High Performance Fibre Reinforced Composites: The way to reach affordable lightweight structural components? Advanced Materials December 12 th, 2012 H.G.S.J. Thuis National Aerospace Laboratory NLR
Contents Introduction National Aerospace Laboratory NLR Three generations of composites in aerospace Spinn-off / spill-over 2
Mission of NLR NLR is the main knowledge enterprise for aerospace technology in the Netherlands. The overarching objective is to render aviation safer and more sustainable and efficient. 3
Past It all began with the establishment of the National Department of Aviation in 1919 In 1937, this became an independent, non-profit organization 4
Present: NLR is one of the largest technological institutes in the Netherlands, with 650 employees NLR contributes key technological and scientific expertise to aerospace activities in the Netherlands and abroad 5
Facilities Laboratory aircraft Testing facilities Simulators Wind tunnels 6
First generation of composites in civil Aerospace Fibre Reinforced Composites were introduced in civil aviation in the seventies of last century: Mainly fairings and rudders Then Composites were introduced in stabilizers and later wings Focus was on reduction of weight Manufacturing technique: Hand lay-up of pre-preg autoclave curing Source: SCIR-NAL 7
Second generation of composites in civil Aerospace With the introduction of the B787 and the A350 composites were also introduced in wings and fuselages New manufacturing techniques and materials were introduced: Resin Transfer Moulding Press forming Thermoplastics Focus gradually changed from weight to cost Automated manufacturing techniques were introduced 8
Second generation of composites in civil Aerospace Resin Transfer Moulding: Vacuum assisted pressurized resin injection in dry fibre preforms using metal tooling 9
Second generation of composites in civil Aerospace Resin Tranfer Moulding Replacement of composite components made from autoclave curing pre-pregs: Net shaped components: Less machining High dimensional accuracy: Shimless assembly 10
Second generation of composites in civil Aerospace Resin Tranfer Moulding Replacement of thick complex shaped components as replacement of metal forging: Shorter lead times: Reduced storage of expensive parts High level of part integration: Less assembly Reduction of weight 11
Second generation of composites in civil Aerospace Thermoplastics Materials: PEEK, PEKK, PEI, PPS Advantages: Tougher than thermoset short cycle times, weldable Excellent fire smoke and toxicity properties Press forming possibility Potential for high level of recycling Disadvantages: High processing temperatures Price/kg 12
Second generation of composites in civil Aerospace Press forming of thermoplastics with chopped tape Thermoplastics can be recycled by chopping components into small tapes Small tapes can be press formed into new parts 13
Second generation of composites in civil Aerospace Automated Fibre Placement In order to reduce manufacturing costs automated laminating techniques have been developed: Tape laying: Wide tape: Flat or single curved components High output (kg/hours) High scrap rate Thermoset only Automated Fibre Placement: Small tapes (1/4 ): Double curved components Medium to high outputs (kg/hours) Very low scrap rates Thermoset, thermoplastics and dry fibre capability 14
Second generation of composites in civil Aerospace Robot based Automated Fibre placement 15
Second generation of composites in civil Aerospace Traditional fibre orientations and laminating strategies still in place 16
Third generation of composites in civil Aerospace New fibre architectures by Automated Fibre Placement By using automated laminating techniques, new fibre architectures can be used that would be impossible to make by manual labor. Ap-Ply: Combines material properties of tape with damage resistance of fabric 17
Third generation of composites in civil Aerospace New fibre architectures by Automated fibre placement With automated fibre placement active fibre steering can be used to optimize composite lay-ups (put the fibres where the loads are) 18
Third generation of composites in civil Aerospace 19
Spin-off / Spill-over 20
21
Conclusions Composites have been in use for more then three decades now in civil aviation Focus has changed from Design for Weight to Design for Cost Automated composite manufacturing techniques offer great possibilities for new concepts Automated manufacturing techniques and new composite materials offer interesting opportunities for industrial applications and automotive 22
Questions? 23
In case of further questions Please contact our NOST offices abroad directly, or through internet: www.ianetwerk.nl telephone: + 31 88 602 8237 e-mail: ianetwerk@agentschapnl.nl or contact this speaker directly: internet: www.nlr.nl telephone: +3188 511 4604 e-mail: bert.thuis@nlr.nl 24