Research & Development

FiReCo has a long and strong tradition of participating in national and international research projects. This is an efficient approach for staying ahead and establishes good relations to major research institutes, leading customers, and test facilities. FiReCo has close contact with institutions like DNVGL, FFI, SINTEF, Inspecta, HIØ, UiO and NTNU in Norway, and are well known to VTT, KTH and DTU in Finland, Sweden and Denmark.

The majority of research programs have been within the defense industry, but FiReCo has also participated in several EU funded projects, as well as national NFR projects. The majority of projects have been related to marine applications, but FiReCo is also involved in airframe (helicopter) structures and various vehicles design projects for land and infrastructure projects.

Research has mainly been within the areas of  material characterization and testing, bonding, structural surveillance and monitoring, non-destructive testing, vessel design, fire safety/fire properties, risk analysis, and finally classified topics like e.g. radar signature (absorption/reflection), electromagnetic shielding, blast and fragment resistance and underwater shock resistance.

FiReCo has also (since 2012) obtained the status as research organization by SKATTEFUNN in Norway, which means that Norwegian companies can apply for  FiReCo’s services in their research or development programs and get tax refunds.

Rules and guidelines

When introducing composites into new markets, or making composite versions of existing structures made in other materials, relevant guidelines and design rules are often missing. Through our experience and knowledge in FRP composite materials, FiReCo has been involved in several projects developing design Rules and Guidelines for FRP composite structures. E.g. DNV High Speed & Light Crafts, DNV OS C501 Composite components, DNV ST E406, and EN 16245 Part 1-4, Fibre-reinforced plastic composites – Declaration of raw material characteristics.