CoreLite - CoreLite Blog #Physics

4 Key reasons you should be using balsa wood

Thu, 01 Feb 2018 21:44:55 +0000

Balsa wood has been around in the composites industry for several decades. It is used in a variety of applications and industries, including wind turbine blades, boat building, rail, aerospace, automotive, as well as several other industrial applications.

With such a versatile material, what are the key features that make balsa wood the right choice of core material for a project?

1. Lightweight

The standard density of balsa is 9.5lbs/cuft. However, BALSASUD Core is also available in 3 other densities:

• 6.5lb/cuft - Ultra Lite

• 8.25lb/cuft - Wind Grade

• 17.5lb/cuft - Heavy Weight

This provides users, with more choice to choose the right density according to their project's strength and weight requirements.

2. Super Strong

When compared to the synthetic foam core competitors in the market of the same density, balsa wood outperforms in all densities. In the infographic on the left, the balsa wood is depicted with the green bar. It is clear that in compression and shear, the balsa wood is much stronger. Evidently, nature does it better.

3. Cost effective

As balsa wood is a natural product we have optimized the production to yield a high quality material for a competitive price. It is known that some of the synthetic foam core materials are very complex to manufacture, thus the cost of the material reflects that fact. CoreLite is vertically integrated in the balsa wood production line. Controlling our entire manufacturing process from the trees to the end product enables CoreLite to maintain very competitive pricing.

4. Renewable

Balsa wood may have once been considered a weed in Ecuador. It grows naturally all throughout the country, but most notably the growth is very rapid. After only 4 years, the tree has reached a height of 90 feet. All of CoreLite's balsa wood comes from sustainable plantations that are managed responsibly and with care for the environment. Balsa wood is a renewable resource.

When working on a project that requires very high strength properties, but still requires light weight properties, consider balsa. These 4 key factors have kept the material around for a long time and we expect it to stick around for a while longer.

Check out our other post on awesome facts about balsa wood.

CoreLite Board is awarded Certificate of Material Excellence

Thu, 15 Sep 2016 01:34:52 +0000

CoreLite proudly announces that its CoreLite Board product has been awarded the distinguished Certificate of Material Excellence by Material ConneXion.

This certification recognizes that CoreLite Board was voted and accepted into Material ConneXion's permanent collection by a team of world-class material scientists and specialists as an innovative and creative solution in the world of design, product development, and all related fields.

Material ConneXion is the world's largest Materials Library, with seven full-service locations worldwide. The Materials Library is the largest collection of advanced, innovative and sustainable materials and processes in the world. The archive features more than 7,000 cutting-edge materials in eight distinct categories. CoreLite Board is featured in the Polymers section.

Elsa Axelsdottir, Innovation Manager at CoreLite, commented "We are very proud to be included in such a prestigious materials library and pleased that our innovative material and industry leading quality have been recognized. Our wide variety of product configurations and unique properties are revolutionizing many industries and we are very excited to discover novel applications for CoreLite Board".

CoreLite is a manufacturer of advanced balsa & foam core materials for high performance composites applications. CoreLite specializes in producing sustainable materials and delivering customized composite solutions with agile turnarounds.

Learn more about Material ConneXion at: www.materialconnexion.com

How do Structures Carry Loads?

Mon, 09 Dec 2013 18:14:23 +0000

Even though we may often forget or take for granted what is really going on when we add weight to a structure, what happens to the molecular and nanoscale level is amazing! How solid materials behave in structures to support loads will surprise you.

Basically, the best way to look at solids is to see them as a spring. Yes! A simple spring represents how solids work at the molecular level. How? Well, a spring compresses itself when a load pushes it, and it stretches itself when a force pulls it.

According to Robert Hooke, this is exactly what happens with the material at the molecular level; the chemical bonds which hold the atoms together are very strong and stiff, which allows the molecules to compress or stretch themselves without easily breaking. Of course, we do not see this molecular movement unless we are using a huge microscope that can allow us to see the behavior of atoms and molecules. However, the fact that it is not visible to the naked human eye, does not mean it is not happening.

With Hooke’s Law in mind, we can evidently realize that when a material or a structure is resisting a load of x force, it is actually pushing back at it with an opposite and equal force; if it were not pushing back at it, the material will clearly deflect in the direction of the force. This load can either pull or push a material or structure.

Solid materials change their shape by stretching or compressing themselves, every time a mechanical force is applied to them. Most of the time, this change in shape will be invisible to the naked human eye, but it is still happening at the molecular scale. Therefore, because the solid changes in shape (the atoms and molecules are reorganized), it is enabled to push back at it (just as a spring pushes back). However, when the force of the load is higher than the force the material is able to push back or withstand, we see a deflection or deformation in the material or structure.

Considering the theory of elasticity when working with composite materials, will allow us to pick the materials that will best fit the building of our desired structure.