Composite materials

Two or more constituent materials with

significantly different physical or chemical
properties, that when combined, produce a
material with characteristics different from the
individual components. The individual
components remain separate and distinct
within the finished structure.

Typical engineered composite materials
include:
Composite building materials such as
cements, concrete
Reinforced plastics such as fiber-reinforced
polymer
Metal Composites
Ceramic Composites (composite ceramic
and metal matrices)
Composition of Composites

Fiber/Filament Reinforcement Matrix Composite






Use of composites in the aerospace industry has increased
dramatically since the 1970s. Traditional materials - aluminium, steel
and titanium.
Benefits of composites - reduced weight and assembly
simplification.
The performance advantages by reducing the weight of aircraft
elements has been the major impetus for military aviation
composites development.
Reduced production and maintenance costs has proven to be a
major factor in the push towards composites. Composites are also
being used increasingly as replacements for metal parts on older
planes.
New aircraft utilize what would be considered high performance
composites in marine terms. These include carbon, boron and
aramid fibres combined with epoxy resins.
The above figure shows current and projected expenditures for
advanced composite materials in the aerospace industry.
Examples of specific aerospace composites
development programs :

Lear Fan 2100: The Lear Fan uses approximately 1880 pounds of carbon,
glass and aramid fibre material.
Beech Starship
Boeing: Composites are widely used in aircraft interiors to create
luggage compartments, sidewalls, floors, ceilings, galleys, cargo liners
and bulkheads. Fiberglass with epoxy or phenolic resin utilizing
honeycomb sandwich construction gives the designer freedom to
create aesthetically pleasing structures while meeting flammability and
impact resistance requirements.
Airbus
Advanced Tactical Fighter (ATF): Advanced composites enable the ATF
to meet improved performance requirements such as reduced drag, low
radar observability and increased resistance to temperatures generated
at high speeds. The ATF will be approximately 50% composites by weight
using DuPont's Avimid K polyamide for the first prototype.
Navy Fighter Aircraft (F-18A): The wing skins of the F-18A represented the
first widespread use of graphite/epoxy in a production aircraft.
Osprey Tilt-Rotor (V-22): Up to 40% of the airframe consists of composites,
mostly graphite fibres in 3501-6 epoxy (both from Hercules).
Why use plastics?
Strength to weight ratio
Part count and manufacturing operations reduction
Flexibility
Electromagnetic transparency
Corrosion resistance
Smooth contours

Advantages
Weight reduction (approx. 20-50%)
Corrosion resistance
Fatigue resistance
Tailorable mechanical properties
Sales through offset
Lower assembly costs (fewer, fasteners,
etc.)


Disadvantages
Some higher recurring costs
Higher nonrecurring costs
Higher material costs
Nonvisible impact damage
Repairs are different than those to metal
structure
Isolation needed to prevent adjacent
aluminium part galvanic corrosion
Market Sectors
Commercial
Large
passenger
and freight
aircraft for
civilian use
Military
Military
aircraft both
fighter and
bomber
aircraft
Rotary
Helicopters
for both
civilian and
military use
Business jets
and small
planes
Space
Satellites,
manned
and
unmanned
spacecraft
Missiles &
Weapons
T
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T
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PMMA
Polymethylmethacrylate
PC Polycarbonate
PTFE and other fluoroplastics
PA Polyamides(nylons)
PEEK Polyetherketone
PEI Polyetherimide
PAI Polyamide-imide
PAA Polyarylamide
PSS Polyphenylene sulfide
PPSU Polyphenylsulfone
PVF Polyvinylidene fluoride
POM Polyoxymethylene
Fibers used
Carbon
graphite fiber
reinforcement
Glass fiber
reinforcement
Aramid fiber
reinforcement
Composite
matrix used
Polyester resins
Epoxy resins
Carbon-fiber-reinforced polymer

Extremely strong and light fiber-reinforced polymer
The polymer is most often epoxy, but other polymers, such as
polyester, vinyl ester or nylon, are sometimes used.

The strongest and most expensive of these additives, carbon
nanotubes, are contained in some primarily polymer baseball
bats, car parts.

It has high strength-to-weight ratio and very good rigidity is of
importance.

Rudder of A310 Airbus
Advantages over a traditional rudder made from sheet aluminium
are:
25% reduction in weight
95% reduction in components by combining parts and forms
into simpler moulded parts.
Overall reduction in production and operational costs,
economy of parts results in lower production costs and the
weight savings create fuel savings.
Glass fibre reinforced polymers

Glass fibers are useful thermal insulators because of their high
ratio of surface area to weight. However, the increased
surface area makes them much more susceptible to
chemical attack. By trapping air within them, blocks of glass
fiber make good thermal insulation

Advantages this has over cast aluminium manifolds are:
Up to a 60% reduction in weight
Improved surface quality and aerodynamics
Reduction in components by combining parts and forms
into simpler moulded shapes.
Automotive gas and clutch pedals made from glass fibre
reinforced PA 66 (DWP 1213)
In contrast to carbon fiber, glass can undergo more elongation before it
breaks. There is a correlation between bending diameter of the filament
and the filament diameter
Aramid Fibers

Aramid fibers are a class of heat-resistant and strong synthetic fibers.
They are used in aerospace and military applications, for ballistic
rated body armorfabric and ballistic composites, in bicycle tires, and as
an asbestos substitute.



Future applications of plastics in aerospace
Nanocomposites
Nanocomposites offer huge benefits
Lighter and stronger materials nanotechnology has the potential to
increase strength and heat resistance in both conventional thermoplastics
and composites.
Self-clean coatings nanotechnology can be used to produce self-
cleaning coatings for flight surfaces to reduce drag and improve fuel
efficiency.
Abrasion resistant coatings aerospace glazing can suffer from abrasion
during use and nanotechnology can produce abrasion resistant coatings to
prolong life and visibility.

Light weight remotes
The growing use of remote controlled surveillance craft has been enabled by
the ability of plastics materials to reduce weight and to increase flight times.
This is a relatively new area for aerospace and the use of plastics has been
an enabling technology for this area.

Rapid manufacturing
Rapid manufacturing techniques are now being developed for the
production, not simply of prototypes, but also for the series production of
parts. Rapid manufacturing allows rapid testing and development to achieve
the best design for virtually non-existent tooling costs.
Potential concerns
Fire, smoke and toxicity
The response to fire is not a simple flammability issue, but is a combined issue
of flame, smoke, and toxicity (FST). Compliance with FST regulations is
mandatory and one of the key issues in the use of plastics. Engineering
plastics generally have better FST response than the commodity plastics.

Fracture and failure issues
High-strength composites can suffer invisible damage due to impact that can
affect their long-term performance. The aim is to reduce impact damage
and to prevent any potential cracks from spreading.

Recycling
Almost all of the materials used in aerospace can be easily recycled using
currently available technology. However, for composite materials, the
recycling technologies are still new and developing rapidly. One of the most
promising technologies is the use of pyrolysis, high temperature processing
without the presence of oxygen. Pyrolysis offers an opportunity to take waste
composite materials and to recycle these into valuable feedstock (eg. Gases,
oils, waxes, char, etc.) for new composite materials.