Green Energy News | December 30, 1996

December 30, 1996 – Vol.1 No.39

ENERGIES... week of December 30, 1996

COMPOSITE FRONT END. The U.S.Council for Automotive Research (USCAR), a research organization supported by automakers Ford, Chrysler and GM, has built a production friendly plastic composite front-end structure that passed a 35 mile per hour crash test which used U.S. government criteria. The fiberglass reinforced polymer structure is a further attempt to save energy while being compatible with mass production. The structure weighs some 25% less than a comparable steel structure.

The secret to crash survival and mass production capabilities of the front end is in the placement of reinforcing fibers. For the best strength characteristics and crash survivability of the structure, fibers must be arranged in the polymer in specific locations. While this engineered lay-up process can be accomplished by hand, tedious hands-on labor does not fit well into mass production. To overcome this obstacle, the fibers were placed by a computer controlled machine, a method in use by some in the aircraft industry.

Perhaps the next step for the environmentally-friendly structure would be to use easily recycled fibers in place of glass such as hemp, being researched by Daimler-Benz of Germany.

COMPOSITE HOUSE. Considering building a new house? Consider a concrete house built with Polysteel (tm) forms from American Polysteel. The polystyrene forms when interlocked create a suitable form for poured concrete and, when left in place after curing, add insulation to the walls. Inner and outer Polysteel forms are held together with galvanized ties which are connected to steel bands embedded in the plastic. The ties create additional reinforcement and the bands create attachment points using self-tapping screws for anything, such as siding, interior drywall, or non-structural walls. Basement and above-ground walls can be built at the same time.

The thick, solid walls can develop insulating values beyond R-40 and forms come in 6” and 8” widths. The panels and precut corners come ready for assembly and the construction method meets well known building codes. Aside from energy efficiency, houses built from this method are expected to last far longer than wood stick-built houses and are more resistant to nasty weather and, of course, termites.