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FEATURES COLUMNS
20 High-Performance 5 From the Editor
HPC editor-in-chief Jeff Sloan
Composites for Aircraft suggests we say goodbye to $5/lb
Interiors Conference carbon ber and expect that com-
posites will earn their way onto
Review autos by saving drivers money.
Colocated with the Aircraft Interiors 20
Expo Americas, CompositesWorlds 7 Market Trends
interiors conference focused on Advanced materials analyst Ross
ways to get more composites inside Kozarsky looks at composites and
competing metals in the multima-
the aircraft.
By Karen Wood
26 terial car of the future.
10 Testing Tech
Dr. Donald F. Adams revisits the
26 A400M Wing Assembly: topic of global test standardization,
suggesting a simple but unlikely x
Challenge of Integrating to the lack of harmonization.
Composites
The Atlas military aircrafts decade of 24 Work in Progress
development has lighted the path for HPC editor-in-chief Jeff Sloan de-
Airbus wing development on the tails recent testing that gauged the
A350 and future programs. comparative efciency of electric,
oil-based and water-based mold
By Jeff Sloan temperature control systems.
JANUARY
volume: twenty-one
number: one 2013
JANUARY 2013 | 1
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2 | HIGH-PERFORMANCE COMPOSITES
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CONTRIBUTING WRITERS
Dale Brosius
dale@compositesworld.com
The Explosion Proof Bonder--
Redefined
Ginger Gardiner
ginger@compositesworld.com
Works
on
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400 Hz
mlegault@compositesworld.com
Peggy Malnati
peggy@compositesworld.com
John Winkel
jwinkel@indra.net
JANUARY 2013 | 3
EDITOR
JANUARY 2013 | 5
MARKET TRENDS
MARKET TRENDS
OPTIMIZING MATERIALS SELECTION IN AUTOMOTIVE AND
AEROSPACE STRUCTURES
JANUARY 2013 | 7
ets and the obstacles to adoption of sium produced in sheets by nanoMAG commercial success that includes a fo-
competing materials. Going deeper, a (Livonia, Mich., a Thixomat company). cus on small, complex, high-value parts,
decision-tree, material-trade analysis The company uses a proprietary thixo- such as components for gas turbine en-
of aerospace material selection for molding thermal/mechanical process gines and orthopedic implants (see
aircraft components shows that, for that converts billets to sheet form and Learn More, below). Savvy developers
example, high-strength steel has an is currently targeting high-value applica- will sell optimized raw material powders
assured position in landing gear to- tions in defense, armor, aerospace and at high margins to enable part manufac-
day, but titanium and carbon likely will sporting goods, with the help of grants turing. Manufacturers who need com-
grow in those applications. Aluminum from the U.S. Army and others. This ma- plex, high-temperature plastic or metal
will remain a strong contender in ribs, terial could represent a kick to the gut for parts should consider engaging with one
stringers and bulkheads, but carbon other structural materials, depending on of the leaders in this growing sector.
ber and titanium are poised to take its development and adoption.
larger shares in that area. In the auto- Finally, additive manufacturing must
motive sector, semistructural compo- be viewed as both a competitive and a
nents, such as seats and instrument complementary solution in many appli-
LEARN MORE
@
panel beams in the vehicle interior, cations. This fascinating technology, www.compositesworld.com
8 | HIGH-PERFORMANCE COMPOSITES
Composite this.
All bark. Nice bite.
Whats the connection? From the loggers saw to the dentists drill,
Norplex-Micarta technology keeps things running smoothly. Wear
Resistant
Commercial band saws need blade guides that can take punishing Norplex-Micarta combines
conditions. Thermoset laminate guides dont swell or wear like other cotton, aramid and other
materials, so he fears nothing except her. Good thing her drill substrates with a resin system to
employs a phenolic bearing retainer cage for smooth, quietly reassuring form high-strength, low-wear
performance at high speeds. materials. We can customize
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TESTING TECH
COMPOSITES TESTING: THE CONTINUING STANDARDS DILEMMA
10 | HIGH-PERFORMANCE COMPOSITES
TESTING TECH
D6484), adopted directly from a Boeing as the Boeing method, even though the could even keep the existing soft conver-
internal document. The Boeing speci- specimen was 9-inches/229-mm shorter. sions. However, the U.S. aerospace in-
men was 12 inches long. When the ASTM It becomes obvious that the small (4.8 dustry is strongly opposed to converting
standard was written, the soft met- mm) difference between the U.S. Cus- to S.I. units, and because it has a strong
ric conversion was 300 mm. But this is tomary units specimen length and the inuence on ASTM, the latter is unlikely
4.8-mm shorter than the original Boeing S.I. units length for the Boeing specimen to make the change.
specimen and, therefore, the English itself is of little technical importance. This opens the possibility that, in this
version of the ASTM D6484 test xture ASTM could single-handedly make age of growing globalization, the remain-
is not suitable for use. This is because a major contribution to solving these der of the world will leave the U.S. and its
the Boeing test provides 0.2 inch/5.1 mm problems by simply converting all of U.S. Customary units behind, isolated
of clearance between the two halves of their standards to S.I. units only and from the global mainstream. Perhaps, in
the xture to allow for elastic compres- abandoning all English units. ASTM fact, this is already happening.
sion of the specimen before failure at the
hole. There will be insufcient clearance
(only 0.3 mm) if the shorter S.I. units
specimen is used in the U.S. Customary
units xture. The xture will bottom out
before specimen failure is achieved. Doz-
ens of similar examples could be listed.
The ASTM soft conversions issue EXCELLENCE IN
aside, other standards organizations CORE SOLUTIONS
also introduced minor changes that in-
troduce similar complications. The re-
sult is that many testing laboratories are
forced to have two (or more) test xtures
available to perform the same test, de- Our advanced applications core materials
pending on the standard they are obli- are really going places.
gated to follow for a particular customer.
Its possible that all of this could be
justied if the differences mattered. But they
don't. For example, let us follow-up with
the Open-Hole Compression test meth-
od. At essentially the same time that
Boeing developed its test conguration
(in the mid-1980s), Northrop Corp. (West
Falls Church, Va.) developed its own test
method. Although Northrops method
also required a 0.25-inch diameter hole,
its specimen is only 1-inch wide rather
than 1.5-inches wide and, more impor-
tantly, only 3-inches long. It was later
clearly shown that the Northrop test
method produced the same test results
We offer a range of high-end core commercial aviation interiors and has
materials for aviation, marine and mass excellent dielectric properties for
transit. They all perform well in high radomes. C71 applies to general aviation
temperature processing and operating and mass transit interior structures, as
LEARN MORE environments. In sandwich panels with
appropriate skins, they meet FAR 25.853
does recyclable T90.60 PET foam
for producing highly-economical interiors.
@
www.compositesworld.com requirements. SORIC FR is ideal for resin infusion, and
Each grade is suited to a variety of Baltek balsa offers yet another choice.
uses. In brief, R82 can be used for Contact us for details.
Read this article online at
http://short.compositesworld.com/COb24rlR.
Read Dr. Adams previous columns on the
North America / S. America: Europe / Middle East / Africa: Asia / Australia / New Zealand:
subject of composites testing standards: Baltek Inc. Airex AG 3A Composites (China) Ltd.
High Point, N. Carolina 27261 U.S.A. 5643 Sins, Switzerland 201201 Shanghai, P.R. China
Why standardization? in HPC May 2007 Tel. +1 336 398 1900 Tel. +41 41 789 66 00 Tel: +86 21 585 86 006
corematerials.americas@3AComposites.com corematerials@3AComposites.com corematerials.asia@3AComposites.com
(p. 11) or visit http://short.compositesworld.
com/9pOAXI1r.
Test method globalization and harmonization www.corematerials.3AComposites.com
in HPC July 2007 (p. 9) or visit http://short.
compositesworld.com/vs8StqBt. See us at Composites 2013, Orlando, FL.
Jan. 29-31, Booth # 1245
JANUARY 2013 | 11
NEWS
NEWS
Boeing ramps up 787 production to ve per month
Build rate expected to reach 10 per month in late 2013
Source: Boeing
ported on Nov. 12 that it had rolled
out the rst 787Dreamlinerbuilt at
the new rate of ve airplanes per month.
The airplane is the 83rd 787 to come
off the line. Boeing earlier this year in-
creased the rate from 2.5 to 3.5 airplanes
per month and is on track to achieve a
planned 10 per month by late 2013. The
program production rate accounts for
airplanes built at Boeing South Carolina
(North Charleston, S.C.) and Everett, in-
cluding the Temporary Surge Line that
was activated in Everett earlier this year.
Boeing reports that about 500 em-
ployee involvement teams across the
787 program are actively seeking ways
Source: Boeing
and means to meet quality, safety and
production-rate goals. Among the new
tools Boeing has deployed to improve
productivity in the Final Assembly areas technique, see http://short.composites- our partners, says Larry Loftis, VP and
are Orbital Drilling machines by Novator world.com/rpWQR5bG). The benets general manager of the 787 program. The
(Stockholm, Sweden). The machines are of the machines include improved pre- entire 787 team is focused on meeting
used to drill holes for the fasteners that cision and time savings for mechan- our commitments. Theyve gotten even
are used to attach the wings to the cen- ics. A third benet is improved safety smarter in how they build this airplane
ter fuselage section of the airplane. because the machines require lower and applied real ingenuity in making our
The drilling technique is unique in thrust and torque. processes and tools more efcient.
that the cutter rotates in a circular mo- This accomplishment, doubling our At HPC press time, 35 787s had been
tion to carve out the hole, rather than production rate in one year, is the result delivered to eight airlines, and the pro-
a conventional drill that cuts straight of the combined efforts of thousands of gram had more than 800 unlled orders
into the material (for more about the men and women across Boeing and at with 58 customers worldwide.
12 | HIGH-PERFORMANCE COMPOSITES
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14 | HIGH-PERFORMANCE COMPOSITES
Florida State HPMI to
scale up buckypaper
production
BIZ BRIEF
The Carbon Fibre Industry Worldwide
2011-2020: An Evaluation of Current
Markets and Future Supply and Demand,
a 400-page report by Tony Roberts,
principal at AJR Consultant (Lake
Elsinore, Calif.), provides detailed
statistical data, analysis of likely
trends and an in-depth survey of
carbon ber manufacturers world-
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na and the Middle East. Survey data
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www.carbonber-report.com.
JANUARY 2013 | 15
NEWS
AFP/laser projection
integration a rst
16 | HIGH-PERFORMANCE COMPOSITES
BASF, SGL seek
carbon ber/polyamide
match for T-RTM, RIM
JANUARY 2013 | 17
NEWS
Source: Bombardier
already were involved in the process of When it is complete, the main fuselage
readying the wings for attachment to the will be shipped with the aft fuselage to
fuselage of the rst Flight Test Vehicle the nal assembly line.
18 | HIGH-PERFORMANCE COMPOSITES
XLS+ business jet in China for the Chi- venture aircraft. The fairings and radome
nese market. Cessnas relationship with on the Citation XLS+ are composite com-
CAIGA is expected to help the former tap ponents. CAIGA operations in Zhuhai
into what it predicts will be a decade of will include nal assembly, painting,
signicant growth in the aviation market. testing, interior installation, customiza-
At HPC press time, formation of the joint tion, ight-testing and delivery of Cita-
venture company was still subject to vari- tion XLS+ jets to in-country customers.
ous government approvals and custom- This joint venture contract stems from
ary conditions. the strategic framework agreement that
Cessnas Wichita, Kan., operations will Cessna entered into with CAIGAs parent
provide components and parts manufac- company, Aviation Industry Corporation
turing and subassemblies for the joint of China (AVIC), in March 2012.
JANUARY 2013 | 19
SHOW COVERAGE
CONFERENCE REVIEW
Colocated with the Aircraft Interiors Expo Americas,
CompositesWorlds High-Performance Composites for
Aircraft Interiors Conference focused on ways to get
more composites inside the aircraft. By Karen Wood
10000000
9000000
8000000
7000000
H eld Sept. 25-26 in Seattles Washington State
Convention Center, CompositesWorlds High-
Performance Composites for Aircraft Interiors
conference included frank discussion of the potential
for composites to build its share in this competitive
6000000
and complicated arena. Cochaired by David Leach,
composites market manager, Henkel Aerospace (Bay
5000000 Point, Calif.), and Dan Slaton, associate technical fel-
Source: Composites Forecasts and Consulting LLC
80% 346
70%
other new single-aisle aircraft enter production, he re-
60%
ported, the OEM market is expected to grow at least 50
50%
746 1,205 percent compared to this year.
40%
548 The aftermarket potential, driven by replacement
30%
cycles and economic conditions, is more difcult to
20% 61 388 calculate, he said. Generally, passenger seating is re-
491 placed every one to two years. Paneling, class dividers
10% 228
0%
167 116 and other major components are turned over every four
years. Complete cabin refurbishments take place every
1990
1992
1994
1996
1998
2000
2002
2004
2006
2008
2010
2012
2014
2016
2018
2020
2022
20 | HIGH-PERFORMANCE COMPOSITES
Focus on fire protection
A new nanocoating from Texas
A&M Universitys Polymer
NanoComposites Lab brings
fire-retardant nanoclay filler to
placement seating has the potential to Robert Ochs, project engineer, FAA interpreted differently by regional FAA
consume 4 million to 5 million lb (1,814 Technical Center (FAATC, Atlantic City, organizations, other regulatory agencies
to 2,268 metric tonnes) of composites N.J.), updated attendees on the Federal and industry suppliers and manufactur-
within the next ve years. Switching to Aviation Admin.s (FAA) ongoing re ers, Jensen explained. A primary goal of
composite seats can save in the neigh- safety research projects. Special men- the effort, then, is to address some of
borhood of 400 to 450 kg [882 to 992 lb] tion was made of the agencys proposal these inconsistencies and provide great-
on a single-aisle aircraft. According to to update, reorganize and improve safe- er test standardization.
Red, there is a potential new-build and ty requirements for materials amma- Task group members have studied sub-
replacement market of more than 2 million bility, a move that would shift require- strates, adhesives/syntactics, textures,
coach seats per year. ments to a more threat-based approach. laminate colors and paints in an effort
Potential areas for composites growth Ochs stressed that in-ight res in in- to determine which ammability tests,
include brackets, trays and clips, cock- accessible areas are the most danger- and combinations thereof, will yield the
pit ooring and seat rails. Combined, ous. Large-scale testing at the FAATC most accurate and repeatable results.
says Red, the existing suite of compos- indicated that previous test methods Although new types of cores, prepregs,
ite applications plus some of these new permitted the use of materials that, in adhesives, panel inserts and so forth will
opportunities indicate that composite practice, perform very poorly. Mitiga- still require testing, Jensen says these
materials will make up perhaps as much tion of ame spread is the most effec- methods can streamline the overall test-
as 40 percent of the total tonnage of in- tive means of preventing catastrophe, ing process.
teriors components, going forward. he said, noting that updated and more
Phenolic resins the current systems stringent test methods have been man- Innovation in carbon
of choice for interiors will continue dated for insulation and are in progress A real attention-grabber was Hexcels
strong in the future, but Red believes for ducts and wire insulation. (Stamford, Conn.) HexMC, a quasi-
thermoplastics will play a big role in dis- Scott Campbell, director of amma- isotropic molding compound for struc-
placing metals in new aircraft cabins and bility engineering, and Panade Sattaya- tural aerospace applications. Designed
might also begin to displace phenolics tam, engineering manager, both at C&D to bridge the gap between low-perfor-
in some composites applications. Zodiac (Huntington Beach, Calif.), and mance, low-cost sheet molding com-
Michael Jensen, manager, Composites pound (SMC) and high-performance,
Hot topic: Fire safety and Adhesives at Boeing, teamed up to high-cost autoclaved prepreg, the mate-
Not surprisingly, ammability was a present an update on the Flammabil- rial begins with an aerospace-grade uni-
burning issue. There was much discus- ity Standardization Task Group (FSTG), directional (UD) prepreg precursor (8552
sion of certication standards and test a subgroup of the FAAs International resin system/38 percent RC and AS4 car-
methods. An abundance of new materi- Aircraft Fire Test Working Group, which bon bers/150 g/m2) that is slit, chopped
als and coatings were announced, de- was formed to collaborate and propose and randomly redistributed to make ap-
signed specically to meet the stringent industry-wide standard methods of com- proximately 2-mm/0.079-inch thick, 200
ame, smoke and toxicity (FST) require- pliance. FAA ammability requirements g/m2 mat, available in 450-mm/17.7-inch
ments for aircraft interiors applications. and compliance methods were being wide rolls.
JANUARY 2013 | 21
SHOW COVERAGE
SIDE STORY
Said to be extremely damage toler- Hexcel has developed proprietary meet FAR 25 OSU requirements (65/65
ant, HexMC can be molded into a va- mold designs and processes that it says heat release) can be produced, but it will
riety of geometries, reported Bruno will preserve the transverse isotropy of not perform as well for OSU as thermo-
Boursier, Hexcels R&T manager. Attain- the HexMC material in critical areas of plastics, explained Boursier, who sees
able shapes include sharp angles, deep parts and ensure minimum ber distor- OSU as the factor that currently limits
draws, box corners, curves and gussets. tion. Currently, a special epoxy formula- HexMC use in interior applications.
Tension, compression and exure mod- tion is used for parts that need to comply Also of interest was a presentation
uli are 90-plus percent that of quasi-iso- with FST requirements (but not heat-re- on recycled carbon ber given by Jim
tropic UD tapes, but in-plane strength lease requirements) of FAR 25. A struc- Stike, CEO, Materials Innovation Tech-
drops to 50 percent. tural thermoset formulation that will nologies-RCF (MIT-RCF, Lake City, S.C.).
22 | HIGH-PERFORMANCE COMPOSITES
To date, MIT-RCF says it has reclaimed oped discontinuous ber composites
1.5 million lb (680.4 metric tonnes) of intended to bridge the gap between
carbon ber scrap from landlls, not to continuous ber composites, which of-
mention the material that comes direct- fer superior performance but limit part
JANUARY 2013 | 23
WORK IN PROGRESS
24 | HIGH-PERFORMANCE COMPOSITES
TABLE 1. Pressurized Water Table 2. Oil Temperature Control Unit vs.
Temperature Control Unit vs. Tool Heating/Cooling Proles Tool Heating/Cooling Proles
12 kW Heating 24 kW Heating
200 42 kW Cooling 200
116 kW Cooling
Temperature (C)
100 l/min pump
Flow rate: 25 L/minute
Temperature (C)
100 100
150 150
50 50
0 0
0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45 50 55 60 65 0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45 50 55
Time ( Minutes) Time ( Minutes)
Water Cooling Tool Cooling Water Heating Tool Heating Oil Cooling Oil Heating Tool Heating Cooling
Table 3. Temperature vs. Location Water and Electric Table 4. Temperature vs. Location Water and
Heating with One-hour Soak Electric Heating with Two-hour Soak
190.0 190.0
180.0 180.0
170.0 170.0
Temperature (C)
Temperature (C)
160.0 160.0
150.0 150.0
140.0 140.0
130.0 130.0
0 2 4 6 8 10 12 0 2 4 6 8 10 12
Location Location
Water - Water - Electric - Electric - Water - Water - Electric - Electric -
1-mm sample 2-mm sample 1-mm sample 2-mm sample 1-mm sample 2-mm sample 1-mm sample 2-mm sample
cles were more consistent. The average part in the mold that was heated by the had consistent and acceptable crystal-
temperatures measured at the same lo- electric cartridge could result in crys- linity along their lengths. For the parts
cation on the mold surfaces during the tallinity variations within the part, Pet- produced in the electric cartridge-heated
two-hour test period were 1.94C for the rykowski contends. This, in turn, could re- mold, however, different crystallinity per-
pressurized water TCU and 6.7C for the sult in shrinkage differences throughout centages were measured along the test
electric cartridge system. the part, producing molded-in stress that parts lengths.
Another important distinction, Pet- could manifest in part warpage, creep and These new data, says SINGLE, clearly
rykowski notes, was the difference in physical property differences within the demonstrate that pressurized-water
temperature over the length of a part. same part. TCUs can not only meet the needs of
The average temperature differential To determine if the parts produced with composites manufacturers but also can
across one part at the same moment each TCU attained acceptable levels of do so efciently and economically. This
was 21.0C during the electric cartridge crystallinity, they were analyzed via dif- capability could prove benecial as the
trial; the average differential for the ferential scanning calorimetry (DSC) to advanced composites manufacturing
pressurized water trial was only 2.7C. determine the percentage of crystallinity. community continues to evolve toward
A temperature differential as large The DSC results demonstrated that the more fast-cycle, rapid-cure, out-of-auto-
as that recorded over the length of one parts produced in the water-heated mold clave (OOA) fabrication processes.
JANUARY 2013 | 25
FEATURE / A400M WING ASSEMBLY
M
any of the articles published in A400M Atlas military airlifter wing assem- tions in the world, producing a wing that
HPC focus on the manufacture bly facility in Filton, just north of Bristol in weighs only 6500 kg/14,330 lb, but can
of a single composite compo- South Gloucestershire, U.K. contain and carry aloft as much as 25,000
nent or structure. Often, these Its at this facility that Airbus completes kg/55,116 lb of fuel.
components become part of a the complex task of integrating wing spars, Among the assembly puzzles Filton
larger product an aircraft, spacecraft, wingskins and an assortment of other engineers had to solve was how to man-
racecar or some other complex structure large carbon ber composite structures age the carbon ber composites that are
in a high-performance application. But into the A400Ms massive wing before so critical to the wings structural and
its rare that HPC is offered more than a equipping the structure with an array of weight-saving success. For us, says
glimpse of the machinery, processes and complex systems, covering fuel, electrics, Paul Evans, A400M lean consultant and
techniques used to assemble and inte- pneumatics and hydraulics. In addition, HPCs tour guide, getting to grips with
grate those components and many others the plant installs all xed and moveable the carbon ber was our biggest chal-
into those larger structures. structures, including trailing-edge de- lenge. Weve used carbon ber in aircraft
And so it was that in October 2012, HPC vices (e.g., ailerons and aps), leading structures for many years, but this is the
editors were extended that rare invitation edges and wingtips. This assembly effort rst time weve used it so extensively in
and paid a visit to the Airbus Military represents one of the largest such opera- such a large structure.
26 | HIGH-PERFORMANCE COMPOSITES
Source: Airbus
Source: Airbus
A400M background
The A400M Atlas is the worlds newest
and most advanced military airlifter,
designed to ferry troops, equipment,
vehicles, supplies, fuel and other ma-
terials in support of military opera-
tions. Scheduled for delivery in second
quarter 2013, the Atlas is 45.1m/148 ft
long, has a 42.4m/139-ft wingspan,
measures 14.7m/48.25 ft tall and is
powered by four Europrop TP400-D6
turboprop engines, each tted with
eight composite propeller blades. It
Source: Airbus
JANUARY 2013 | 27
FEATURE / A400M WING ASSEMBLY
Source: Airbus
sembly process Airbus has developed and 2, includes addition of fasteners and
relative to composites on the A400M minor structural work, wiring and other
is a rst for the company and, in some components in systems preparation, as
cases, a rst in composites. The Filton well as testing. Stage 3 involves the addi-
team relied on lessons learned from tion of electrical harnesses, more wiring The most intensive composites work
Airbus composite experience at plants and piping, and full functional testing occurs at Stage 1. Its here that Airbus
in Germany, Spain and France to de- before shipment to Airbus A400M Final receives the composite front and rear
velop innovative and efcient techni- Assembly Line (FAL) in Seville, Spain. spars, manufactured by GKN Aerospace
at its nearby Bristol, U.K. facility. Also
integrated at Stage 1 are the composite
upper and lower wingskins. These are
manufactured via automated ber and
tape placement by Airbus at its plant in
Stade, Germany. The wing in Stage 1 as-
sembly the day of the HPC visit was for
A400M aircraft number 13.
The rst step at Stage 1 is spar assem-
bly. Spars are delivered in two sections
and joined with customized carbon ber
joint plates made by GKN Aerospace
llarge-scale,
arge-scale, (Bristol, U.K.). The front spar is oriented
at in one of six holding xtures, with
high
high pprecision
prrec ision iiss
ciis the wing ribs and skins attached and as-
llaour
aou
o
rgu
urr
large-scale sembled in a vertical orientation, with
the spar serving as the base.
After the spar is joined, 24 aluminum
ribs are attached at molded-in attach-
ment points along the spar. (Evans says
Airbus assessed use of carbon ber com-
posites in rib manufacture, but given
INDUSTRY LEADER the roughly 600 orders expected for the
plane, the tooling for composites was
deemed too expensive.)
After all of the ribs are attached, the
wingskins are moved into place over the
ribs and Airbus begins the most demand-
ing work involved in the wings assembly:
1.888.856.5143 | Info@janicki.com www.janicki.com the drilling of 12,000 holes in a wing set.
This is accomplished with what Airbus
28 | HIGH-PERFORMANCE COMPOSITES
Quality from the inside out
A worker inspects the inside of an
assembled wing. Fuel access holes in the
wingskin (top of photo) allow workers to
access the inside of the wing to perform
several tasks, including that of providing
torque for bolts used to attach the
wingskin to the spars and ribs.
Source: Airbus
calls CAWDE (composites automated
wing-drilling equipment) of which the
company uses two in the Stage 1 assem-
bly process. Years in development, each
CAWDE unit comprises a set of tools
designed and engineered specically for
this application. On the machinery side is
a massive, 20-ft/6m tall by 10-ft/3m wide PRESSURIZED WATER
by 10-ft/3m deep, rail-mounted, 6-axis MOLD TEMPERATURE
drilling system, designed and manufac-
tured by Electroimpact Inc. (Mukilteo, CONTROLLER
72)&
Wash.). Its made to move around each
xture in which a wing is held, drilling
90 to 95 percent of the 6,000 holes re-
Safer than steam or oil due to refrigeration
effects when depressurizing water
quired for each wing. It uses a diamond-
tipped cutting tool provided by Precorp Direct replacement for oil units running RTM
(Spanish Fork, Utah), partially owned by or Compression molds
Sandvien, Sweden-based machine tool 4XDOLHGDQGLQSURGXFWLRQLQ$XWRFODYHV
supplier Sandvik Coromant. The tool is manufacturing aircraft structural parts
custom-designed to drill through a stack Reduced energy consumption over steam
of carbon ber and aluminum, provid- systems running compression molds
ing pilot, drill, ream and countersink
operations in one unit, says Evans. After 2x faster ramp rates than oil with 50% less
all holes are drilled, the wingskin is re-
energy consumption
moved, inspected and deburred if neces- More precise temperature control than
sary. We have eight days to drill 12,000 electric cartridge heaters, steam, and oil
holes, reports Evans. $OOVWDLQOHVVFRQVWUXFWLRQ
After deburring, the wingskin is repo-
Ultra quiet operation With Alternating
sitioned over the ribs and spars and the
50% smaller footprint Temperature Technology
process of actually fastening the skins
begins. Bolts used to attach the wing- than oil or steam units $77DQGD1LFNHOVKHOO
WRROPROGWHPSHUDWXUH
skins must be accessed from outside UDPSUDWHVFDQEHDV
and inside the wing. To do this, techni- KLJKDV)VHFZKLOH
cians crawl into the wings via pre-cut fuel FRQVXPLQJOHVVHQHUJ\WKDQ
DQ\RWKHUPROGKHDWLQJ
tank access holes in the skins. From the FRROLQJWHFKQRORJ\
inside, they provide the guidance and
torque required, respectively, to position
and tighten the bolt as technicians insert
them from the outside.
Because the wings must contain fuel,
each bolt is coated with a sealant to pre-
vent leakage, We just cant have any fuel
leaks, says Evans. For that reason we
have very tight tolerances.
Stage 2
After drilling, bolting and sealing are
complete, the wing weighs about 3,500 14201 South Lakes Drive, Suite B, Charlotte, NC 28273 www.single-temp.com
kg/ 7,716 lb. At this point, the wing is re- phone: 704 504 4800 cell: 704 390 6566 K.Petrykowski@single-temp.com
JANUARY 2013 | 29
FEATURE / A400M WING ASSEMBLY
Source: Airbus
12,000 reasons to be careful
About 95 percent of the holes drilled in each A400M wing are
generated by the automated Electroimpact drilling system, but the
balance is hand-drilled. Drilling currently takes a little more than
eight days. Skins are drilled in place, removed, deburred and then
1519 Eastgate Dr. attached with bolts that include a sealant to prevent fuel leakage.
Cleveland, OK 74020
918-358-5881
Fax: 918-358-3750 ing equipment, transported via crane to the rst of two Stage
E-mail: 2 workstations, called Pre-Equip 1, and oriented at on a new
email@decomp.com work xture that gives operators and installers easy access to
Web Site: the wings leading and trailing edges.
www.decomp.com At this stage, Airbus conducts a series of metrology checks
ISO 9001:2008 with laser trackers and photo-imagery to verify that the wing
meets a variety of critical dimensional specications. Workers
30 | HIGH-PERFORMANCE COMPOSITES
also do some drilling of the leading edge er, the A400M Atlas started the trend, set before, says Evans. It took a lot of effort
before sending the entire structure on the standard and, in the military market, and learning to get this far, but it certain-
to the second Stage 2 workstation, Pre- remains the largest aircraft to use com- ly has been worth it.
Equip 2. posites so aggressively. Evans stressed
Pre-Equip 2 sees the installation of the repeatedly to HPC that composites les-
initial equipment needed to complete as- sons learned on the A400M Atlas wing as-
sembly of the wing. This includes harness sembly line have been applied through- LEARN MORE
@
brackets (which are positioned with the out the Airbus organization, and these www.compositesworld.com
aid of laser-projection equipment and ad- lessons will benet Airbus design and
hesively applied) and weight-supporting manufacturing practice for years to Read this article online at
brackets for the leading and trailing edges. come. This was a scale of composites http://short.compositesworld.com/5lmGKn6X.
Once they are installed, Airbus conducts a use in a structure Airbus had not tried
tank pressure test, rst with air, then with
hydrogen/nitrogen, to verify the integrity
of the fuel-storage capability of the wing.
Stage 3
After the wing passes the pressure test, W yoming t0WFSUZQFTPG
GJYUVSFTJOTUPDL
T est
its on to Stage 3, the Final Equip line, SFBEZUPCFTIJQQFE
which handles the nal stage of wing as- t&YQFSUDPOTVMUBUJPO
sembly before its sent on to the A400M XJUI%S"EBNT
F ixtures
FAL. Most of the heavy-duty hardware is t&NBJMPSDBMMUPEBZ
installed on this line, followed by wing UPEJTDVTTZPVSGJYUVSF
actuation and testing. INC. BOEDVTUPNEFTJHOOFFET
Included here is installation of elec-
trical wiring, air bleeds, re protection Our product catalog is available on our website
O
equipment, xed leading edges, aile- Celebrating
rons, spoilers and aps. Notable here 25 Years
is the installation of carbon ber com- of Excellence
posite fuel pipes throughout the wing. 1988-2013
The pipes are fabricated and supplied
by Adel Wiggins Inc. (Los Angeles, Ca-
lif). Its at this stage that Airbus also in-
stalls one more carbon ber component
of note: A driveshaft for ap actuation,
provided by Goodrich Corp.s Crompton
Technology Group (CTG, Banbury, Ox-
Short Beam Shear Miniature
fordshire, U.K.). The shafts, about 1m/3.3
ASTM D 2344 Short Beam Shear
ft long and 40 mm/1.57-inches in diame-
ter, are lament wound carbon ber and Shown with Miniature
feature stainless steel end ttings. CTG
reports that its shafts go through a mini-
mum four- to six-lifecycle qualication
process and are designed for a minimum
operating life of 20 years.
After all components are installed
and attached, the wing attains its full
weight of ~6,500 kg/~14,330 lb and goes Three/Four Point Screw Adjustable
through a full function test of all compo- Short Beam Shear Short Beam Shear
nents to verity that the wing is operating
as it should. Its then ready to be sent to We provide quotes for a variety of grips, xtures, and jigs. We carry
the FAL in Spain. over 40 types of xtures in stock, available for immediate delivery.
Since the A400M was rst conceived Email or call us today. We look forward to hearing from you.
10 years ago, and the decision was taken
to use carbon ber composites as exten-
Dr. Donald F. Adams 2960 E. Millcreek Canyon Road
President Salt Lake City, UT 84109
sively as Airbus did in the wings, other
50 years of Phone (801) 484.5055
aircraft have come to market that use
Composite Testing Experience Fax (801) 484.6008
composites in similar ways Boeings
email: wtf@wyomingtestfixtures.com
787, the Airbus A350, the Bombardier
www.wyomingtestfixtures.com
CSeries, and more. In many ways, howev-
JANUARY 2013 | 31
INSIDE MANUFACTURING
Long on technology
firsts, this optimized
and automated
manufacturing
B ased in Grenchen, Switzerland,
home to world-class watchmak-
ers Rolex and Breitling, Bicycle
Manufacturing Co. (BMC) has
likewise become an icon of Swiss
engineering, precision and style. BMCs
racing team, led by Cadel Evans the
2009 world champion and 2011 Tour de
Now BMC leads cycling with its pro-
duction of a 100 percent carbon ber
frame with a uniquely high level of au-
tomation and process control: the impec.
Short for impeccable, the frame is the
result of Rihs conviction that the indus-
try practice of building frames in Asia us-
ing hand-layed prepreg permits neither
process produces France winner on a BMC bike is a full exploitation of carbon bers ben-
Whos Who of the sport, including Thor ets nor sufcient process control and
nothing short of the Hushovd, George Hincapie, Philippe Gil- precision. BMC spent more than 40 mil-
perfect bike frame. bert, Tejay van Garderen and Taylor Phin- lion ($51.8 million USD) and four years
ney. We simply want to build the fastest developing the materials, robotic pro-
and best bikes in the world, says BMC cesses and entirely new factory that was
owner Andy Rihs. And, to ensure we are necessary to back the claim made on one
living up to this goal, we work with the of its factory billboards, We built a Swiss
BY GINGER GARDINER best riders in the world. factory to produce the perfect carbon bike.
32 | HIGH-PERFORMANCE COMPOSITES
Source: BMC
Braided, automated, optimized
A unique radial braiding technology, developed by August Herzog Maschinenfabrik
GmbH & Co. KG (Oldenburg, Germany) enables the fabrication of bike frame tubes
with varying cross-sections and seamless transitions between locally optimized
fiber patterns on this impec racing bike frame, developed by Bicycle Manufacturing
Company (Grenchen, Switzerland).
Beginning with engineering comfort and power transmission, slow- Tuning the tubes
BMC already had a track record of engi- ing the onset of rider fatigue. The solution was BMCs Load Specic
neering innovation. Its Advanced Pivot The perfect racing bike frame, however, Weave (LSW) process. This three-stage,
System (APS) is billed as the ideal would transform all of its riders pedal- robot-controlled production line com-
rear-wheel mountain bike suspension turning energy directly into propulsion bines braiding, resin transfer molding
(see illustration, p. 35), able to deliver with no negative impact from its own (RTM) and trimming into a continuous
the perfect combination of efciency, weight. In pursuit of that goal, BMCs im- process. Automated, computer-con-
power and comfort. pec engineers redesigned each frame tube trolled braiding enables quick and ac-
Another engineering hallmark is BMCs to optimally perform its unique function curate ber placement and orientation.
Tuned Compliance Concept (TCC), which in the frame, absorbing and distributing Moreover, it can negotiate changes in
uses a precise combination of different its individual stresses across its entire the cross section of the tube and provide
carbon bers and orientations, along length, by tailoring both the shape of the seamless transitions along the tube be-
with stepped frame tube proles, to pro- tube and the architecture of the compos- tween ber patterns that are optimized
vide increased exibility in vertical com- ite materials. It turns out that the perfect for local stiffness and those that are op-
ponents (frame, fork and seatpost) yet frame tube is hardly ever round. And, timized for overall torsional rigidity (see
maintain high lateral and torsional rigid- says plant manager Martin Kaenzig, We right side of lower diagram on p. 35 and
ity. This improves handling and increases also knew we wanted seamless tubes. check out Learn More, on p. 37).
JANUARY 2013 | 33
INSIDE MANUFACTURING
Step 4 Step 5
Here, a computer-controlled diamond saw The keys to the Shell Node Concept (SNC) are its injection molded short carbon fiber-
automatically moves into position and trims reinforced connector half shells. The carbon fiber compound is fed into a state-of-the-art
the tube to precise dimensions. injection molding machine, where the interior and exterior of the node half are precisely
monitored and controlled. Here, half shells seated in mold halves show the internal ribbing,
while two half-shells, in the background, show the connectors exterior.
Source (all step photos): BMC
34 | HIGH-PERFORMANCE COMPOSITES
Center of Gravity
Acceleration Effects
Suspension Movement
Always innovating
For its Advanced Pivot System,
BMC analyzed the inertial loads
that compress the suspension
units shock-absorbing system
and used the data to precisely
Instant
Balance locate the systems pivot
Center points, such that it enables the
chain tension to compensate
for the acceleration effect.
Thus, more of the riders
Power Zones
energy is converted into
propulsion with less energy
loss while maintaining optimal
rider comfort and tire traction.
Source: BMC
Tube production begins with a man- work cells, which are separated by au- ber tow supplied by Toho Tenax Europe
drel, referred to by BMC as the soul. tomated guillotine doors. Each carrier GmbH (Wuppertal, Germany) from more
Previously aluminum, it is now a glass-- contains a digital tag with its identica- than 100 bobbins as it begins weaving it
ber composite. The soul, says Kaenzig, tion number and programs that activate along sinusoidal paths to produce a seam-
is the skeletal center of the mandrel. It and control each machine as it moves less braided tube or sleeve on the mandrel.
does not have any geometry features. through the process stages. The comput- The mandrel shape and rate of advance in
The tubes geometry is, instead, shaped erized system also commands the han- the radial braider determines the density
into a silicone overlay that BMC calls the dling robots and records relevant data and arrangement of the carbon tows. When
core. As will be made clear, the two- for each workpiece. Thus, each tube is the braid is complete, robots cut the sleeve
stage construction permits easy mandrel made-to-measure per specication, with free, withdraw the workpiece carrier from
extraction. And because the resin wont accuracy veried within 0.1 mm (4 mils). the braider and replace it in the shuttle,
adhere to silicone, the core provides its As processing begins, a robotic arm re- which then proceeds to the RTM cell.
own mold release, saving a process step. moves the workpiece carrier from the pro- BMC claims theirs is the rst fully au-
The soul/core is tted into a workpiece duction lines shuttle and feeds it into a tomated composites RTM station in the
carrier that will enable mandrel trans- radial braiding machine made by August world. A robotic arm transfers and locates
port, by means of specialized industrial Herzog Maschinenfabrik GmbH & Co. KG the braided sleeve into a corresponding
robots, through computer-controlled (Oldenburg, Germany). The data matrix female matched metal mold, which is
and individually sealed braiding, mold- for the part is read from the workpiece made from hot-formed steel. A special
ing, trimming, painting and assembly digital tag, and the braider draws carbon two-component nano-toughened
Source: BMC
Kettenstreben
angle remains angle for
CS Stiffness
JANUARY 2013 | 35
INSIDE MANUFACTURING
epoxy resin is injected injection time now hollow carbon tube is positioned via best to connect them. BMC calls its
averages about four minutes and the robot within a cutting cell that self-seals answer, the Shell Node Concept (SNC),
workpiece cures inmold in ~30 minutes to contain carbon dust. After a precision revolutionary because it forms the
at 80C/176F. Then the cured tube is de- diamond saw trims the tube to nal size, frames nodal points not as one-piece
molded and placed back in the shuttle. it is removed from the cell and placed in collars, but instead as two bonded half
In the third production stage, also the a bin. A worker collects the binned tubes shells. Each half shells inner and outer
nal step in the LSW process, the tube and performs a series of quality-assur- geometries, therefore, are more easily
is moved into the trim cell and cut to ance tests before depositing them at the designed to optimize frame loading, and
length. A 6-axis robotic arm transfers the assembly station. the shells ribbed interior (see Step 5, p.
workpiece from the shuttle to a holding 34) denes how the adjoined tubes t
xture, where the soul is removed from Making precise connections with absolute precision. The shells are
the core. Then, the exible silicone core Having mastered the process for per- injection molded using a 40 percent car-
can be retracted from the part. Next, the fect tubes, the next question was how bon ber/thermoplastic compound (by
weight), with bers ~4 mm/~0.2 inch in
length. The combination of the stiff -
bers and resilient matrix make the shells
rigid and light yet shock absorbent.
Engineers dened the ber orienta-
tion in each shell, using a CAD-based
mold ow analysis simulation. The data
was used to construct small batches of
matched-metal tools. To verify the mold
ow analysis results, these tools were
subjected to a series of tests, including
computed tomography, which accurately
gauged the wall thickness and inspected
the structure for faults. After necessary
changes were made, the nal metal tools
were ready for injection.
Injection molding of shells is carried
out offsite by a partner company that
specializes in the process. The injection
molding machine is equipped with the
mold of the given shell, and an engineer
loads in carbon compound pellets sup-
plied by EMS Grivory (a business unit of
EMS-Chemie AG, Domat/Ems, Switzer-
land). The machine melts and injects the
compound. The nalized CAD data for
the specic metal tool enable engineers
to visually monitor the formation of the
shells interior ridges and to control all
of the key process parameters (tempera-
ture, ll time, ow rate and ow proper-
ties). During the molding cycle, these and
other data are recorded, enabling further
optimization. Molding is completed in
minutes, after which the shells are de-
ashed and inspected.
Back at BMC, the shell halves are
hand-placed into an adhesive applica-
tion xture (green xture shown in Step
6 on p. 34) that has been mounted onto
a carrier. Then they enter an automated
workstation, where a robot equipped
with an optical monitoring system rec-
ognizes each component and denes the
quantity and location of adhesive be-
fore applying it to each part. BMC uses
epoxy adhesive supplied by Huntsman
36 | HIGH-PERFORMANCE COMPOSITES
INSIDE MANUFACTURING
Advanced Materials (Basel, Switzerland). at the 2011 EuroBike show. But has the Asia, as so many of the other top com-
Each contact point is again analyzed to time and cost spent developing the im- panies are doing.
ensure that quality requirements have pec paid off? According to Kaenzig, it In the context of tooling, equipment
been met. Next, a worker places shell- has in several ways, including differen- and other production costs, the impec
halves into bonding jigs. When corre- tiation. The weaving technology is one is already protable. But Kaenzig ad-
sponding tubes and machined metal of our unique selling points and shows mits that it will take several years of
parts are placed in the shells, the interior our competence to produce a high- solid sales to recoup four years of de-
ridges of the shells ensure that the frame end carbon bike using a completely velopment cost. However, Kaenzig
comes together accurately. Pressure is different process. He adds, It also points out, The technology is not lim-
applied with built-in clamping devices helps to show our competitors as well ited to high-end bikes, and we are al-
(Step 7). The bonded and clamped frame as our customers that we are capable ready applying the lessons learned to
is cured for 12 hours at room tempera- of developing a product from scratch other products and looking into the
ture. It is then replaced onto the carrier, and not just purchasing products from next generation of innovation.
which moves the assembly into an oven
for a two-hour postcure at 80C/176F.
JANUARY 2013 | 37
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38 | HIGH-PERFORMANCE COMPOSITES
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JANUARY 2013 | 39
APPLICATIONS
APPLICATIONS
Cutting and laser layup technology supports tier fabricator in Boeing project
Source: Gerber
Enhanced Medium Altitude
Reconnaissance and Surveil-
lance System (EMARSS) air-
craft (artists rendering at right)
is designed to gather intelli-
gence for the U.S. Army. It will
provide a persistent capability
to detect, locate, classify and
identify targets, such as enemy
positions, with a high degree
of accuracy, 24/7. To stream-
line the project and reduce risk
during the certication pro-
cess, the aircraft will be built
around the already Federal Avi-
ation Admin.-certied Hawker
Beechcraft (Wichita, Kan.) King
Air 350ER turboprop. An initial
prototype ew on Oct. 22, 2012.
Unitech Composites &
Structures (Hayden, Idaho), part of the puter-controlled cutting system, which CEO of AGC. By eliminating the use of
AGC Aerospace & Defense Compos- it used to cut and kit the Cytec Engi- physical templates, layup productivity
ites & Aerostructures Group (Midwest neered Materials Inc. (Tempe, Ariz.) was improved by as much as 50 percent.
City, Okla.), manufactures the aircrafts prepregs, and a Virtek LaserEdge laser Two Virtek LaserEdge projection units
lightweight composite nose skin panels templating system, both supplied by were installed on the ceiling to provide
and multiple exterior fairings that Gerber Technology (Tolland, Conn.). adequate coverage for the many sizes
enclose and provide transmissivity for This new program called for 26 parts and angles of the parts. Gerber sent a
radar equipment. Unitech was able to each for ve aircraft, so in addition to trainer to Unitech to teach the engineers
meet the projects tight tolerances with precision we needed repeatability of the how to use the equipment, and they, in
the help of a GERBERcutter GTxL com- process, says Al Haase, president and turn, trained other shop oor employees,
says Josiah Drewien, engineering man-
ager for Unitech Composites.
Before we implemented this technol-
ogy, employees cut every prepreg ply by
hand with scissors using templates, which
took considerable time and led to a great
deal of waste. With Gerbers nesting soft-
ware, the waste reportedly has dropped to
10 percent, saving money and time, adds
Drewien. Additionally, the Virtek Laser-
Edge projection system enables Unitech
to lay up more complex parts.
For some complex parts, with compli-
cated geometries requiring dozens of
partial plies located with greater preci-
sion, using a template would be imprac-
tical or impossible, says Drewien. The
enhanced technical capabilities provided
by the Gerber and Virtek systems not
Source: Boeing
40 | HIGH-PERFORMANCE COMPOSITES
APPLICATIONS
JANUARY 2013 | 41
NEW PRODUCTS
NEW PRODUCTS
Automated material delivery system specically developed to reach a material ow of more than 35 kg/min (77 lb/
Fluid-Bag Ltd. (Jakobstad, min), but in its rst implementation with a solid adhesive resin it reportedly
Finland) has developed the achieved a rate of 50 kg/min (110 lb/min). The press allows for two-component
PowerBagPress, a exible con- mixing and is designed for use in the manufacture of large components, such
tainer designed to discharge as aerospace structures, wind turbine blades and other sandwich construc-
highly viscous and semisolid tions. www.uid-bag.com
materials from the companys
900 and 1,000 liter (237 and
264 gal) Fluid-Bag MULTI and High tensile modulus glass fiber
FLEXI exible reactive chemi- Glass ber manufacturer AGY (Aiken, S.C.) has developed a new glass ber with
cal containers. The companys a tensile modulus of 99 GPa/14,359 ksi a level AGY says is unprecedented in
new press enables suppliers commercial glass ber products.Trademarked as S-3 UHM Glass, the ultrahigh
who use the tubular contain- modulus material was developed using AGYs advanced Modular Direct Melt
ers to safely ship their products (MDM) production technology. Its mechanical properties, however, are the result
(e.g., adhesives and other resin not only of the improved ber manufacturing technology, but also, says AGY, an
products), and it allows the in-depth understanding of the constituent chemistries that enabled the company
customers who use those products to avoid the common problem of leaving to realize a tensile modulus 40 percent higher than that of traditional E-glass
a good deal of product in the container as waste. During discharge the ex- bers.The new material reportedly makes it possible for composites designers
ible container, tted into the customers press, is squeezed at and rolled up, and manufacturers to use glass ber reinforcement in applications previously
much like a tube of toothpaste. Fluid-Bag claims that material residue in the open only to other types of ber.S-3 UHM is available in a range of formats,
containers can be reduced to as little as 0.5 percent. The PowerBagPress was including yarns, rovings and chopped bers. www.agy.com
Precision
Steel
Invar
NVD Nickel
42 | HIGH-PERFORMANCE COMPOSITES
NEW PRODUCTS
Mill Fixtures
Pressure Intensifiers / Cauls
Backup Structure Materials
x Panels, Tubes, Angles
COMPOSITE
JANUARY 2013 | 43
MARKETPLACE
MARKETPLACE
M A N U FA C T U R I N G S U P P L I E S TESTING
To advertise in the
High-Performance Composites Marketplace
contact Becky Helton:
bhelton@gardnerweb.com
or 513.527.8800 x224
44 | HIGH-PERFORMANCE COMPOSITES
PRODUCT & LITERATURE SHOWCASE SHOWCASE
www.northcoastcomposites.com
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FOCUS ON DESIGN
F
or decades the composites in- centric engineers more condence. But Tsai and the late Edward M. Wu rst
dustry has emulated the homo- this symmetrical and, until recently, addressed the issue in 1971, when they
geneous properties of metals, de- sacrosanct conguration, could be giv- introduced the Tsai-Wu Failure Crite-
signing quasi-isotropic structural ing way to a unique alternative. rion (see Learn More p. 48). In the
laminates with stacked unidirec- I had this idea for a very long time papers introduction, they contended
tional tapes black aluminum. The that there was a way to relax these de- that a more reasonable approach was
classic 0/90/+45/-45 layup has pre- sign rules and achieve optimized re- to stack alternating unbalanced (aniso-
dominated not only because resulting sults with asymmetrical layups, recalls tropic) layers (e.g., 0 and a shallow
laminates exhibit similar stiffness in all the alternatives inventor, Dr. Stephen angle). Forty years later, this bi-angle
directions, but also because it minimizes Tsai, professor emeritus at Stanford concept (pat. pend.) has found its rst
bending/twist coupling and gives metal- University (Palo Alto, Calif.). In fact, commercial application in a new pro-
Head tube
(wall thickness:
0.145 inch/
3.6 mm)
Connection
lug formed by
overlapping
tube joint with
C-PLY and
aramid plies
DESIGN RESULTS
Unbalanced, shallow-angle laminates Potato-chip warping is prevented by Small bicycle rm has achieved aero-
of new, very thin biaxial fabrics replaces stacking 16 or more layers of the thin space quality, with a ten-fold decrease
black aluminum and simplies layup. unbalanced layers. in labor costs, out of the autoclave.
46 | HIGH-PERFORMANCE COMPOSITES
COMMERCIAL APPLICATION
BY SARA BLACK
carbon fiber fabrics. ILLUSTRATION / KARL REQUE
duction bicycle frame from American Ar- insurance plies overdesigning sac-
tisan Bicycles (Sonoma, Calif.). rices the design advantages of compos-
ites (see Learn More). Tsai, therefore,
Bye-bye, black aluminum pushed non-quasi-isotropic designs over
Why bi-angle material? The answer lies in the years and even developed spread-
the mathematical prediction of laminate sheet-based failure analysis software,
failure, traditionally a difcult subject called MIC-MAC (for micro-macrome-
due to the multiple plies in various di- chanical analysis), which quickly calcu-
rections, differences in material prop- lates optimized layups at any angle and
erties from ply to ply and even outside predicts how they will behave, and fail,
inuences, such as temperature or mois- under load. Fig. 1, p. 48, shows that when
ture. In a nutshell, if a quasi-isotropic the cross-ply angle is reduced in relation
laminate is subjected to increasing load to the 0 direction, the resulting laminate
in the direction of the 0 bers, matrix withstands signicantly greater stress Out-of-autoclave
cracking eventually occurs in the off-axis before rst-ply failure and last-ply failure aerospace part Source: Chomarat
or transverse plies. This phenomenon, and generally performs better in many An H-46 Chinook helicopter tunnel cover
known as rst-ply failure, decreases ma- load applications, thanks to the reduc- prototype, made with vacuum-infused C-PLY
trix stiffness. Eventually, as loads in- tion in interlaminar forces. The gure also by VX Aerospace (Morganton, N.C.).
crease, ultimate, or last-ply, failure oc- shows that the stresses that cause rst-
curs. The load levels at the two failure ply failure and last-ply failure equalize at a resulting laminate is lighter and thinner
points and the difference between them cross-ply angle of about 20. Concern that than a quasi-isotropic counterpart be-
depend on the layup and the ber/resin very low-angle cross plies might result in cause more, thinner plies make a stron-
combination, among other factors. potato-chip warping of the laminate is ger and tougher part than fewer, thicker
You put load on a quasi-isotropic lami- alleviated, says Tsai, if enough layers are plies, Skillen explains.
nate and the off-axis plies fail early and mi- stacked together. The difference between Such a layup also has a >30 percent
crocrack, due to shear, says Bob Skillen, symmetrical and asymmetrical laminates higher rst natural frequency, a factor
founder and chief engineer at VX Aero- disappears when 16 or more bi-angle lay- that often dominates laminate design,
space (Morganton, N.C.), who has tested ers are stacked, he explains. Continuous Tsai adds. With a higher rst natural fre-
the material in aerospace parts. Youre es- stacking makes the location of plies, and quency, the operating range of the part in
sentially accepting microcracking in your reversing the order of stacking relative to terms of vibration performance is greater.
design, he contends, but he points out the mid-plane, irrelevant. In other words,
that theres no reason to do that. the large number of repeated layers effec- From theory to practice
Because early methods for predicting tively homogenizes the laminate. Tsai knew, however, that hand cutting of
progressive failure were unsophisticated, The unexpected result is mechanical shallow angles using uni tapes was im-
says one industry analysis expert, most performance that matches that of au- practical. The key was to make available
designers compensated with conserva- toclaved uni prepreg tapes, via easier a fabric with 0 and a shallow angle al-
tive rst-ply-failure solutions. But adding vacuum-bag processing. Moreover, the ready plied together, which would en-
JANUARY 2013 | 47
FOCUS ON DESIGN
48 | HIGH-PERFORMANCE COMPOSITES
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