Series 690)) MD simulation of dispersion of nanotubes (Materials Studio (SGI Origin 300), LAMMPS (Teragold IBM p-Series 690)) SGI Servers and workstations SUN workstations High-performance PCs ABAQUS, Algor, AutoCAD, MARC, Materials Studio, PATRAN, Pro-Engineer