Electron-Beam Lab To Shape Polymer Composites

Imagine curing a polymer-composite airplane wing at room temperature and atmospheric pressure without an autoclave. That's a goal for early 2000 for the University of Dayton's Research Institute Center for Basic and Applied Polymer Research. Electron beam technology is the means to that end, says Don Klosterman, polymer engineer and lab coordinator. Applications for the e-beam approach include airplane wings and body panels, rocket casings, even automobile chassis. A special advantage of the process is its portability -- both in terms of curing all the areas of a specific part and in its easy use as a field