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For release August 26, 2005
Congressman Lincoln
Davis Visits Carbon Fiber Lab at Space Institute
The University of Tennessee Space Institute’s concentration
on light-weight, low-cost pitch-based carbon fiber materials
ties right in with the Tennessee Technology Corridor concept,
Congressman Lincoln Davis said while visiting the new lab on
Aug. 25.
“We’re open to collaboration,” Dr. Ahmad Vakili assured Davis
during a presentation about the product’s many potential
applications, its ability to save energy by reducing weight, and
its low cost.
It was Vakili’s collaboration with ConocoPhillips that led that
firm to donate expensive equipment, material and years of
know-how to UTSI. The U.S. Department of Transportation has
provided $950,000 to launch the project.
Davis thanked the Institute for “keeping us posted regarding new
technology,” saying he is proud of “the research you do for
UT…and I want this to continue in the future.” After commenting
that Alabama Congressman Bud Cramer has Marshall Space Flight
Center and Tennessee Congressman Zach Wamp has Oak Ridge, Davis
joked, “I’ve adopted the Space Institute.”
Vakili emphasized that a “commercial partner” is needed to help
UTSI transfer its findings to “various industries and perhaps to
make Middle Tennessee a center for carbon fiber technology.”
Pitch-based carbon fiber’s potential has already been developed
and demonstrated in a research spin lab, developed in part with
Vakili’s help. He is now focusing on demonstrating its
applications.
A major attraction of the pitch-based carbon materials is its
low cost, Vakili said, adding, “We’re talking about making it
available at $5 a pound.”
Dr. John E. Caruthers, UT associate vice president and UTSI’s
chief operating officer, and Dr. Joel W. Muehlhauser, UT
assistant vice president and dean of research and development at
UTSI, both envision this work potentially having a “major
impact” on the manufacturing economy.
Navy Captain Chris Flood, the new vice commander at Arnold
Engineering Development Center, and Dr. Edward Kraft, a UTSI
graduate and top technical advisor to the AEDC commander, also
were present.
Responding to questions from the congressman, Vakili said
storage tanks for natural gas made from the pitch-based carbon
fiber would be more durable than steel tanks and also
“significantly more resistant to environmental considerations.”
Citing reported plans for a much lighter airplane as well as
talk of using hydrogen to save fuel for automobiles, Vakili said
pitch-based carbon fiber would be a much cheaper and simpler way
to conserve fuel for aircraft or automobiles.
“When you save weight, you save energy,” the professor of
aeronautical engineering said. He noted that Dr. Atul Sheth,
UTSI professor of chemical engineering, “is working closely with
us on this project as will other of our professors. This is not
just a one-year project. What we must do is to stay the course.”
Vakili cited a wide variety of potential
military and civilian applications for the product, ranging from
tougher turbine blades and better protection for military
vehicles to a longer lasting mixture of concrete and asphalt.
Highway officials are especially interested in extending the
life of bridges, other concrete structures, and highways, he
said.
Checking some of UTSI’s carbon fiber
equipment are from left, Dr. John E. Caruthers, Professor
Ahmad Vakili, Congressman Lincoln Davis, Dr. Edward Kraft
and Navy Captain Chris Flood, new vice commander at AEDC.
Congressman Lincoln Davis examines
carbon fiber material as Dr. Ahmad Vakili gives details
and Dr. John Caruthers, center, looks on.
Congressman Lincoln Davis talks with, from
left, Dr. Edward Kraft, technical advisor to the AEDC
commander, and Navy Captain Chris Flood, new vice commander
at AEDC.
Visiting with Congressman Lincoln Davis during his visit to UTSI
are Dr. Edward M. Kraft of Tullahoma, left, technical advisor to
the AEDC commander, and Dr. Joel W. Muehlhauser of Manchester.
# Writer: Weldon Payne (931) 393-7222
wpayne@utsi.edu
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