Boston SAMPE Meeting

February 12, 2009 ~ 6.00 pm Social Hour ~  6.30 pm Dinner  7.45 pm Presentation

Speaker:   Stephen Nolet, Principal Engineer - TPI Composites,  73 Market Street Warren, RI 02885-0367

 Tel 401.247.4010  http://www.tpicomposites.com

Abstract:

It is well known that renewable energy, specifically in the form of wind power generation, is a significant growth area for reinforced resin materials. This presentation will focus on the activities of TPI Composites and its role in the expansion of wind energy across North America and beyond.  Multi-Megawatt scale wind turbines require blades in excess of 30 meters with hub diameters that often exceed 95 meter in total. These systems benefit from the application of high specific strength composite materials resulting in significant reduction in the sizing of system components (turbine drive shafts, gear boxes, turbine equipment, hydraulics, etc.) that makes this technology commercially viable.

The discussion will introduce the company and the primary markets served; discuss the applications for fiberglass, carbon, epoxy, vinyl-ester and polyester in wind turbine blade structures and introduce some of the key technical applications and development efforts aimed at expanding wind energy generation through the specific goal of reducing the cost of energy. The presentation will be followed by a question and answer period where specific technical areas can be discussed based on the interests of the audience.

About the Speaker :

Mr. Stephen Nolet

Mr. Nolet is principal engineer at TPI Composites in Warren, Rhode Island. He manages technical activities in the development of low cost composite structures for three business units that include military ground transportation vehicles, wind energy and transportation systems. Mr. Nolet is an active member in SAMPE, ACMA and SME and presents regularly at symposia as a speaker and panel member at national symposia including “WindPower”, “IBEX”, “DMC” and the ACMA annual convention.

In 1993 Mr. Nolet joined the Fiberspar Corporation to support the development of composite products in both recreational and energy related fields. From 1994 to 2003, Stephen directed the engineering design, process and testing activities focused on the development of spoolable composite pipe for both down-hole and surface applications. The efforts led directly to the development of fatigue resistant high pressure pipe systems that have seen use in a diverse set of applications ranging from horizontal coiled tubing drilling to line pipe for the transport of produced fluids in upstream operations. Line pipe and down-hole products were honored with the “Best in Show” ACE (award for composites excellence) Award at the 2001 Composite Fabricators Association show in Tampa Florida.

Mr. Nolet was Vice President of Engineering at American Composite Technology from 1988 to 1993 developing advanced linear processing technology for the automated fabrication of low cost composite structures.

As the Senior Engineer in the Air Force Program office for Advanced Composites in Sacramento California, Captain Nolet was responsible for developing structural composite applications to replace existing aircraft components with a history of maintainability and supportability deficiencies. These efforts led to successful conversion of several components from aerodynamic surfaces on the supersonic F-111 aircraft to leading edges on the A-10 Warthog for enhanced bird strike protection. In addition, Captain Nolet was an instrumental component of the Air Logistics Command’s technical insertion of repair and maintenance procedures and training programs to educate personnel across the Air Force.

Mr. Nolet received his B.S. degree in aeronautical engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in June of 1982 followed by a Masters of Science from MIT in the same field in January of 1984. His discipline and course of study focused on application of advanced materials in structural design at both the undergraduate and graduate level.

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