The United States has invested a great deal of effort in developing polymer composite structures. Now, the government seeks expanded applications.
Experts perceive that the barrier to expanded applications is the high cost of manufacturing.
This is not only an American issue, but an international one. Consequently, the government asked this panel to evaluate the status and outlook for manufacturing, or fabrication, technology in the U.S. and Japan, with an eye toward finding or developing mechanisms of cooperation. For the purpose of this study, we define a composite as a combination of two or more materials that enhances their properties. Our special thanks go to Dr. Tsuyoshi Hayashi, Professor Emeritus at the University of Tokyo, for his gracious help in organizing our study. The mission of the study was to summarize the current status and future outlook of polymer composite structures in Japan and in the United States.