BYU is involved in a technology described as "exciting," "cutting edge," and "unbreakable."

It is this "unbreakable" technology that is breaking through countless engineering boundaries.

BYU is home to the IsoTruss, a technology promising to take BYU into industries with $13 billion a year of potential revenue, according to the IsoTruss business plan.

Difficult to define in words, yet impressive in nature, the IsoTruss is simply a composite structure.

David Jensen, an engineering professor and director of the Center for Advanced Composite Structures, describes it as simply as he can:

"It's an extremely lightweight and rigid structural form."

"The structure is a grid, comparable in appearance to a spider web."

"The grid-like structure is formed in the shape of a cylinder, and can be made in a variety of diameters."

"The revolutionary idea is not the material used to make the form, but the structural design itself."

"The design eliminates the weight of comparable structures, such as metal and wood poles, but maintains the strength."

For example, a 40-foot utility pole made from Cedar wood weighs 1,400 pounds, but an IsoTruss pole of the same length only weighs 72 pounds, according to the IsoTruss business plan.

Rocky Mountain Composites, a company based in Spanish Fork, helped with several conceptual ideas and designs of the IsoTruss.

"We're very optimistic about the IsoTruss being used in a variety of applications," said James Winegar, assistant to the president of Rocky Mountain Composites. "We totally endorse it."

The IsoTruss is currently being tested for major applications including utility poles, reinforcement in concrete, freeway sign supports, construction supports and bike frames.

BYU has established potential relationships in each of these market segments, Jensen said.

Its light weight and unique structural design make IsoTruss one of BYU's most revolutionary technologies, and companies all over the world -- even companies from out of this world -- are jumping on the opportunity to be a part of this new market.

Leon Przybyla, assistant director of the technology transfer office, is marketing the product to companies all over the world. IsoTruss license agreements are pending in Japan, China, Colombia and Finland, he said.

The IsoTruss is reaching markets even further than expected. A license agreement is being negotiated with ILC Dover, a research, design, and manufacturing company focused on developing high technology for space applications.

ILC Dover is looking at using IsoTruss in a variety of ways in space applications and, in conjunction with NASA, is providing research funding to Center for Advanced Composite Structures to help develop the IsoTruss.

"IsoTruss' unique, three-dimensional design offers a stiffness needed for space structures," said Dr. Dilip Darooka, a principle investigator for ILC Dover.

Over $600,000 in two phases is being provided to the Center for Advanced Composite Structures for research and development of the IsoTruss, according to Darooka.

"IsoTruss has the promising attributes that we are excited about looking into further developing for space," Darooka said.

On the recent license agreement, ILC Dover listed its potential market territory as "the universe".

"I have a strong inclination to tell them they can have the universe...except we get to keep Kolob," Przybyla said.

The IsoTruss is also being tested for applications closer to home.

According to the Utah Department of Transportation, the IsoTruss is being considered as an alternative to the current use of steel pipes for highway-sign structures.

Current structures are prone to crack under wind, and repairing or replacing failed signs is costly.

The IsoTruss is expected to be more crack-resistant, resilient to a heavy wind load and less expensive than other materials.

"We're excited enough that we're willing to fund pilot products and further develop it to help it reach its potential," said Sam Musser, research program manager for the Utah Department of Transportation.

The department is investing funds into IsoTruss research for Utah roads, but is also encouraging other states' transportation departments to invest in funding.

"The IsoTruss is one of those cutting-edge technologies with a very bright future," Musser said.

Utility poles are another major market for IsoTruss.

According to the IsoTruss business plan, wood is currently the most popular material used for telephone poles, but the use of wood presents a variety of environmental problems.

Chemicals used on wooden poles can hurt the ground and water supplies when installed.

According to the IsoTruss business plan, IsoTruss structures are environmentally safe.

In November 1999, a 22-foot IsoTruss sample was used by Layton construction as a tilt-up wall support -- the poles used to raise cement walls of buildings from the ground.

The IsoTruss structure performed equally to the steel and concrete poles normally used by construction companies, at less than half of the weight.

Jason Hunt, 24, from Littleton, Colo., majoring in mechanical engineering is a part-time employee at Aardvark Cycles in Provo.

"The bicycle weight is of utmost importance in bicycle racing. You need it to be as light as possible," he said.

The lightest bicycle frame Aardvark carries is a magnesium frame weighing close to 2 1-2 pounds.

The IsoTruss bike frame has been recorded at one pound, Jensen said.

"A frame that light would be huge in the bicycle world. It could make a major difference in a race," Hunt said.

The IsoTruss frame is not quite ready for racing, but it is expected to create a huge market when it is perfected.

"This structure is stronger than a perfectly solid pole, but we use half the material at half the weight and half of the price. I'm beating my head against a wall trying to figure out why anyone wouldn't buy this," Przybyla said.

Initial reactions to the technology vary.

It reminds some people of a rubix cube, others of a spider web.

Most who hold it and feel the delicate pieces said they agree it should break under pressure -- but it doesn't.

Jensen dares visitors to twist, even stand, on IsoTruss structures, because he knows they won't break.

The IsoTruss is fabricated from advanced composite materials. Carbon fibers coated in epoxy resin -- a glue-like substance -- are the most frequently used materials. Fiberglass has also been used in models.

IsoTruss weighs less, resists corrosion that other metals are prone to and decreases production time and costs, while increasing life expectancy and maintaining the strength of metal structures.

The leading mind behind the IsoTruss is Jensen.

Larry Francom, from Helper, Carbon County, created a simplified model of the IsoTruss on his own. Recognizing its potential, but unable to adapt it further, he brought the IsoTruss to BYU in 1995.

Jensen took on the project and has watched it evolve to where it is now.

"We started out just toying around with this idea, and now it's nearly 100 percent of what I do," Jensen said.

Knowing the complexity of the structure is impressive. What makes it even more impressive is that the IsoTruss structures are all made by hand.

Each IsoTruss structure is made using a mold. The individual fibers have to be put in place, tied together, and shaped correctly. The process is time consuming.

Every year, hired BYU students assist Jensen in making and testing the IsoTruss. Students actually create IsoTruss samples by hand and conduct tests focusing on strength and resistance.

Mary Rees, 24, graduate student from Coalville, Summitt County, works on the IsoTruss.

Her most extensive project was designing and analyzing a 40-foot IsoTruss structure. Building this specific structure required four to six people working on it 12 straight hours a day, for two consecutive days.

"Students are working on the project now, but there's a good potential this technology will involve a large number of our students in the future," Przybyla said.

Students who show passion for the project while at BYU are likely to be involved in future business ventures revolving around the IsoTruss, Przybyla said.

The two major issues holding IsoTruss back at this time are research funding and manufacturing.

Testing and developing the project takes a lot of time and money, making financed projects top priority, Jensen said.

Since each IsoTruss structure is made by hand, demands for large quantities can not be met.

Several companies are working on designing machines that will manufacture the product, and Jensen has designed his own machine and is working on a license agreement with a company that would make the machine.

"We have the demand. Now all we need is the machine to spit these products out," Przybyla said.

Kendall Fowkes, 27, graduate student from Coalinga, Calif., is working on IsoTruss research.

"Companies come in and look at the IsoTruss and are impressed by what they see. You just have to say 'Wow-I'm working on something that is the most exciting project at BYU.'"



Copyright Brigham Young University 2 Oct 2001