Composite Aerospace Manufacturing Processes

Abstract

Abstract The development of glass fibers, in the beginning of the 1950s, and boron fibers, in the beginning of the 1960s, and new resins like epoxy and polyester gave a lot of impulses to the research of composite materials in aircraft structures. The development of high modulus carbon fibers has ultimately resulted in the increased composite usage of up to 50% in the new wide bodies of Airbus and Boeing. The driving force in using composite materials in aircraft structures is the potential of considerable weight savings. These weight savings are possible because of the high specific strength and stiffness of composite materials. The major drawback of composites is their higher manufacturing and material costs compared with metallic structures. Consequently, much of the research on composites is focused on the development of affordable composite materials and manufacturing techniques, which don't require an expensive autoclave. Another focus is on the development of manufacturing techniques, which can be automated as much as possible, for example, automatic tape laying, robotic fiber placement, resin transfer molding and rubber forming. An overview is given of the different types of fibers, resins, fiber arrangements, and manufacturing techniques as being used in the aerospace Industry.