Contact: Bob Ratliff
Mississippi State University is an inaugural partner in a new higher education consortium that specializes in composite materials research for NASA.
The National Center for Advanced Manufacturing is a collaboration among MSU, the University of New Orleans, and Texas A&M, Virginia Tech and Tennessee Tech universities.
Other NCAM participants include the National Aeronautics and Space Administration's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala., and Lockheed Martin Space Systems-Michoud Operations in New Orleans. UNO is the consortium's lead institution.
"The partnership's goal is to strengthen the competitiveness of the United States in aerospace and other commercial markets that require large composite-structure manufacturing," said aerospace engineering department head John McWhorter. "The initial focus will be on composite manufacturing, which is a strength of our Raspet Flight Research Laboratory."
Composites are high-strength, lightweight combinations of alloys, plastics and ceramics.
MSU's initial portion of the federal grant totals $250,000 this fiscal year. Some of that money will be used to train Raspet Lab scientists in testing composite materials at the temperature of liquid hydrogen--minus 423 degrees Fahrenheit. Because space vehicles are powered by liquid hydrogen, their fuel tanks must withstand super-low temperatures.
In addition to providing additional opportunities for scientists and students to work with colleagues at member universities and industries, the consortium enables Raspet team members to begin investigating the parameters of large-scale composite manufacturing, McWhorter said.
"Right now, composite structure components are limited in size to what will fit into a 20-foot-wide autoclave" he said, explaining that an autoclave is an enclosure used to conduct chemical reactions under high pressure.
"Our research now will look at construction outside the autoclave of larger space vehicle components that can withstand the rigors of launch and re-entry," McWhorter said.
NEWS EDITORS/DIRECTORS: For additional comments, contact Dr. McWhorter at (662) 325-3623.