New Affordable Reinforced Thermoplastic Composite for Structural Aircraft Applications

Abstract

The usage of actual reinforced thermoplastic composites for structural aircraft applications is very limited because materials with higher mechanical and physical properties are needed. In the recent years, aircraf t manufacturers have requirements for new continuous fiber reinforced thermoplastic composites with a significant improved performance/costs ratio for new, structural aircraf t applications. That is why a new affordable reinforced composite with a poly (phenylene sulfide sulfone) matrix, presenting high mechanical and thermal resistance properties, is introduced in this paper. Its process by thermopressing, which has been optimized to get the highest properties, is presented. Mechanical characterizations have been performed and microscopy analyses have also been achieved to control the internal structure of the c omposite. I. Introduction EROSPACE Industry is showing an increasing interest for high performance reinforced thermoplastic composites for structural applications in modern ai rcrafts 1 , with the goal of reducing weight and saving fuel consumption. Indeed, in the recent years, the appli cation of reinforced thermoplastic composites has c onsiderably increased: thus, composite materials make up 25% of the total weight of the A380's airframe (extensive ly in wings, fuselage sections, tail surfaces and doors). Boeing also uses a reinforced plastic fuselage for the pr oduction of the Boeing 787 Dreamliner, which consists of approximately 50% share of the total aircraft’s weight. When in full production, with its 787 Dreamliner Boeing will bec ome the first to launch a full-size commercial airc raft with composite wings and fuselage. Since composites based on continuous carbon fibers embedded in high performance thermoplastic polymers were commercially introduced in the early 1980s, ad vanced thermoplastic matrix composites have been among the most attractive materials in the aerospace industry and other high-performance applications. Their com mon advantages include not only those of polymer matrix composites, such as high-specific modulus and stre ngth, but also characteristics that thermoplastics offer as m atrices, namely unlimited shelf life, recyclability , cost effective processing and excellent toughness 2 .