Artist's rendering of the planned $15.4 million Advanced Nanocomposites in Renewable Energy Laboratory at the University of Maine.
The new $15.4 million Advanced Nanocomposites in Renewable Energy Laboratory (ANREL) at the University of Maine's Advanced Structures and Composites Center will be the only such facility in the United States to include complete development capabilities for designing, prototyping and testing large structural hybrid composite and nanocomposite components for the deep water offshore wind energy industry. The laboratory is received at $12.4 million NIST Construction Grant Program Award.
The 30,000-square-foot (2,787-square-meter) laboratory addition will support a materials and engineering research program designed to capitalize on two of the state's key resources: wind energy and wood. Maine has an estimated 149 gigawatts of offshore wind energy within 50 nautical miles of its shoreline according to figures from the University of Maine. Wood, the state's principal natural resource, is a potential renewable feedstock for new lignocellulose-based nanocomposites. This still-experimental materials technology uses nanoscale, cellulose-based fibers naturally produced in forest products to add stiffness and strength to polymer composites.
The ANREL addition to the Advanced Structures and Composites Center is designed to develop durable advanced composites materials suitable for the harsh offshore environment, which must withstand both high wind stresses and a corrosive environment. The lab will support the development and characterization of conventional nanocomposites, as well as the new lignocellulose-based advanced nanocomposites, and their integration into offshore structures. The new facility will include a nanocomposites laboratory, prototyping space for large composite structures, a large structural testing laboratory with a test stand capable of supporting prototype 70-meter wind blades, and mechanical and environmental testing labs. The research goals of the new laboratory complement work at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) on advanced materials and nanomaterials and nanocomposites.
The project is expected to be completed by spring 2011.
For further information:
Dr. Habib Dagher
Director, Advanced Structures and Composites Center, University of Maine
(207) 581-2138
hd@umit.maine.edu
