The IK4-IKERLAN technological centre was one of the participants at the XII National Congress of Composite Materials (MATCOMP 2017), which took place at the Kursaal Congress, in Donostia, from June 21st to June 23rd. There, the most recent developments in the field of such materials were analyzed.
Competitiveness of various industrial sectors such as the automotive, railway, capital goods or the machine tool, among others, is closely related to the search for more efficient new components; a need currently covered, in many cases, by innovative composite materials also known as composites.
This type of materials is formed by two or more elements and they seek to obtain combinations, which are lighter, harder and more resistant to corrosion or hostile environments.
The congress, which is celebrated every two years, introduced a comprehensive conference program where IK4-IKERLAN had an outstanding participation. The Arrasate-Mondragón centre presented five lectures in which some of the latest developments were announced, such as the design based on multi-materials, the design of adhesive solutions, the characterization of material fatigue under complex loads and the behaviour towards the impact of structures.
MATCOMP 2017 allowed the centre to show its capacities within the framework of a meeting, which gathered the main State entities in the field of composites. According to Félix Martínez, Head of IK4-IKERLAN’s Mechanical area, “our goal is to offer new, more efficient and lighter materials, always orienting this task to the search for solutions to the actual problems which arise from sectors such as transport and energy.”
The MATCOMP congress is organized by the Spanish Association of Composite Materials (AEMAC), Mondragón Unibertsitatea (MU) and the technological corporation TECNALIA, and it is intended to act as a forum for the introduction and discussion of the latest, most innovative research and technologies in the field of composites.