the history (and future?) of composites in aviation

Richard Day

"it should in no way be associated with that great body of factual

information relating to orthodox Zen Buddhist practice. It's not very factual

on motorcycles, either."

outline

• introduction to composites

• development of aircraft

• today‟s issues

• conclusions

an introduction to composites

composite

A combination of materials designed to

result in a material with better overall

properties than the starting materials

Composites may contain:

Monofilaments Whiskers/Staple Fibres Particulates

fibres

common textile structures

prepreg

development of aircraft

Wright brothers glider 1900

Wright brothers, Kitty Hawk, NC, 17th December 1903

Wright brothers technology• Wood and cloth

• Wing warping for control (three axis control)

• Engine made in their bicycle shop

• Spruce frame –but wood is a composite containing cellulose fibres in a lignin and hemi cellulose matrix

• Muslin for surfaces- textile structure of cotton fibres

control

http://www.aerospaceweb.org/question/dynamics/yaw/axes.jpg

wood fibres (=paper)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:PaperAutofluorescence.jpg

Bristol Boxkite, British and Colonial Airplane Company 1910

Sir George White

First electric tram service in

Bristol, then London

Manufacture of buses 1908

One (UK Edition) November 2010

Boeing 247 (1932)

• metal, not wood

• monocoque construction

• cantilevered single wing

• variable pitch propeller

• reliable engine

• trim tabs

• autopilot

• de-icing

• retractable landing gear

• faster than the fighter in service at the

time! (Boeing P12 open cockpit biplane)

• comfortable for passengers

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boeing_247

Antonov An-2 (Shijiazhuang Y-5) 1947-

Boeing 707

• First flight

December 20,

1957

• Aluminium skin

2024-T3

• 2% glass fibre

composites

aluminium alloys• Naming convention xxxx-yy

• xxxx is material type

• yy tells you about manufacture (which afters structure, hence properties)

• 1000 series- more or less pure aluminium

• 2000 series- copper (duralumin)

• 3000 series- manganese

• 4000 series- silicon

• 5000 series- magnesium

• 6000 series- magnesium and silicon

• 7000 series- zinc

• 8000 series- lithium

• 2,6,7000 series can be precipitation hardened- one metal in another to

improve the properties

alloys and hardening

• Defects can make metals stronger

• Metals contain a number of defects which

include dislocations

• Precipitates (another material) within the

metal can hinder progress of defects- hence

the material is stronger than either alone.

• A composite??

Boeing 737 - 1967

© Dylan Ashe

A320- Feb 1987

composite empennages and control surfaces.

http://freeairlineindustry.blogspot.com/2010/12/airbus-a320-pictures.html

Boeing 777

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:United_Airlines_B777-200_N780UA.jpg

707

777ConcordeA300

A310

A320A340

A380

787A350

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

1940 1950 1960 1970 1980 1990 2000 2010 2020

composite weight /%

Helicopter composite content

today’s issues

composite design

Composite design

• Many designs are based on existing

designs for metallic structures.

• Hybrid „black metal‟ designs

• Need designs which make use of

composites fully

• Need to be able to rapidly manufacture

structures

Honda jet - 2003

driving forces for adoption of composites

aviation

http://www.acare4europe.org/html/documentation.asp

aviation- fuel consumption / CO2

• SR= specific range

• L=lift

• D=drag

• SFC=specific fuel consumption

• T=ambient temperature

• mg=weight

mg

T

T

SFCD

LMa

SR

0

0

Aerodynamics

Weight

Engines

To reduce CO2 emission by 50

% need to reduce fuel burn by

50 %. Engines expected to give

~20 %. Adoption of composites

gives lower weight, but also

could help aerodynamics

Aviation-reducing CO2

• Aviation contributes 2 % of total CO2. There are many things that can be done to reduce CO2

– Air traffic management- choice of flight path (e.g. stay higher longer is more efficient). Single European Sky could lead to 12% reduction in fuel burn

– Eliminate unnecessary weight• electronic flight bag

• engine compressor washing-greater efficiency, this reduces fuel by 4 million gallons per year for American Airlines, other airlines (e.g. Virgin) do the same. Jet A £1.4/gallon->£5.6m saving

• aeroplane washing-a typical dirty plane carries >300 kg dirt

• American Airlines do not completely fill water tank as experience shows they do not need all the water- this saves £1.4m in fuel pa

• Review fuel load- dispatcher could change the forecast amount of fuel due to captain‟s preference, gut feeling, to avoid call from flight crew, doesn‟t believe the model used to predict fuel load…

– Maintenance can affect fuel burn, hence CO2 emissions – e.g. if APU needs to be left on it costs 1 gallon (£1.40) per minute to run

– 1 Tonne weight leads to 420 Tonnes CO2 per year-an extra 2l carton milk causes 0.8 Tonne of CO2 emission per year.

aviation- weight of materials

Material

Stainless steel 0.8

Titanium 1.1

Aluminium 1.5

Carbon fibre composite 3.6

Spruce 5.0

3

1

E

‘Spruce goose’

2nd November 1947

crude oil price

“buy to fly ratio”

• The weight of metal bought compared to

the weight in the final component.

• Extreme values are

– 1.5:1 for fan blades

– 22:1 for structural parts

• Composites can be moulded to shape with

lower waste

Fired engineer calls 787's plastic fuselage unsafe

A former senior aerospace engineer at Boeing's Phantom

Works research unit, fired last year under disputed

circumstances, is going public with concerns that the

new 787 Dreamliner is unsafe. Forty-six-year veteran

Vince Weldon contends that in a crash landing that

would be survivable in a metal airplane, the new jet's

innovative composite plastic materials will shatter too

easily and burn with toxic fumes.

Seattle Times 18th September 2007

driving forces for adoption of composites

motor sport

applications – motor sport

Jan Manuel Fangio 1911-??

applications – motor sport

Jan Manuel Fangio 1911-95

motor sport- F1 driver deaths in the past 30 years

Driver Year Where

Ayrton Senna 1994 Italian Grand Prix

Roland Ratzenburger 1994 Italian Grand Prix

Ricardo Paletti 1992 Canadian GP

Giles Villeneuve 1982 Belgian GP

Ronnie Peterson 1982 Italian GP

Tom Pryce 1977 South African GP

Mark Donahue 1975 Austrian GP

Helmuth Koinigg 1974 US GP

Francois Cevert 1974 US GP

Roger Williamson 1973 Dutch GP

Jochen Roindt 1970 Italian GP

Piers Courage 1970 Dutch GP

Gerhard Mitter 1969 German GP

Jo Schlesser 1968 French GP

Lorenzo Bandini 1967 Monaco GP

motor sport - composites

• Step change in F1 technology with the

introduction of composites in 1981 by McLaren.

• The other teams followed- now all F1 cars are

largely carbon – epoxy

Kovalainen has no memory of crash

"I have a slight headache and a stiff neck,

but apart from that I am feeling well and in

good spirits"

Displacement

Lo

ad

Manufacturing processes for aerospace composites

autoclaving – the ‘gold standard’

• Complex processing & high capital

and operating costs

• Poor gas to solid heat transfer

• Limited temperature ramp rates

resulting in slow cure cycles

• Limited to Aerospace and high-

performance automotive industries

• Long delivery times for autoclaves

• But… low void content and good

properties!

Demand

• Boeing 787, A350 currently being

designed and tested are twin aisle, long

distance planes for which demand is lower

than single aisle short range aircraft.

• Short range need builds at ~rate 40

• manufacturing techniques need to be

revolutionised

How can we speed up manufacture of composite components?

• Improve heat transfer

Deep fat frying of composites

Quickstep Overview

Flexible Bladder

Heat Transfer Fluid

Flexible Bladder sealing mould to pressure chamber

Mould tool floating and supported in HTF

Pressure Chamber

Composite part to be moulded

Microwaving of composites

Uniform Microwave Heating ?

Simulated Electric Field in Microwave RTM Applicator

2 GHz 5 GHz

microwave curing

• Research into

composites

manufacture,

assembly and

evaluation

• M.Sc. Composites

Official opening 7th October 2010

Lancaster

LiverpoolManchester

Glyndŵr

Bolton

UNIVERSITY

CONSORTIUM

“Glyndŵr University aims to

become indispensable as a

significant, relevant and expert

partner in regional and national

economic and social

development”.

vision statement

themes

• Rapid manufacture, assembly and

recycling of composite structures

• Assessment of the fitness for purpose

of the structures

• Close coordination with industry and

its requirements

To enable the manufacturing industry in

West Wales and the Valleys to grow by

adopting more advanced technologies, and

at the same time improve its sustainability

by reducing its environmental impact etc.

This will be achieved by a partnership of

Universities throughout Wales that will

harness the engineering expertise within

them for the benefit of the economic

prosperity of the Convergence Region.

carbon fibre

• demand for carbon fibre will grow

– aircraft

– wind power

– industrial

– automotive

– other transport applications

Map of the UK showing carbon fibre factories with products suitable for aviation

Conclusions

• Most aircraft have had some form of

composite in the structure

• The amount of composite present is likely

to increase

• Beware tram/bicycle/car/bus makers –

they could be next years competition as

manufacturers and large scale users of

carbon fibre

No CDs were harmed in making this presentation

No CDs were harmed in making this presentation