An Overview of the NIST FIBERS Roadmap to Advance the State of Composites Manufacturing in the U.S.

Abstract

The FIBERS (Facilitating Industry By Engineering Roadmapping and Science) roadmap encompasses all sectors of composites manufacturing and will be a valuable tool to assist in developing pathways that can lead to new and expanded markets for composites and to guide future calls for research programs on composites manufacturing. This paper summarizes the current state-of-the-art, drivers and barriers for five topical areas associated with the U.S. Composites Manufacturing industry and actions that can be taken to address the associated barriers. The major topics presented include (1) Materials, (2) Processing methods, (3) Recycling, (4) Predictive models and (5) Workforce development.