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Spanning Education: Students Design Super Light Weight Bridges with Plascore Honeycomb

ZEELAND – Supporting education and sciences across the globe, Plascore, Inc is again helping students compete in the SAMPE Twelfth Annual Super Light Weight Composite Bridge Building Contest.

The objective of the contest is for teams from a university or college to design and build a single deck composite bridge using an assortment of cores, fabrics and other materials supplied in kit form.

The bridges are loaded to failure and the design that carries the largest load in comparison to the bridge weight is declared the winner. Judging will be announced May 9, during The Society for the Advancement of Material and Process Engineering (SAMPE®) 2009 Conference, in Boston, MA.

The design process of the bridge requires extensive research into different materials and cross-sectional designs. The ideal material is one with a high strength to weight ratio, contributing to a cross-section that deflects the least under large loads.

Plascore honeycomb products used in the competition include PAMG-XR1 5056 aerospace grade aluminum honeycomb, a lightweight core material with superior strength and corrosion resistance. PAMG-XR1 5056 honeycomb is used in aircraft floors, leading and trailing edges; missile wings, fan casings, fuel cells, fuselage components, helicopter rotor blades and navy bulkhead joiner panels.

Plascore provides financial and technical support, together with product donations. The company has a history of working closely with student engineers to provide the specific honeycomb solution for these unique and demanding applications.

For additional information, visit SAMPE.

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