JEC Composites has announced the third staging of its Innovative Composites Summit (I.C.S.), to be held in Singapore from 18 to 20 October 2011, as part of its global forums and conferences program showcasing the latest business intelligence and technical content to help promote the use of composites solutions around the world. I.C.S. is the only summit in the Asia-Pacific region that gathers the widest range of technical papers, composites experts and qualified industry delegates in a single event.
Asia is currently driving the global composites industry both in terms of production and consumption volumes, and a wide range of composite materials are enjoying increased market penetration across various segments.
These developments augur well for the future of composites and this year's three-day I.C.S. program, which will be held in conjunction with the annual JEC Asia Composites Show and JEC Asia Innovation Awards is expected to feature more than 345 exhibiting companies and more than 7,000 trade visitors from 51 countries.
"As the Asian composites sector adapts to significant industrial and market changes, this year's I.C.S. program will help expose Asian firms to the latest technology trends and developments that are impacting their business," says Frédérique Mutel, President and CEO of JEC Group. "JEC Asia 2011 Composites Show and Conferences, now in its fourth year running, is already well positioned as the leading composites industry platform in Asia-Pacific. Each year, we aim to deliver a range of industry-specific seminars and conferences, technical sales presentations and business meetings to complement the new composites applications and technologies that will be displayed on the main exhibition floor."
JEC Asia I.C.S. program comprises eight conferences and industry forums that will explore the latest breakthrough innovations across different end-user applications - process automation, aeronautics, infrastructure, automotive and ground transportation, and wind energy sectors - as well as specialized conferences providing insights into the global carbon fiber market, economic trends and growth drivers in the composites sector, and composites design.
To build on the success of the previous I.C.S. sessions, a new Carbon Fiber Conference has been introduced to extend the scope of the conference program, as well as an additional auditorium to accommodate the expected increase in the number of conference delegates.
"The key to the success of JEC Asia I.C.S. program is in bringing together a diverse group of highly esteemed industry experts and technical specialists to share their views on how the Asian composites sector will evolve and keep in step with global trends, particularly with regards to how environmental issues will increasingly impact the entire composites value chain," adds Mutel.
Key industry-specific highlights of JEC Asia 2011 I.C.S. program include:
- Wind Energy Forum - Reducing the cost of wind energy [18 October 2011, Tuesday, 10.30am to 1.00pm]
As the Asian wind turbine industry continues to develop at an accelerating pace, especially with China becoming one of the largest investors in green energy, a key objective is to bring down the production cost of wind energy. The Wind Energy Forum will examine how composite technology developments will play a significant role in achieving this goal, particularly in turbine blade production. The use of advanced composites can help blade manufacturers reduce cost through modeling, optimized materials usage, and manufacturing methods. This year's Forum will highlight the possibilities of materials recycling in this sector as well, with Swiss-based Holcim presenting on the potential for the co-processing and recycling of fiber reinforced turbine blade materials in cement production. The Wind Energy Forum will also feature technical presentations by Alan Harper Composites, Gamesa, National University of Singapore (NUS), Suzlon and Vestas.
- Automotive & Ground Transportation Forum - Facing large-scale production for composite parts [18 October 2011, Tuesday, 2.30 to 5.00pm]
Weight reduction remains a key priority in the global automotive industry. It is projected that almost one out of every two cars will be produced in Asia by 2015, and Asian car manufacturers are increasingly exploring the use of competitively priced carbon fiber composites to reduce weight. This Forum will feature a presentation by Volkswagen that will provide the latest insights into the sustainable use of carbon fiber materials in the automotive industry. New composites production techniques will be showcased through presentations by Huntsman Advanced Materials, Jacob Plastics and Quickstep Technologies, while Honam Petrochemical will share composites lightweighting trends in the automotive industry. The Technology Information, Forecasting & Assessment Council (TIFAC) of India will also present on the use of composite materials in the rail transportation sector.
- Infrastructure Forum - Industrializing composites for infrastructures [18 October 2011, Tuesday, 2.30 to 5.00pm]
While it is one of the key industry segments for composites, the building and construction sector has yet to realize the full potential of fiber reinforced polymer (FRP) materials, mainly because of the complex nature of the manufacturing processes involved. With the accelerated need for design flexibility, weight reduction and corrosion resistance, new technologies and processes based on composites are showing great promise for road construction and pipe production, as presentations by Mostostal Warszawa and Technobell will display. This year's Infrastructure Forum will be moderated by Japan Reinforced Plastic Society (JPRS), and will also feature presentations by Acciona Infrastructures, Ashland Performance Materials, Eastman Chemical, Farassan Industrial Group, Hebei KNT Group and Sekisui Chemical.
- Aeronautics Forum - Combining design, materials and manufacturing expertise [19 October 2011, Wednesday, 10.30am to 1.00pm]
As fiber composites end use in aerospace manufacturing shifts from secondary structures to primary structures, aviation design engineers are increasingly considering solutions that incorporate all key elements of the composites value chain: from the materials, the manufacturing and process automation capabilities available, right down to composites design. Cytec Engineered Materials will share insights into the expanding composites adoption in aviation through optimized composites solutions and application engineering, while the National University of Singapore (NUS) will present two papers that explore the application of nanotechnology. The Aeronautics Forum will also feature presentations from Faserinstitut Bremen, the National Aerospace Laboratories of Bangalore (NAL), and Victrex.
- Automation Forum - The essential step for serial production [19 October 2011, Wednesday, 2.30 to 5.00pm]
The Automation Forum aims to showcase the latest means of integrating automation into composites production to gear up for mass production of composites-based components. To meet the requirements of cost-effective mass production required in industries such as aerospace, automotive and wind energy, process automation is a critical step to optimize processes for machining composites such as rotary tools, micro machining and abrasive water jet. Covering topics ranging from machining and simulation to non-destructive testing, the Forum includes presentations from CG Tech, Flow International, Kuka, Oceania Composites Engineering, Steinbichler Optotechnik and Tecnatom.
New program focusing on carbon fiber composites
JEC Asia 2011 I.C.S. program will also see the launch of the new Global Carbon Fiber Market Conference, which focuses on the use of high performance carbon fiber composites for key industry segments such as aeronautics, automotive, wind energy, and sports and leisure applications.
"Carbon fiber reinforced composite materials are playing an important role in reducing weight and fuel requirements in major transportation industry segments such as aviation and automotive," Mutel says. "Fuel efficiency is one of the ultimate drivers of demand for these high performance composites materials, especially as the carbon composites industry continues to make strides in bringing down the overall cost of large volume production."
- Global Carbon Fiber Market Conference - Towards high quality, reliably supplied, competitively priced carbon fiber [19 October 2011, Wednesday, 2.30 to 5.00pm]
Demand for carbon fiber is forecast to grow from around 48,000 tons per annum (tpa) to 360,000 tpa by 2020. The Carbon Fiber Conference will examine the key developments in carbon fiber and composite products that are propelling this projected growth. The Carbon Fiber Conference will feature presentations by AKSA on the challenges of industrializing carbon fiber composites, the University of Tokyo on how carbon fiber reinforced thermoplastics are enabling technologies for the latest lightweighting strategies in the automotive industry, as well as other presentations by Australia's Deakin University, Hyosung, Mitsubishi Rayon and Toray Industries.
Insights into market developments and composite design trends
Continuing on two well-received conference programs of the inaugural I.C.S. in 2010, this year's Economic and Composites Design Conferences will further provide industry players with a broader understanding of the business opportunities and industrial design innovations that are driving growth in the Asian composites field.
- Economic Conference - Asia Pacific composites market overview [19 October 2011, Wednesday, 10.30am to 1.00pm]
Global composites production expanded by nearly five percent to reach eight million metric tons in 2010, with the Asia Pacific region accounting for 38 percent of the total production volume. Industrial growth in Asia is projected to propel production volume in the region to make up 43 percent of global composites manufacturing output by 2015. The Economic Conference, moderated by JEC Composites Magazine, will examine the business dynamics in the Asia Pacific region and will feature presentations on current market developments, such as the Japan Reinforced Plastic Society, Korea Society for Composites Materials (KSCM) and Taiwan Advanced Composite Center (TACC).
- Composites Design Conference - Enhancing the mechanical and physical properties of composites (In partnership with Prof Stephen Tsai of Stanford University) [20 October 2011, Thursday, 10.30am to 1.00pm]
The Composites Design Conference will examine three critical composites technology issues and will showcase how the understanding of material design principles can lead to process and product developments that will take composites to the next level. Chomarat will present on the development of a laminate design with unmatched processing and material strength. A presentation from the National University of Singapore (NUS) will explore progressive damage and failure analysis for composites structures, while the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) from the US will explain how the design of experiments and modern statistics can improve the reliability of composite materials.