PROJECT NAME: Educational Development for Sustainable and Eco-friendly Cork Composites in Aerospace Applications

PROJECT CODE:  2020-1-TR01-KA203-092763

DURATION: 36 MONTHS

BUDGET: 269.045,00 EUR 

AIM AND GOALS: 

Material science is being developed, and major industries such as aerospace and automotive take advantage of cutting-edge technologies in their applications. As light-weight materials along with superior strength are demanded by the market, composite materials have come to the fore as the substituent of metal alloys. Although the technical side of industrial applications is compensated by the rise of composites, sustainability and eco-friendly properties of materials, which have important places within the EU policy areas, still require efforts by institutes and companies. At this juncture, composites produced from natural materials such as cork become more of an issue due to their environmentally friendly properties. There are about 2,200,000 hectares of cork forest; 34% in Portugal and 27% in Spain. Cork production is sustainable because the cork tree is not cut down to obtain cork; only the bark is stripped to harvest the cork. The tree continues to live and grow. The sustainability of production and the easy recycling of cork products and by-products are two of its most distinctive aspects. Cork oak forests also prevent desertification and the refuge of various endangered species. Leading companies especially in the aerospace sector make investments in cork. However, there is a lack of human resources in the field since syllabuses in engineering programs focus on technical sides rather than including environmental effects of engineering materials.

ECOCORK aims to develop educational tools for gaining environmental awareness in the manufacturing of cork composites as well as understanding the importance of eco-friendly natural composites in sustainability. Within this scope, partners will develop an educational scheme and the project will be concentrated on individuals at the college level. The institutions will develop curricula, course materials, learning platforms, as well as organizing summer schools for the students. Moreover, staff skills will be enhanced in a particular and promising field by the interactions between the pacemaker partners. Within this scope of strategic partnership, there will be an established bridge from the homeland of cork (Portugal and Spain) to Eastern Europe, where vast amounts of investments have been paid for aerospace applications. Hence, there will be a chance to have a good educational partnership in the development of sustainable cork composites for the aerospace industry.

"Funded by the Erasmus+ Programme of the European Union. However, European Commission and Turkish National Agency cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein."