Clemson Composites

Clemson University Welcomed More Than 800 researchers, engineers, industry leaders, and students from around the world as the host of the co-located 53rd NAMRI/SME North American Manufacturing Research Conference (NAMRC) and the ASME Manufacturing Science and Engineering Conference (MSEC) —two of the premier manufacturing research gatherings in North America. Held over five days in Greenville, So…

USING BIO-DERIVED CNC as bubble nucleating agent and reinforcement for foamed plastics in automotive application for lightweighting and decreasing carbon footprint. Working with industry partners, the Clemson team engineered and constructed an ultra-lightweight thermoplastics composites door that enables innovation for greenhouse gas reduction, recyclability, and circular economy.

Clemson researchers adopted novel surface grafting methods to evaluate the impact of the graft characters on the properties of the CNC nanocomposite. The properties of the composites are not only determined by the matrix and the filler, but also the filler-matrix interface. This is especially true for the nanocomposites that a large area of interface exists and influences the composites’ properti…

One of the goals is to reduce the cost of making vehicles lighter, which improves their mileage and helps automotive companies meet federal fuel efficiency standards. But researchers said the technology could be used in a variety of industries, including home appliance manufacturing. The new method could reduce infrastructure costs and cycle time, while helping ensure that the pieces are mistake …

A cross-disciplinary team of faculty members from Clemson’s mechanical engineering and automotive engineering departments have come together for the research. Srikanth Pilla, an assistant professor of automotive engineering, is the principal investigator on the project. The co-principal investigators are Melur “Ram” Ramasubramanian, D. W. Reynolds Distinguished Professor of Mechanical Engineering…

AS PART OF A SCRA GRANT for the unification of various connected systems, Clemson researchers deployed a supervisory control and data acquisition (SCADA) system program called Ignition on a Windows server hosted at a Clemson University data center. The system was connected to a MySQL database for continuous logging of all desired parameters for the various devices and machines connected to Igniti…

IN COLLABORATION WITH JTEKT KOYO, Clemson researchers advanced the fundamental understanding of material and process dynamics for optimal design of a bearing’s polymeric cage. JTEKT North America is a leader in automotive bearings. It has been a part of the Clemson University International Center for Automotive Research since 2006.

USING SUPERCRITICAL FOAM INJECTION molding technologies to lightweight hang on parts such as bumpers and trims. This is part of a four-year project that to address the needs of Automotive Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEM). Principal investigator Dr. Srikanth Pilla, Bosch and Jenkins Endowed Professor, “Within the technology portfolio for lightweighting, much of the ‘low-hanging fruit’ has be…

One of the goals is to reduce the cost of making vehicles lighter, which improves their mileage and helps automotive companies meet federal fuel efficiency standards. But researchers said the technology could be used in a variety of industries, including home appliance manufacturing. The technology could be ready for the manufacturing floor in as little as two years, Pilla said. When some parts a…

IN 2016, CLEMSON UNIVERSITY RESEARCHERS began work for a $5.8 million grant from the U.S. Department of Energy to pioneer technology for fuel-savings, energy efficiency, and to meet the U.S. corporate average fuel economy standards. Working with industry partners, the Clemson team engineered and constructed an ultra-lightweight thermoplastics composites door that enables innovation for greenhouse…