2010_jul
TRANSCRIPT
■ Composite propeller blades via RTM
■ Aerospace + compression molding?
■ Update: NCAMP shared databases
■ SAMPE Seattle & JEC show reviews
JULY 2010 / compositesworld.com
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
2 | H I G H - P E R F O R M A N C E C O M P O S I T E S
46 Digital Design, RTM Update Composite Propeller This second-generation type-certi-fi ed propeller delivers for Cirrus Air-craft’s SR-22, and reportedly can be customized for other low-horsepow-er piston-engined and turbine air-craft at a more affordable lifecycle cost than aluminum propellers.
By Sara Black
volume: eighteen number: four
7 From the Editor HPC’s editor-in-chief Jeff Sloan posts a rare recommendation for a recent book about rare events that rarely meet our expectations.
9 Speaking OutDr. Leslie Cohen traces the
“digital thread” on which auto-mation of composites fabrica-tion processes depends.
13 Testing TechDr. Donald Adams offers in-sight into ASTM D 4762, a compendium of knowledge about standards relevant to testing polymer composites.
32 Work in ProgressHPC technical editor Sara Black updates NCAMP’s on-going efforts to establish a centralized composite material property database.
16 News
41 Calendar
42 Applications
43 Marketplace
45 Ad Index
24 2010 SAMPE Europe/JEC Paris ShowcaseRecord crowds and re-ignited tech-nological development testifi ed to the composites industry’s renewed health and the recent recession’s demise.
By Jeff Sloan & Sara Black
28 SAMPE 2010 Seattle ShowcaseSAMPE’s fi rst-ever foray into the Pa-cifi c Northwest wrapped up with the M&P organization’s biggest draw this decade.
By Jeff Sloan & Sara Black
34 Inside Manufacturing: Aerospace-grade Compression MoldingContinuous Compression Molding process produces structures 30 percent lighter than aluminum at costs that have both Airbus and Boeing sold.
By Ginger Gardiner
FEATURES COLUMNS
DEPARTMENTS
ON THE COVER
The Advanced Structural Composite
(ASC) propeller, trademarked ASC-II,
is shown here on the Cirrus SR-22 air-
craft. The subject of our “Focus on De-
sign” this issue, the ASC-II, designed
and molded by Hartzell Propeller (Pi-
qua, Ohio), features aramid- and car-
bon-fi ber reinforcements, an epoxy
matrix and metal root components
comolded in a resin transfer molding
process.
Source: Cirrus Aircraft
FOCUS ON DESIGN
24
34
28
JULY 2010
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4 | H I G H - P E R F O R M A N C E C O M P O S I T E S
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CONTRIBUTING WRITERS
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Mike Musselman / Managing Editor
Sara Black / Technical Editor
Jeff Sloan / Editor-in-Chief
[email protected] / 719.242.3330
Dale Brosius
Ginger Gardiner
Michael R. LeGault
Peggy Malnati
Karen Wood
John Winkel
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EDITOR
FROM THE EDITOR
J U L Y 2 0 1 0 | 7
t’s rare that I evan-
gelize about a book,
but once in a while, I
come across a tome that
either appeals highly to
my sense of reason or
makes me think differ-
ently about how some
aspect of my life or how
our world functions. I re-
cently read a book that
does both, and I think it
has application for the
composites community.
The book and author might be familiar to you:
The Black Swan, by Nassim Nicholas Taleb, was pub-
lished in 2007. Both have been much discussed
since publication, and Taleb is a regular guest on
many of the 24/7 news and economy shows that
populate cable TV — particularly since the fi nan-
cial/banking sector meltdown in fall 2008.
Taleb is part statistician, part economic analyst,
part historian, part investment banker and part
philosopher — at least he is for the purposes of the
book he authored. In the book, Taleb explores in
great detail the theory he has developed, called the
Black Swan, which says, in a nutshell, that much of
human history has been positively and negatively
affected by the advent of relatively rare and unfore-
Ithe recent Wall Street-initiated
world recession.
At the same time, human
systems, thanks to the same
complexity that makes them
fragile, are also capable of spon-
taneous and paradigm-shifting
innovation and creativity (e.g.,
the telephone, penicillin, tele-
vision, the computer chip, the
Internet, etc.). And when inno-
vation occurs, it’s often diffi cult
for us to appreciate quickly its
true potential. When the Internet fi rst came along,
how many of us could have imagined that it was a
positive Black Swan that would one day allow us to
wirelessly send and receive text, photos and video
via handheld devices?
If we extend the Black Swan concept to the com-
posites community, a thought experiment emerges:
Can we anticipate the risks of disaster and the bursts
of innovation? Some Black Swans we
have seen before and can imagine hap-
pening again, like a shortage of carbon
fi ber. And we can look back on some
innovation and see that we are living
through some Black Swans already, like
the pervasive use of carbon fi ber com-
posites in the 787 Dreamliner and the A350 XWB. It’s
not possible, however, to foresee true Black Swans,
because, by defi nition, they are simply beyond our
powers of imagination.
But we can, at least, allow for the possibility of
Black Swams: Does increased use of carbon fi ber
in wind blades represent a game-changing Black
Swan, or is it just another market segment for car-
bon fi ber? Do efforts like BMW’s Megacity Vehicle
represent the dawn of carbon fi ber’s use in mass-
prodcution automotive structural members, or just
a modest experiment in carbon fi ber use? These are
large and largely unanswerable questions as of yet,
but it’s intriguing to contemplate the change that’s
already shaped this community and wonder what
Black Swans await us.
Jeff Sloan
seen events: All swans are white (or so we believe)
and, therefore, (again, so we believe) a black swan
is impossible. When one comes along (and, very
rarely, they do), we are unprepared. Taleb’s conten-
tion, of course, is that a Black Swan is only improb-
able. The large impact of improbable events, he calls it.
One of the tenets of Taleb’s argument is the notion
that complex human systems (e.g., economies,
the fi nancial sector, deepwater oil wells, air traffi c
control systems) are inherently fragile and suscep-
tible to easy disruption. Further, humans in general
have proven not to be very good at assessing risks
in these systems and, thus, underestimate their
vulnerability to a negative Black Swan — such as
No stranger to Black Swans, can the
composites community anticipate the risks
of disaster and the bursts of innovation?
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SPEAKING OUT
SPEAKING OUT
J U L Y 2 0 1 0 | 9
Dr. Leslie Cohen is the senior VP of military sales at HITCO Carbon Composites Inc. (Gardena, Calif.). He has authored more than 50 pub-l ications during his career, in the
areas of advanced composite design and development as well as automation. Prior to joining HITCO, he served for 31 years at McDonnell Douglas, where, as senior director, he oversaw all business develop-ment for McDonnell Douglas Russia. He is a SAMPE Fellow, a recipient of the Soci-ety of Manufacturing Engineers’ (SME) Jud Hall Composites Manufacturing Award and an Academician of the Russian Academy of Engineering. He holds BS, MS and Ph.D degrees from Carnegie Mellon University.
THE DIGITAL THREAD: TRANSFORMATION TO AUTOMATION
et me offer you a simple defi nition
of sales, marketing and new busi-
ness development: If there is noth-
ing to ship tomorrow, you failed. If there
is no backlog, you failed. If you go out of
business because there were no orders,
you failed. If you’re not competitive, you
have failed.
First, you must be able to recognize
your company’s identity to help you
relate to what you are about to read
here. The operative words are prime
and responsible. As before, everyone
works for the prime, but under the new
model that has emerged with the 787
Dreamliner and the Airbus 350 XWB,
the lower-level suppliers have new
and different responsibilities: Tier I sup-
pliers have design and build responsibili-
ties, and Tier II suppliers (the next level
down) often have responsibility for sub-
sections and design build. Lower down the
line, the familiar build-to-print fabricator
is now a Tier III. Down further in the stack,
the commodity supplier and the material
supplier, such as the prepreg supplier,
have moved down to Tier IV.
In these times of change, the key to
prospering is the ability to adapt. The
smart ones change before they have to.
The lucky ones manage to scramble and
adjust when push comes to shove. The
rest become history. Aerospace is the
traditional market for advanced com-
posites, where the requirements are
performance-driven. In recent years, the
industry has demanded — and the sup-
pliers have responded with — lower-cost
manufacturing practices and procedures,
and the word affordability now has teeth. If
you cannot make the affordability aspect
of the business case for composites, the
probability of implementation to pro-
duction is drastically reduced.
For the past 20 years, we have been
migrating from manual fabrication meth-
ods to automation. Automation has been
the key to reduce touch labor and drive
to affordability, be it metal or composite.
Touch labor is expensive and produces
lower quality than automated or mecha-
nized manufacturing. Many have said to
me, “We are too small to invest. We must
simply keep the cost of labor down,” and
a lot of other such comments. The fact
of the matter is that there’s not much fu-
ture in this strategy. If you are a lower tier
contractor, you need to fi nd a home in
this global world.
As we design for manufacture, with au-
tomation embedded up front, we will see
performance, quality and affordability as
a result. We do not want to go in the opposite
direction. During the past decade, several
prime contractors were either acquired
or converted to subcontractor status. It
is not just consolidation (as we saw when
the prepreg community consolidated
from seven or more quality prepreggers
to two). It is obsolescence as a result of
missing the market — trying to sell what
is not wanted. Those of you familiar with
downtown Pittsburgh remember well
how the whole south side of that city was
one large steel mill populated by com-
panies like Carnegie and J&L. Now we
have a shopping mall and food courts. If
you do not pay attention to the business
case, bad things can happen. Automate,
emigrate or evaporate.
We at HITCO automated: two auto-
mated tape laying machines, seven au-
toclaves, with two more on the way. We
put in a new cleanroom, enhanced with
CNC high-precision trimming and drill-
ing machines, four large NDT tanks and
much more. With this automated capac-
ity and these robust processes, we cap-
tured top-line growth programs, both
civil and military.
But this is only a small part of the jour-
ney and only a portion of the message.
Yes, automate, emigrate or evaporate.
That is certain. But there is a much deep-
er aspect of the competitive edge in us-
ing composites. That is the implementa-
tion of the “digital thread” concept. The
pie chart on p. 11 shows the breakdown
for automated fabrication and assembly
of a typical, modern complex aerostruc-
ture subsystem using slit tape, based
on several studies. About half of the
recurring cost is tied up in the automa-
tion function and the other half is tied
up in people: engineering surveillance,
inspection, tool setup, quality assur-
ance and other processes. These peo-
ple have not changed since I came to
the industry. It’s not that they are not
required functionally; it’s that most
of what they do is not done digitally.
It’s touch labor and analog. And that
drives up cost, increases cycle time,
decreases quality and hurts the compa-
ny’s ability to capture both affordability
and performance, in both the short and
the long-term.
The digital thread goes from concep-
tual design through detail design and
into manufacturing and MRO. That same
digital thread that starts with design en-
gineers is used for the entire lifecycle of
the airplane. Just as we made the journey
from wooden aircraft to aluminum and
now composites, I am sure our commu-
nity will make this digital journey to cap-
ture both affordability and performance
L
The key to prospering is the
ability to adapt. The smart ones
change before they have to.
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SPEAKING OUT
J U L Y 2 0 1 0 | 1 1
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for composite aerostructures. The front end of the process —
trade studies, structural concepts, loads, design for manufac-
turing — is no longer done with pencil and slide rule, but it
uses a spectrum of digital tools that rapidly produce concepts
using PC-based codes. The database is completely digital. The
digits are passed to fi nite element codes that generate models
using 3-D solids that permit complete visualization of the de-
sign concepts, construction details, manufacturing processes
and fl ow. As we move through the process, we can transform
the digits’ conceptual design rapidly to create a simulation of
automated manufacturing, such as tape width, machine pro-
tocols, lay-down rates and the path of the slit tape. The simu-
lation quickly fl ags areas of the concept design that are not
possible to manufacture.
But we no sooner made the digital journey than
we went right back to paper for part production and
documentation, including the quality “travelers” that
go along with each part. Now, let’s be clear: Quality
assurance is paramount to making hardware. It’s man-
datory. But the real questions are: How effi ciently do you
do it? What are the technologies that allow one to validate that
conforming hardware has been made? What new technologies
should be developed? Suffi ce it to say that the overarching
strategy should include complete integration of the
digital thread right through quality assurance. That fa-
mous quality chop — the offi cial Seal of Permission to
proceed and the supporting ink pad and paper that is
stamped — is, in the world of the digital thread, “road
kill.” It has been leaned out by digits that do not weigh
anything and are understood by any recipient, independent of
where they are in the world.
So, in our new world, where we have taken the automation
journey and implemented a strategy, rather than emigrating
or evaporating, we must now harness and leverage the digital
thread to drive down both the nonrecurring and recurring cost
of the composite hardware.
Take these digits from inception all the way through MRO.
By doing so, the fullest potential of the performance and the
widest possible use of our composite materials and structures
discipline will be captured for the benefi t of mankind.
Editor’s note: This article is excerpted from Dr. Cohen’s keynote address,
given at the SAMPE Europe gathering in Paris on April 12, 2010, with
associated visual materials.
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J U L Y 2 0 1 0 | 1 3
TESTING TECH
TESTING TECH
Dr. Donald F.
Adams is the
president of Wyo-
ming Test Fixtures
Inc. (Salt Lake
City, Utah). He
holds a BS and an
MS in mechanical
engineering and
a Ph.D in theo-
retical and applied
mechanics. Following a total of 12 years
with Northrop Aircraft Corp., the Aero-
nutronic Div. of Ford Motor Co. and the
Rand Corp., he joined the University of
Wyoming, directing its Composite Mate-
rials Research Group for 27 years before
retiring from that post in 1999. Dr. Adams
continues to write, teach and serve with
numerous industry groups, including the
test methods committees of ASTM and
the Composite Materials Handbook 17.
T
GUIDE FOR TESTING POLYMER MATRIX COMPOSITE MATERIALS
he title of this month’s column is
not just designed to capture your
attention, it also is the actual title
of ASTM Standard Guide D 47621. This
standard has been in existence since
1988, but has attracted relatively little
attention since its inception 22 years
ago. One contributing factor is that,
until recently, it was not complete nor
kept up to date. The standard was re-
vised for the fi rst time in 2004, 16 years
after it was originally written. Many new
test methods were introduced and stan-
dardized during the time interval before
the fi rst revision, and many have been
introduced since. Therefore, the entire
Guide was revised again, and exten-
sively expanded in scope, in 2008. Thus,
the current edition is much more up to
date. Still, the Guide remains relatively
unknown. This is unfortunate because
the document is truly a treasure chest of
information for anyone who is attempt-
ing to identify and select a specifi c test
method, or looking for some assistance
in making relative comparisons between
competing test methods.
ASTM D 4762 has two main parts. The
fi rst is an extensive listing of ASTM stan-
dards relevant to the testing of polymer-
matrix composites. The second part is
a series of six tables that defi ne what
properties are governed by each of these
standards and, most importantly, the
advantages and disadvantages of each
test method it defi nes. Explanatory com-
ments are provided where appropriate.
The list of relevant ASTM standards is
arranged numerically, and includes the
title of each standard. The list is divided
into two main groups — those standards
governed by ASTM Subcommittee D30
on Composite Materials and those gov-
erned by Subcommittee D20 on Plastics.
There is also a supplemental list of other
standards of secondary interest, plus ref-
erences to sources of information about
defi nitions and symbology that are spe-
cifi c to composite materials, preparation
of test specimens and standard data-re-
porting formats.
The six tables that describe the various
test methods are titled as follows:
1. Lamina/Laminate Static Properties
2. Lamina/Laminate Dynamic Properties
3. Laminate/Structural Response
4. Sandwich Constructions
5. Constituent/Precursor/Thermophysical
Properties
6. Environmental Conditioning/Resistance
Perhaps the best way of explaining the
types of information available in these
tables is to give a few specifi c examples
abstracted from the Guide (see “Sample
Tables for ASTM D 4762,” below and on p.
15). Note that these are just four of the
approximately 100 entries in the tables
included in ASTM Standard Guide D 4762.
Without question, this Guide will re-
quire frequent revision in the future as
additional standards are introduced, and
the descriptions and appraisals will need
thorough updates as existing standards
are revised and new knowledge is gained.
Fortunately, ASTM Committee D30 on
Composites appears to be committed to
this task, as evidenced by its activities
during the past few years. And I am sure
that the committee will welcome sugges-
tions for further improvements in format,
as well as content.
R e f e r e n c e s1ASTM D 4762-08, “Standard Guide for Testing
Polymer Matrix Composite Materials,” ASTM In-
ternational (W. Conshohocken, Pa.), 2008 (origi-
nally published 1988).
From Table 1, for In-Plane Tensile Test Methods:
Test Method Specimen Measured Property Description & Advantages Disadvantages Comments
D 3039 Tensile strength Straight-sided specimen. Suitable for both
random, discontinuous and continuous-
fi ber composites. Tabbed and untabbed
confi gurations available.
Tabbed confi gurations require careful
adhesive selection and special preparation
Certain laminate layups prone to edge
delamination, which can affect tensile
strength results
Preferred for most uses. Provides additional
confi gurations, requirements, and guidelines
that are not found in D 5083. Limited to
laminates that are balanced and symmetric
with respect to the test direction.
Tensile Modulus,
Poisson’s Ratio,
Stress-Strain
Response
Requires use of strain or displacement
transducers. Modulus measurements
do not require use of tabs.
Modulus measurements typically robust.
Sample Tables from ASTM Standard Guide D 4762
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J U L Y 2 0 1 0 | 1 5
TESTING TECH
From Table 1, for In-Plane Compression Test Methods:
Test Method Specimen Measured Property Description & Advantages Disadvantages Comments
D 6641 Compressive Strength Untabbed or tabbed straight-sided specimen
loaded via a combination of shear- and
end-loading. Smaller, lighter, less expensive
fi xture than that of D 3410. Better also at
non-ambient environments. Suitable for
continuous fi ber composites.
May be necessary to tab highly oriented fi ber
composites or laminates with 0° plies on the
surface. Now recommended for determining
compressive strength of unidirectional (0°
ply orientation tape or tow laminates.
Preferred method. Thickness must be
suffi cient to prevent column buckling.
Limited to laminates that are balanced and
symmetric.
Compressive Modulus,
Poisson’s Ratio,
Stress-Strain
Response
Requires use of strain or displacement
transducers.
Unidirectional tape or tow composites can be
tested to determine unidirectional modulus
and Poisson’s ratio.
From Table 1, for In-Plane Shear Test Methods:
Test Method Specimen Measured Property Description & Advantages Disadvantages Comments
D 7078 Shear Strength,
Shear Modulus,
Stress-Strain
Response
V-notched specimen loaded in rail shear
fi xture. Along with D 5379, provides the best
shear response of the standardized methods.
Provides shear modulus and strength. Can
be used to test most composite types.
Produces a relatively pure and uniform
shear stress state. Generally does not
require tabs. Permits testing of fabric and
textile composites with large unit cells. Less
susceptible to loading point failures
than D 5379.
Specimen can be diffi cult to machine.
Biaxial strain gages required to obtain
modulus and strain-to-failure data.
Requires good strain gage installation
techniques.
Recommended for quantitative data or where
shear modulus or stress/strain data are
required. Enables correlation with out-of-
plane properties. Must monitor strain data for
specimen buckling. Material form limitations
are equivalent to those for D 5379. The most
accurate modulus measurements obtained
from laminates of the [0/90] family.
From Table 4, for Sandwich Construction Test Methods:
Test Method Specimen Measured Property Description & Advantages Disadvantages Comments
D 7249 Sandwich Flexural
Strength, Facesheet
Compressive
Strength,
Facesheet Tensile
Strength
Rectangular sandwich beam specimen.
Ease of specimen construction and testing.
Standard geometry uses 4-point loading
technique. Flexural stiffness may be
determined using Practice D 7250.
Method limited to I-D bending. Failures
often dominated by stress concentrations
and secondary stresses at loading points,
especially with specimens having low-
density cores and thin facings. Specifi ed
beam geometry required to ensure simple
sandwich beam theory is valid. Specimen
must be carefully designed to obtain the
desired failure mode.
Specimen is designed to induce facing tensile
or compressive failure, but failure may initiate
in a non-facing element (core, adhesive) of
the sandwich structure. The ratio of the
facesheet thickness to core thickness (t/c)
should be <0.10.
D 7078
Sample Tables from ASTM Standard Guide D 4762 (continued)
1 6 | H I G H - P E R F O R M A N C E C O M P O S I T E S
NEWS
NEWS
ulfstream Aerospace Corp. (Savan-
nah, Ga.) announced on June 3 that
a third aircraft has joined the Gulf-
stream G650 fl ight-test program. The fi rst
to be fully equipped with the G650’s ad-
vanced-avionics system, the plane also
is thoroughly instrumented for measure-
ment of aerodynamic loads and to gauge
the performance of its ice-protection
system. The project was fi rst announced
in March 2008, with rollout of the fi rst
aircraft appearing in September 2009,
The G650 incorporates innovative
composite design and materials in its
4m/13-ft long rudder and 6m/19.7-ft long
elevators. The complex, ribbed parts are
made with Fortron polyphenylene sul-
fi de (PPS) thermoplastic resin manufac-
tured by Ticona (Florence, Ky.), which is
prepregged with carbon fi ber by TenCate
Aerospace Composites (Nijverdal, The
Netherlands and Morgan Hill, Calif.).
The parts’ press-formed ribs and two
spars are welded to the left-hand and
right-hand skins by means of a robotized
induction-welding process developed
by KVE Composites Group (The Hague,
The Netherlands). The method uses the
carbon fi ber in the part as a heat conduc-
G
Third Gulfstream G650 joins test fl eet in quest of type certifi cation in 2011Aircraft incorporates fi rst-ever carbon/PPS rudder and elevators
tor. Part skins receive an additional auto-
clave cycle.
The thermoplastic control surfaces
weigh 10 percent less and the process
results in 20 percent lower cost than the
previous composite design, say the sup-
pliers involved. The control surfaces re-
portedly are the fi rst thermoplastic com-
posite external primary structures to fl y.
The rudder and elevators recently won
the Composites Innovation Award for
Aeronautics at the 2010 JEC Composites
show in Paris.
Gulstream’s fl agship G650 offi cially
entered fl ight testing on Nov. 25, 2009.
As of June 2, this year, the three test air-
craft already had completed a total of
75 fl ights, logging more than 210 fl ight-
test hours. The fl ight-test program re-
cently achieved two objectives: On May
2, the aircraft fl ew at its maximum op-
erational Mach number, achieving a top
speed of Mach 0.925 at altitude of 42,500
ft/12,954m. Earlier in the year, the aircraft
fl ew at its maximum takeoff weight of
99,600 lb (45,177 kg).
The G650 business jet is designed to
offer the longest range at the fastest
speed in its class, says Gulfstream. Pow-
ered by best-in-class Rolls-Royce BR725
engines, it will be capable of traveling
7,000 nautical miles (12,964 km) at Mach
0.85. The aircraft is expected to receive
certifi cation from the Federal Aviation
Admin. (FAA) and the European Avia-
tion Safety Agency (EASA) in 2011. Thus
far, the G650 is on schedule to enter ser-
vice in 2012.
So
urc
e:
Gulfs
tream
New R&D consortium puts Canadian composites front and center
he Boeing Co. (St. Louis, Mo.) and
Canadian industry partners an-
nounced June 1 the launch of a new
research and development consortium
aimed at strengthening Canada’s com-
petitive position in the manufacturing of
advanced composite materials for aero-
space and other industries. The Canadian
Composites Manufacturing Research and
Development (CCMRD) consortium brings
together major aerospace companies and
small- to medium-sized enterprises to en-
hance Canada’s global competitiveness.
The CCMRD was formed in cooperation
with the Composites Innovation Centre
(CIC, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada), Na-
tional Research Council Canada’s Institute
for Aerospace Research (NRC-IAR, Otta-
wa, Ontario, Canada) and The Boeing Co.
(Chicago, Ill.). Founding Canadian mem-
ber companies include Bell Helicopter
and Avior Integrated Products in Quebec;
Comtek Advanced Structures in Ontario;
Convergent Manufacturing Technologies
and Profi le Composites in British Colum-
bia; and Bristol Aerospace (a division of
Magellan Aerospace Ltd.) and Cormer
Group Industries Inc. in Manitoba.
NRC-IAR will participate as a technol-
ogy adviser, providing insight and direc-
tion based on its leading-edge knowledge
of the composites aerospace industry. In
addition to fi nancial support, Boeing will
provide technical expertise and project
guidance through its central research,
technology and innovation organization,
Boeing Research & Technology.
The CCMRD is in line with Canada’s In-
dustrial & Regional Benefi ts (IRB) policy
and an integral part of Boeing’s IRB pro-
gram associated with the Canadian Forc-
es’ acquisition of 15 CH-147 helicopters.
IRB policy requires prime contractors,
such as Boeing, to invest in the Canadian
economy as a result of winning defense
contracts with the Canadian government.
Boeing has more than 200 suppliers lo-
cated across Canada.
T
J U L Y 2 0 1 0 | 1 7
$3 million Ohio Third Frontier award
to the University of Dayton Research
Institute (UDRI, Dayton, Ohio) will
fund the scale-up and production of a
new carbon nanomaterial that will al-
low composites to “multitask,” says the
group. For example, a wind turbine could
de-ice its own blades in winter and store
energy to release on a calm day, powering
a grid even when its blades are still, or a
military vehicle’s armor could double as
a battery to power some of the vehicle’s
electrical components.
Nicknamed “fuzzy fi ber” by its inven-
tor and UDRI group leader for carbon
materials Khalid Lafdi, trademarked
Nano Adaptive Hybrid Fabric (NAHF-X)
is the fi rst tailored nanomaterial that can
be produced continuously in sizes and
quantities great enough to make them
affordable and viable for large-scale com-
mercial use. Lafdi and his team produce
500 ft/152m of 12-inch/304-mm wide fab-
ric per day at a pilot plant. When incor-
porated into resins, fuzzy fi bers report-
edly enable composites to be tailored for
electrical and thermal conductivity.
The Third Frontier award, announced
May 26 in Columbus, Ohio, will be
matched by UDRI and Ohio-based col-
laborators Goodrich (Brecksville, Ohio),
Owens Corning (Toledo, Ohio) and Ren-
egade Materials (Springboro, Ohio).
Project funding will include the purchase
of equipment for a full-scale production
facility in Dayton. Goodrich will apply the
technology fi rst in aerospace.
NAHF-X was pioneered with funding
from the U.S. Department of Defense, the
aerospace industry and the Third Fron-
tier, says Brian Rice, URDI’s division head
for multiscale composites and polymers.
After successfully controlling growth of
carbon nanotubes on individual carbon
fi bers, researchers accomplished the
same on a type of carbon-fi ber yarn and
eventually on engineered textiles (photo,
above right, shows growth of nanotubes
on a fi berglass fabric). The breakthrough
was in overcoming issues of uniformity
and precisely controlling growth of the
nanotubes, Rice says.
“Fuzzy fi ber”
nanomaterial may
revolutionize
composite parts
A
So
urc
e:
UD
RI
Carbon Nanotubes
1 8 | H I G H - P E R F O R M A N C E C O M P O S I T E S
NEWS
UMECO COMPOSITE GROUP COMPANIES
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562-404-2440, CA
• Aerovac Systems Ltd.
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innovative high performance fabrics, call John Houston
at 1-888-PEEL-PLY, or contact one of our distributors.
PLYTHE POWER OF
repreg, once considered to be too
costly for successful mass pro-
duction, is rapidly becoming the
material of choice for a variety of com-
mercial applications, from aerospace to
renewable energy. So says a new report
authored at Lucintel (Dallas, Texas) and
available through Research and Markets
(Dublin, Ireland). According to the study,
entitled Worldwide Prepreg Competitive Anal-
ysis and Leadership Study 2009, the market
for prepreg has experienced signifi cant
growth in recent years except 2009. As a
result of wider acceptance and emerging
demand, the prepreg industry as a whole
is now highly attractive, with above-av-
erage revenue growth and profi t-margin
potential, and has garnered attention
from the investment community.
The report examines the six leading
prepreg manufacturers and ranks each
fi rm based on a matrix of factors, rang-
ing from management effectiveness to
product variety. Specifi cally, the report
attempts to answer key questions: What
are the market shares of the major prepreggers?
Who are the regional leaders? Which companies
will gain future market share? The report is
available for purchase online at www.re-
searchandmarkets.com.
JEC (Paris, France), meanwhile, has
issued a new study that analyzes The
Worldwide Composites Industry: Structure,
Trends and Innovation. According to the JEC
group, growth of production volumes
in the composite industry in any given
country is linked directly to the growth
of that country’s GNP. During the past 50
years, the worldwide composites indus-
try has seen an average growth rate of
almost 8 percent (by volume) per year.
The report cites smart materials as a
major step forward. NASA, for example,
has developed prototypes that can self-
repair damage, using shape memory
polymers. Recycling will open up a new
area of research and innovation, say the
authors, and Indian and Chinese com-
posites industries are growing and will
continue to grow rapidly. JEC sees great-
est growth in wind energy and aerospace,
predicting for the latter an 11 percent per
annum growth rate through 2014.
The report is available at www.jeccom-
posites.com/jec-publications/.
Two new studies for
the composites market
P
J U L Y 2 0 1 0 | 1 9
Park Electrochemical Corp. (Melville, N.Y.) announced
that its wholly owned subsidiary, Park Aerospace
Structures Corp., was selected by Northrop Grumman
Corp. (El Segundo, Calif.) as its 2009 Research and
Development Supplier of the Year for work related to
fabricating a motor cage structure and a system of com-
posite struts for the Max Launch Abort System (MLAS)
program, under consideration by NASA as an alterna-
tive to the current system. The composites structures
are key enablers in efforts to ensure the MLAS vehicle
maintains the required launch trajectory.
Applied NanoStructured Solutions LLC (ANS, Balti-
more, Md.), a subsidiary of Lockheed Martin (Bethesda,
Md.), and Owens Corning (Toledo, Ohio) have signed a
joint development agreement to support the commer-
cialization of carbon-enhanced reinforcements. Under
the agreement, the companies will combine ANS’s pro-
prietary carbon infusion technology with Owens Corn-
ing’s expertise in glass fi ber reinforcements to develop
“next-generation” composites. The companies expect the
carbon-enhanced reinforcements to be scalable — able
to meet the demands of large-volume applications —
with customizable electrical and thermal conductivity.
NEWS BRIEFS
2 0 | H I G H - P E R F O R M A N C E C O M P O S I T E S
NEWS
n its fi rst fl ight, an X-51A WaveRider
successfully completed the longest su-
personic combustion ramjet-powered
fl ight in history on May 26 — nearly three
and a half minutes at a top speed of Mach
5. The unmanned aerial vehicle, built by
the Boeing Co. in St. Louis, Mo., was re-
leased at an altitude of 50,000 ft (15,240m)
from a U.S. Air Force B-52H bomber off
the southern California coast and fl ew au-
tonomously, powered by its Pratt & Whit-
ney Rocketdyne supersonic combustion
ramjet (scramjet) motor, as it transmitted
telemetry data to ground stations. The ve-
hicle lost acceleration and plunged into
the Pacifi c Ocean, as planned.
“The technology proven today is some-
thing The Boeing Co. has worked on for
the past seven years,” says Alex Lopez,
vice president of the Advanced Net-
work & Space Systems division of Boe-
ing Phantom Works, which is a division
of Boeing Defense, Space & Security. He
contends that the X-51A program will
pave the way to future access to space:
”The leap in engine technology will be
tactical missile accelerated the X-51A
to about Mach 4.5 before it and a con-
necting interstage were jettisoned. The
X-51A’s engine ignited on a mix of eth-
ylene and JP-7 jet fuel. After a short pe-
riod, the X-51A ran exclusively on JP-7
jet fuel. The fl ight reached top speed an
altitude of about 70,000 ft (21,336m).
According to Vogel, carbon/carbon com-
posites protect the leading edges of the
craft’s fi ns and cowls, while the major-
ity of the top surfaces are protected by
Supersonic scramjet fl ies successfully
the equivalent to the post-World War II
leap from propellers to jet engines.”
Joe Vogel, Boeing’s director of hyper-
sonics and the X-51A program manager,
noted that the fl ight was a new world
record and sets the foundation for sev-
eral hypersonic applications, including
access to space, reconnaissance, strike,
global reach and even commercial trans-
portation.
After release from the B-52H’s wing,
a solid rocket booster from a U.S. Army
I
So
urc
e:
Bo
ein
g
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J U L Y 2 0 1 0 | 2 1
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a Boeing-developed silica-based thermal protection system:
“We also use a modifi ed variant of space shuttle tile, called
Boeing Reusable Insulation (BRI) tiles, on the ramp and sev-
eral areas on the lower surfaces of the X-51.”
The team will review the test data before scheduling addi-
tional fl ights for three remaining test vehicles. Boeing Phan-
tom Works performed the design, assembly and testing for
the X-51A’s components. The program is a collaborative ef-
fort of the Air Force Research Laboratory (Wright-Paterson
AFB, Ohio) and the Defense Advanced Research Projects
Agency, with industry partners Boeing and Pratt & Whitney
Rocketdyne.
So
urc
e:
Bo
ein
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2 2 | H I G H - P E R F O R M A N C E C O M P O S I T E S
NEWS
F-35 Update: Carrier variant fl ies, suppliers ramping up
The U.S. Navy aircraft-carrier version
of the Joint Strike Fighter, the F-35C
Lightning II, made its inaugural fl ight
on June 7, taking off from the Naval Air
Station Fort Worth Joint Reserve Base
in Texas, at 11:46 a.m. and logging a
57-minute fl ight. Designed with a larger
wing and control surfaces for safe, pre-
cise handling and low-approach speeds
to the carrier, this variant reportedly has
excellent over-the-nose visibility, and
features additional structural strength
and stealth materials able to withstand
harsh at-sea operations conditions with
minimal maintenance. Program lead
Lockheed Martin (Bethesda, Md.), over-
sees 900 suppliers in 43 states and in JSF
partner countries that include the United
Kingdom, Italy, The Netherlands, Turkey,
Canada, Australia, Denmark and Norway.
Among them, a number of composites
industry notables are making prepara-
tions for the ramp-up to production.
Tooling specialist Janicki Industries
(Sedro-Woolley, Wash.) will establish a
new facility in Utah to support the F-35
program, According to a May 13 an-
nouncement by the state Governor’s Of-
fi ce of Economic Development (GOED),
Janicki intends to make a $19.5 million
capital investment in the plant. Janicki
currently employs more than 350 people
in Washington State. A decision on a fi -
nal location for the new Utah facility has
not yet been made, but it will add an ad-
ditional 50 people to the Janicki payroll
to help Janicki fulfi ll its contractual ob-
ligations to ATK (Centerville, Utah) and
HITCO Carbon Composites (Gardena,
Calif.). Based on the capital investment
and the number of employees that will
be hired, the GOED Board authorized
a post-performance refundable tax credit
up to $316,275 over 10 years.
“Our strategic alliance with Lockheed
Martin, ATK and HITCO Composites
encouraged us to consider locating in
Utah,” says John Janicki, president of
Janicki Industries. “We gratefully accept
GOED’s incentive offer, and we look for-
ward to building long-term business re-
lationships within the state of Utah.”
On the same day, the team of Vector
Composites Inc. (Dayton, Ohio) and Quick-
step Holdings Ltd. (North Coogee, Austra-
lia) reported receipt of
a U.S. Air Force Small
Business Innova-
tion Research (SBIR)
Phase II research and
development program
aimed at assessing
the use of Quickstep’s
patented out-of-auto-
clave curing technol-
ogy to manufacture composite structures
for the F-35. The $2.6 million (USD) base
contract and a potential $1.4 million fol-
low-on option ($4 million total program
authorization) is intended to encourage
successful transition and implementa-
tion of the technology. Material handling,
preparation and fabrication of all test ar-
ticles and prototypes will be conducted by
Vector, and the parts will be subsequently
cured at Quickstep’s U.S. subsidiary, Quick-
step Composites, at a facility adjacent to
Vector’s facility in Dayton.
The SBIR will focus on process quali-
fi cation of bismaleimide (BMI) and ep-
oxy resin composite materials using the
Quickstep process. These two materials
form the majority of the F-35’s structural
composites and have an extensive design
database. During the 27-month contract
period, the team will develop mechani-
cal properties data for comparison to
the baseline autoclave results, and then
fabricate and test representative compo-
nents based on the JSF design, with sup-
port from Lockheed Martin, BAE Systems
(Arlington, Va.) and ITT Integrated Struc-
tures (Amityville, N.Y.). According to the
contract, any or all of these companies
can elect to pursue full qualifi cation of
the process for use in production.
“This grant supports our founding
strategy, which is to promote the pat-
ented Quickstep Process as a viable new
technology for the manufacture of high-
performance composites, such as those
required for JSF components,” says Quick-
step chief executive Philippe Odouard.
“We also are targeting specialist manufac-
turing contracts that can be completed at
our manufacturing facility near Fremantle,
using traditional composites manufactur-
ing techniques, such as autoclave.”
On June 8, MAG Industrial Automa-
tion Systems (Erlanger, Ky.) announced
an approximately $7 million order from
Lockheed Martin for two 6-axis, CNC-
controlled AutoDrill systems. Sched-
uled for delivery in early 2011 to the
aerospace manufacturer’s Marietta, Ga.
plant, the precision automated drilling
and trimming systems will use a sur-
face-detecting pressure foot to ensure
accurate drilling and countersinking of
thousands of fastener holes through the
complex contoured surfaces, made up of
the stacked composite materials, alumi-
num and titanium required for the F-35’s
center wing assembly. The machines are
the fourth and fi fth MAG AutoDrill sys-
tems sold to Lockheed Martin. The three
previous units were installed at Lock-
heed Martin’s Fort Worth, Texas, manu-
facturing plant.
Sourc
e:
Lo
ckh
eed
Mart
in
VISTAGY Inc. (Waltham, Mass.) announced June 3 the appointment of Bruce Boes
as VP of product management and marketing. Boes will be responsible for coordi-
nating product management and developing strategy, positioning and messaging
for VISTAGY’s target markets as well as working with the company’s partners. He
possesses extensive experience in product management and marketing as well
as business development for CAD/CAE and engineering software. He previously
served as VP of Velocity Series global marketing and strategy at Siemens PLM
Software, where he directed the go-to market strategy for the mid-market PLM
portfolio. Prior to Siemens, Boes was VP of business strategy at SensAble Technol-
ogies, a high technology start-up focused on the industrial design marketplace.
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A live outdoor demonstration hosted by Composites One showing the lean effi ciencies and bene⇒ ts of closed-mold processes.
An alert reader of our HPC May 2010 issue found a faux pas in
our cover story entitled “Machining carbon composites: Risky
business.” On p. 44, the article’s author wrote the following
about abrasive waterjet machining: “This powerful, abrasive-
laden stream, moving at speeds approaching Mach 3 (2,200
mph), is concentrated by a specially designed nozzle into a
0.001-inch/0.254-mm diameter stream that quickly erodes
the matrix material and shears the fi ber in parts up to 6 inch-
es/152.4 mm thick.” The diameter of the stream was incorrect-
ly identifi ed. The correct stream diameter is 0.010 inch/0.254
mm. HPC regrets the error.
CORRECTION
Kemrock Industries & Exports Ltd. (Gujarat, India) on
May 9 offi cially opened its fi rst carbon fi ber manufactur-
ing facility, inaugurated by former President of India, the
Honorable Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam. The facility is designed
to produce 400 metric tonnes (~880,000 lb) of carbon fi -
ber annually, although the type of fi ber and tow count was
not revealed. The technology was reportedly developed in
partnership with National Aerospace Laboratories, Ban-
galore. Kemrock reports that it will target defense, aero-
space and infrastructure applications with the material.
NEWS BRIEF
2 4 | H I G H - P E R F O R M A N C E C O M P O S I T E S
2010 SAMPE EUROPE/JEC
PARIS PRODUCT SHOWCASE
CStrong signs of recovery
The 2010 JEC Composites Show welcomed a record 27,500 visitors (see photo, above) and exhibit personnel, April 13-15, at its traditional Paris Expo venue.
the Technology for Aerostructures,” with
an exhortation to the industry to antici-
pate and welcome the future by prepar-
ing for changing business conditions (an
excerpt from his address is presented in
“Speaking Out,” on p. 9).
At the nearby Paris Expo, the 2010
JEC Composites Show (April 13-15) was
an encouraging change from the 2009
show, which — held at the low point of
the global recession — was only mod-
erately attended. In sharp contrast, the
2010 event tallied a record 27,500 visi-
tors and exhibitor personnel.
Glass fi ber for European markets
AGY (Aiken, S.C.) is expanding its global manufacturing footprint by integrating
products made at its Chinese manufacturing operation (acquired in 2009) with
those produced at its U.S. operation. With the high-tensile glass fi ber yarn now
spun in Shanghai, China, AGY has entered the European construction and in-
dustrial markets, in which it previously declined to participate due to high duties
on imported U.S. yarns. In addition, the Chinese plant now makes small-denier
yarn for Asian-made circuit boards. At the U.S. plant, the company has intro-
duced an ultrafi ne yarn, BC 3000, which contains just 50 fi laments of 4-micron
diameter glass fi ber. Converted in Japan, the ultrafi ne fabric is laminated with
epoxy resin to produce very thin printed circuit boards for ever-smaller elec-
tronics, and it is used in Apple’s iPhone, says the company. www.agy.com
olocated again in Porte de Versailles,
Paris, France, the SAMPE Europe
Conference and the JEC Compos-
ites Show expressed a much more buoy-
ant mood than the cautious optimism in
evidence at last year’s events.
The 31st SAMPE Europe International
Conference (SEICO 10) took place at
Hotel Mercure Paris Porte de Versailles
Expo from April 12-14. The conference
keynote address by Dr. Leslie Cohen
(HITCO Carbon Composites, Gardena,
Calif.) explored his company’s “Transfor-
mation to Automation, the Journey and
HPC editor-in-chief Jeff Sloan and
technical editor Sara Black were on hand
at the Expo. The following is a represen-
tative sample of the many newsworthy
developments they encountered. (For
more, see HPC’s expanded 2010 SAMPE Eu-
rope/JEC Paris Showcase online at http://
short.compositesworld.com/8q4JEnao.)
Resin removal scrapers for tooling
Distributor AeroConsultants AG (Nänikon-Uster, Switzerland) showed a new
family of inexpensive yet highly useful handheld mold scrapers, manufactured
by Elixair International Ltd. (Dorchester, Dorset, U.K.). Made from various
thermoplastic resins, including polyetheretherketone (PEEK), SkyScrapers re-
move cured composite resins from composite molds without surface scratching
and are also targeted to both production and maintenance, repair and overhaul
(MRO) organizations, where composite repair resins are removed. The scrapers
can be resharpened multiple times using a small supplied sharpener (the Sky-
mill). Other shapes suitable for spreading adhesives (SkyBlade, SkySpreader,
SkyGrip) also are available. SkyScrapers are approved by both Boeing and Air-
bus for MRO activities. www.aero-consultants.ch; www.elixair.co.uk
Record crowds and re-ignited technological development testifi ed to the composites industry’s renewed health and the recent recession’s demise.
Pho
to:
Jeff
Slo
an
SHOW COVERAGE
J U L Y 2 0 1 0 | 2 5
Carbon nanotube concentrates for epoxies
Graphistrength CS1-25 from Arkema (Cedex, France) is a new solid concen-
trate of carbon fi ber nanotubes (25 percent by weight) that is designed to be
fully dispersed in liquid epoxy resin. Carbon fi ber nanotubes (CNTs) are typically
available in compounded resin systems, usually in concentrations of 1 to 4
percent. Arkema’s concentrate formulation is designed to allow processors the
fl exibility to change and adjust CNT loadings. www.arkemagroup.com
AFP & ATL capabilities
Automated Dynamics (Schenectady, N.Y.) showed its capabilities in both in-
novative composites processing equipment for fi ber placement and automated
tape laying as well as composite parts and structures for oil fi eld and aero-
space applications. According to the company, its machines can produce parts
from high-performance materials, such as carbon fi ber/polyetheretherketone
(PEEK), in a wide variety of shapes and sizes, including complex geometries up
to 40 ft/12.3m long. www.automateddynamics.com
New carbon � ber production capacity
Bluestar Fibres Co. Ltd. (Grimsby, U.K.) showcased its growing carbon fi ber
manufacturing capacity and customer base. It recently increased its precur-
sor capacity in the U.K. to 22,000 metric tonnes (48.51 million lb) per year,
producing tow sizes from 3K to 400K. It also will begin precursor production
in China in 2011 at the rate of 5,000 metric tonnes (11.02 million lb) per year.
A new carbon fi ber facility in Lanzhou, China is starting up this year and will
produce 1,600 metric tonnes (3.52 million lb) of Starafi l fi ber on one line, and a
second line is slated to enter service in 2011 to produce 12K to 50K tow sizes,
says the company. www.bluestarfi bres.com
Of� ine AFP programming software
Coriolis Composites SAS (Quéven, France) introduced CATFiber, an offl ine
fi ber placement and programming solution designed for use with CATIA and
Delmia CAD/CAM systems (both from Dassault Systèmes, Paris, France).
CATFiber provides CAD/CAM service from design through fi ber placement pro-
gramming, with design and manufacturing associativity and dedicated toolpath
actions. www.coriolis-composites.com; www.3ds.com/composites
Epoxy for liquid closed molding
Cytec Engineered Materials (Tempe, Ariz.) showcased its new PRISM EP
2400 liquid infusion resin system. The one-part, toughened epoxy, which cures
at 350°F/180°C, is targeted to aerospace primary structure and “high-per-
formance industrial” markets, says the company. It can be used with a wide
range of reinforcements and reportedly delivers laminate properties equivalent
to Cytec’s 977-2 prepreg. www.cytec.com
Pressure vessel for fuel-cell powered vehicle
EADS Composites Aquitaine (Salaunes, France) held a press event to de-
scribe its recent work on fabricating a 700-bar/10,150-psi pressure vessel
for liquid hydrogen in partnership with Paris, France-based Air Liquide. The
2.4-liter/0.63-gal vessel is part of a 250-watt fuel cell system that powers
a unique tricycle, a vehicle that the company hopes will boost awareness of
clean energy for broader automotive applications.
www.composites-aquitaine.com
Thermoplastic AFP with ultrasonic tack
Fokker Aerostructures BV’s (Hoogeveen, The Netherlands) stand featured an
automated fi ber placement machine with the company’s new thermoplastic
fi ber handling system, which uses ultrasonic energy to tack the applied unidi-
rectional plies together (the part is processed in an oven or autoclave).
www.fokker.com
Multiaxial fabrics source
Formax UK Ltd. (Leicester, U.K.) held an informal press conference at its stand
to highlight the company’s 10-year anniversary. The second largest carbon
multiaxials maker in Europe, the company manufactures fabrics on machin-
ery built by Karl Mayer Textilmaschinenfabrik GmbH (Obertshausen, Ger-
many) that spreads the carbon tow inline for lower ply weight. Target markets
include automotive, wind, marine and industrial.
www.formax.co.uk; www.karlmayer.de
Supplier adds moldmaking capability
Gurit UK (Isle of Wight, U.K.) emphasized its recent acquisition of wind blade
moldmaker Suzhou Red Maple Wind (Suzhou, China). The latter has a low-
cost base, high-capacity system for manufacturing long-life molds with
High-temp benzoxazine tooling prepreg
Airtech International
(Huntington Beach,
Calif.) debuted Beta
Prepreg, a tooling
prepreg material that
uses benzoxazine
resin chemistry de-
veloped by Henkel
(Rocky Hill, Conn.). Reportedly, the prepreg remains stable for a mini-
mum of six months at room temperature and features low resin shrink-
age during cure and low moisture absorption. The use of benzoxazine
in place of an epoxy matrix also gives the prepreg a very high glass
transition temperature and increases its toughness and machinability.
The cured material is said to be conducive to complex geometric detail
— especially useful when tool surfaces must be modifi ed.
Also new: Toolfusion 3 is a nanoparticle-enhanced resin infusion
system for the manufacture of high-temperature, out-of-autoclave
tooling laminates. Dahltexx SP-2 is a semipermeable membrane for
use as tool-side or bag-side breathers to help remove air and liquid
resins. Econostitch G is a polyester peel ply for use with polyesters
and epoxies. WL3900 R/B is a high-elongation release fi lm for use
with polyester, vinyl ester and epoxy. It functions in temperatures up
to 157°C/315°F and is designed for compaction and debulking op-
erations. And Airdraw 2 is a vacuum bagging fi lm that features an
embossed pattern and stiff formulation. It allows users to avoid using
breather fabric during debulking.
www.airtechonline.com; www.henkelna.com
2 6 | H I G H - P E R F O R M A N C E C O M P O S I T E S
SHOW COVERAGE
dimensional accuracy of ±0.5 mm (±0.02 inch) and a carbon fi ber epoxy mold
surface, with electric and liquid heating options, for wind turbine blade pro-
duction. The cost of the molds is about 50 percent of that for comparable
tools produced elsewhere in Europe, and the company requires a 50 percent
shorter lead time, just 12 weeks from receipt of geometric specifi cations.
www.gurit.com
Resin-impregnated peel plies
Henkel Aerospace (Toulouse, France) introduced Hysol EA 9895 WPP and
9896 WPP, its new resin-impregnated wet peel plies. Supplied in fi lm form,
they were designed to increase bonding durability and to eliminate contam-
ination of composite surfaces from dry peel ply fragments. Hysol EA 9895
is a prepregged polyester for curing at 177°C/350°F. Hysol EA 9896 WPP
is a prepregged nylon for curing at 121°C/250°F.
www.henkelna.com/composites
Small-denier intermediate modulus carbon � ber
Hexcel (Dublin, Calif.) announced HexTow IM10, a new carbon fi ber said to be
a breakthrough material. The small-denier fi ber, a product of the company’s
legacy intermediate-modulus fi ber technology, exhibits a tensile strength of
more than 1,010 ksi and a tensile modulus of 44 Msi, with a tensile strain of
2.1 percent. The company says IM10 provides the highest commercially avail-
able tensile strength. Other innovations at the show included new HexForce
bias-weave fabrics that reduce waste caused by cutting standard weave fabrics
to create a ±45° orientation. www.hexcel.com
Large-format fl atbed cutter
Cutting table manufacturer Lectra (Paris, France) exhibited its new VectorTech-
Tex FX 100 cutting solution for composite materials. Its table is available in
widths up to 3m/9.8 ft and lengths up to 4m/13.1 ft. It can cut prepregged
carbon fi ber and provides multilayer cutting of dry materials, such as reinforce-
ment fabrics and honeycomb. www.lectra.com
Expoxy adhesive for honeycomb panel bonding
Magnolia Plastics Inc. (Chamblee, Ga.) emphasized Magnabond 5925, a new
fi re-retardant, two-component, room-temperature-curing epoxy adhesive de-
veloped for use in commercial aircraft cabins and anywhere honeycomb panels
may be used. It was designed to bond honeycomb panels for aircraft interiors,
particularly in “ditch-and-pot” applications. www.magnoliaplastics.com
Robotic automation for composites
Matrasur Composites (Marcoussis, France) highlighted its robotic automa-
tion technology. In one example, Matrasur’s industrialization program for a pool
manufacturer included automated transfer from work cell to work cell, which
resulted in a 67 percent decrease in labor hours per pool, as well as savings in
material usage. www.matrasurcomposites.com
Thermoplastic honeycomb core
PlastiCell sarl (Issoire, France) announced the launch of a honeycomb core
material manufactured using thermoplastic Victrex (Cleveleys, U.K.) APTIV fi lm
(also see Victrex item on p. 27). The fi lm can be thermoformed into shape
in combination with fi ber-reinforced Victrex PEEK (polyetheretherketone) poly-
mer composite skins to create structural parts without the use of adhesives.
www.plasticell-honeycombs.com; www.victrex.com
Inductively heated tooling
RocTool (Le Bourget du Lac, France) exhibited its 3iTech electromagnetic in-
duction technology for tool heating in carbon fi ber composite molding. Induc-
tors are integrated inside the mold during manufacturing to match the shape of
the part. It provides homogenous heating at the tool surface and can generate
heat up to 400°C/752°F in several minutes or 120°C/248°F in a few seconds.
www.roctool.com
New facility in China
Sigmatex (Runcorn, Cheshire, U.K. and Benicia, Calif.) reports that it has re-
cently opened a new facility in Shanghai, China. The 38,000-ft2 (3,530m2)
weaving facility is the same size as the company’s U.S. plant.
www.sigmatex.com
One-piece thermoplastic
composite tail rudder
Gulfstream Aero-
space Corp. (Savan-
nah, Ga.), materials
suppliers Ticona
(Florence, Ky.) and
TenCate Aerospace
Composites (Morgan
Hill, Calif. and Nijver-
dal, The Netherlands)
and two other Dutch
fi rms, Fokker Aero-
structures BV (Hoo-
geveen, The Neth-
erlands) and KVE
Composites Group
(The Hague, The Netherlands), held a press conference to discuss the
revolutionary thermoplastic composite tail rudder for the Gulfstream
650 aircraft (see “Learn More”), the winner of the JEC Innovation
Award in the “Aeronautics” category and the fi rst external carbon/
polyphenylene sulfi de (PPS) primary aircraft structure to fl y. Made with
Ticona’s Fortron PPS resin, prepregged by TenCate, the material is ul-
trasonically welded using technology developed by KVE, eliminating all
metal fasteners. Gulfstream plans to produce 70 to 80 G650 aircraft
annually. www.ticona.com; www.tencate.com; www.fokker.com;
www.kve.nl
J U L Y 2 0 1 0 | 2 7
PRO SET® The science of epoxy
Laminating SystemsAdhesives
Fairing CompoundsProcess Equipment
MJM 40
Doug Zurn
Boston Boatworks
Z
Designer
Builder
Pro-Set Inc.
888-377-6738www.prosetepoxy.com
Aircraft thermoplastic pregregs
TenCate Aerospace Composites (Nijverdal, The Netherlands and Morgan Hill,
Calif.) was a cowinner of the 2010 JEC Innovation Award in the “Aeronautics”
category for its trademarked Cetex thermoplastic composite prepreg materials
used on the Gulfstream G650 aircraft. www.tencate.com
Net-shape preforms
Toho Tenax Europe GmbH (Wuppertal, Germany) introduced Tenax Net Shape
Preforms, which can be made by automated placement of multiple carbon
fi bers using robotic manufacturing equipment, thereby increasing production
speed and improving quality compared to traditional preform products.
www.tohotenax-eu.com
Glass-� lled PEEK polymer
New to Victrex Polymer Solutions’ (Thornton Cleveleys, U.K.) PEEK (poly-
etheretherketone) line of polymers is the ST series, including STG45 (unfi lled)
and STG45GL30 (30 percent glass-fi lled). Designed for high-temperature
applications that require mechanical performance and dimensional stability.
www.victrex.com
Prepreg slit tapes for automated processes
Web Industries (Marlborough, Mass.), whose custom manufacturing and de-
velopment of thermoset prepreg slit tapes for tape laying and fi ber placement
are key to aerospace composites, highlighted its recent expansion in Atlanta,
Ga. The larger facility includes the establishment of a composites Research and
Development Center. www.webindustries.com
NVD production of stator blade erosion strips
Weber Manufacturing Technologies Inc. (Midland, Ontario, Canada) exhib-
ited a new part that it is manufacturing: nickel vapor deposition (NVD) metal
erosion strips for leading edges, targeted to jet engine stator blades. The
0.010-inch/0.254-mm thick strips are produced on an aluminum mandrel and
bonded onto a composite fan blade, says the company. www.webermfg.ca
Nano-enhanced mold care products
Zyvax Inc. (Ellijay, Ga.) emphasized Sealer SF, a mold protectant that uses
a nano-based backbone and has no pollutants, odors or emissions. It is de-
signed to increase the duty cycle of any mold, and it protects the mold and
component surfaces from wear and damage. The product is thermally stable to
750°F/399°C and can be applied at room temperature. www.zyvax.com
Read this article online at http://short.compositesworld.com/8q4JEnao.
See the feature article on the RTM’d thermoset composite rudder for the
Gulfstream G250 in “RTM showcase: One-piece rudder,” HPC January 2010
(p. 34) or visit http://short.compositesworld.com/fLxeMcB6.
LEARN MORE @ www.compositesworld.com
2 8 | H I G H - P E R F O R M A N C E C O M P O S I T E S
ore than 5,000 material & process
professionals were in attendance
at the Washington State Conven-
tion Center. A total of 300 companies ex-
hibited, 70 of which were fi rst-timers. For
the Society for the Advancement of Mate-
rial and Process Engineering’s (SAMPE,
Covina, Calif.) Spring Conference and Ex-
hibition — held for the fi rst time in Seat-
tle, Wash. — this was a strong turnout in
good times and even more impressive in
the shadow of the worst recession since
the Great Depression.
SAMPE offi cials were understandably
pleased with the statistics and, as if in
anticipation of the stellar turnout, had
assembled a large slate of keynote speak-
ers and special lecturers as well as 350
technical presentations for the four-day
conference (May 17-20) — 100 more than
in recent years.
M
SAMPE 2010SEATTLE
SHOWCASE
Befi tting the show’s location, Frank Do-
erner, VP – materials, processes & struc-
tures technologies at Seattle-based
Boeing Research & Technology, was the
keynote speaker the morning of May 19.
He brought the audience up to speed on
the 787 Dreamliner as it moves through
fl ight testing, identifi ed several challeng-
es associated with composites work on
the 787: Design and analysis, EMI shield-
ing, heat distribution (composites tend to
insulate), tooling (big and complex), pro-
duction (multiple composites suppliers)
and repair methods. He identifi ed several
areas of interest on the horizon for Boeing,
including adhesives (of particular interest
because they can help Boeing eliminate
the use of mechanical fasteners) and out-
of-autoclave (OOA) materials.
Out-of-autoclave processing was a
hot topic in conference sessions and on
the show fl oor. Notable among the OOA
papers was HITCO Carbon Composites
Inc.’s (Gardena, Calif.) on OOA cure of
parts produced via automated tape laying
(ATL). HITCO tested material with three
levels of impregnation: low, medium and
high. Test panels were produced for each
material type, then bagged and cured
at 200°F/93°C in an oven. Results, says
HITCO, showed that open-hole tension
and compression were on par with parts
cured in an autoclave. Low-impregnation
material provided the best consolida-
tion. OOA cure, HITCO determined, is vi-
able for ATL applications.
SAMPE offi cials announced that SAM-
PE 2011 will return to Long Beach, Calif.,
May 23-26, 2011. In a new twist, the event
will be colocated with Aeromat 2011. For
further information, contact Michelle
Tubb at (626) 331-0616 x603; E-mail: mi-
As always, HPC operatives were on
hand, and fi led the following reports
about notable products, technologies and
services in evidence on the show fl oor.
(See HPC’s expanded SAMPE 2010 Seat-
tle Showcase at http://short.composites-
world.com/8q4JEnao.)
Fairing demonstrator
The Boeing Co. (Seattle, Wash.) exhibited this launch vehicle fairing. Intended as a manufacturing demonstration of a large honeycomb-cored sandwich structure, the fairing was layed up via automated fiber placement, using Cycom 5320 epoxy/carbon fiber out-of-autoclave pregreg slit tape from Cytec Engineered Materials (Tempe, Ariz.). The fairing was cut in half for separation from the tool and then subjected to nondestructive testing.
SAMPE’s fi rst-ever show in the Pacifi c Northwest wrapped up with the M&P organization’s biggest draw this decade.
SHOW COVERAGE
Pho
to:
SA
MP
E
Braided prosthetics, braided thermoplastics
A&P Technology Inc. (Cincinnati, Ohio) described its partnership with Toray
Carbon Fibers America Inc. (Flower Mound, Texas) to help earthquake survi-
vors in Haiti. The company braided 4-inch, 5-inch and 6-inch (101-mm, 127-
mm and 152-mm) sleeves (using Toray fi bers) for the manufacture of thousands
of prosthetic devices, which were provided to medical relief groups: A Leg to
Stand On (ALTSO) and MedShare. The company also highlighted its braided
thermoplastics, which are fi nding new applications, thanks to inherent fl ame,
smoke and toxicity (FST) properties, quick cycle times, toughness, infi nite shelf
life and recyclabililty. www.braider.com; www.toraycfa.com
Versatile fl atbed cutting system
Cutting table manufacturer Autometrix Precision Cutting Systems Inc.
(Grass Valley, Calif.) brought to the show its new Model M8 system. It features
a lightweight carbon-fi ber composite gantry that improves gnatry travel speed;
a 66-inches/sec (1.68 m/sec) cutting speed; an LCD touch screen control
system; PatternSmith software; servomotors on XA, XB, Y and Theta axes; fi ve
available widths (up to 120 inches/3,048 mm) and more than 100 lengths
(ranging from 8 to 80 ft or 2.4 to 24.4m); a single-roll material rack; and
optional airdrill, inkjet marking system, vacuum table zoning and additional
racks. www.autometrix.com
J U L Y 2 0 1 0 | 2 9
New build-to-print facility
Burnham Composites Inc. (Wichita, Kan.) touted its new facility, built to
accommodate expanding demand for Burnham’s build-to-print manufactur-
ing services. The 16,000 ft2 (1,486m2) plant has a 2,000 ft2 (186m2) Class
400,000 cleanroom; two computer-controlled ovens (largest is 20 ft by 15 ft
by 6 ft or 6.1m by 4.6m by 1.8m), compression molding presses (150-ton,
200-ton, 400-ton) with up to 4 ft by 10 ft (1.2m by 3m) platens; a 750-ton
multi-platen press, with 5 ft x 12 ft (1.5m by 3.7m) platens; a 500-ton single-
platen press, with 5 ft x 16 ft (1.5m by 4.9m) platens; and a 4,000 ft2 (372m2)
assembly area. www.burnhamcs.com
Infusion epoxy for room-temperature cure
Cornerstone Research Group Inc. (CRG, Dayton, Ohio) introduced a room-
temperature-cure epoxy system for out-of-autoclave, out-of-oven infusion
processes, with controllable exotherm for very thick and large parts. It report-
edly has a Tg of 350°F/177°C, says the company. It is looking for strategic
partners to trial the “capability” (including the resin system, layup and part-
curing process) and is considering licensing the technology. www.crgrp.net
Modular fi ber placement machine
Electroimpact Inc. (Mukilteo, Wash.), a relative newcomer to the fi ber and tape
placement machinery market, exhibited its 16-spool, modular placement ma-
chine at the show. Company offi cials reported that two of its machines are in
operation at Spirit AeroSystems (Wichita, Kan.), where they are used to manu-
facture the Section 41 forward fuselage for the Boeing 787 Dreamliner. The ma-
chines use third-party, offl ine programming-code software supplied by show ex-
hibitor CGTech (Irvine, Calif.). www.electroimpact.com; www.cgtech.com
Flatbed cutter for reinforcements & prepregs
First-time exhibitor Gunnar International (Arlington, Wash. and Rebstein,
Switzerland) exhibited its new TTC119 technical textile fl at table cutter. Ac-
cording to the company, the high–speed, single-layer cutter is built to work
in all production environments, cutting fl at technical materials including
prepregs, dry carbon, glass fi bers and aramid fi bers, etc., as well as sheet
materials such as foam. Two table sizes are available. www.gunnar-int.com
Small-denier/high-tensile-strength carbon fi ber
Hexcel (Dublin, Calif.) displayed a Sikorsky S-76D main rotor blade, which in-
corporates Hexcel materials and blade production concepts, and exhibited its
new Hextow IM10 carbon fi ber (introduced earlier this year at the JEC Com-
posites Show in Paris). The new “breakthrough” small-denier fi ber, a product
of the company’s legacy intermediate-modulus fi ber technology, exhibits a
tensile strength of more than 1,010 ksi (reportedly the highest commercially
available tensile strength). www.hexcel.com
New epoxy resin system for carbon prepregs
3M Industrial Adhesives & Tapes Div. (St. Paul, Minn.) introduced its Matrix
Resin 3831 epoxy for carbon fi ber prepregs. 3M tests comparing the new
resin to standard epoxy showed a 76 percent improvement in shear modulus,
73 percent greater toughness and a 68 percent increase in Barcol hardness.
Carbon fi ber prepreg tapes manufactured using the new resin reportedly have
the same processing characteristics as, and can be used in place of, compa-
rable legacy prepregs without modifi cations. www.3m.com/aerospace
Automated composites manufacturing services
HITCO Carbon Composites Inc. (Gardena, Calif.) presented its “automation
journey” to booth visitors, highlighting its recent migration to automated manu-
facturing capabilities for aerospace manufacturing (HITCO’s Dr. Les Cohen
makes some observations about automation as a means to meet the chal-
lenges of composites manufacturing, in “Speaking Out,” on p. 9). The company
is producing structures for the F-35 fi ghter and fl oor beams for the Boeing 787
Dreamliner, as well as many other aerostructures. www.hitco.com
Benzoxazine resins and prepregs
Henkel Corp. (Madison Heights, Mich.) introduced to North America its line
of Benzoxazine 99110 resins. The material was a fi nalist in an A380 part at
the JEC Composites show Innovation competition in Paris and is offered as a
replacement for epoxy and bismaleimide. It provides good mechanical, tem-
perature and fi re performance. In addition, Henkel has partnered with Airtech
International (Huntington Beach, Calif.) to offer carbon fi ber prepregs for the
manufacture of composite tooling using the Benzoxazine resin. Tools made
with the material are said to offer good dimensional control and vacuum in-
tegrity. www.henkelna.com; www.airtechonline.com
Car design contest inivitation
Swift Engineering (San Clemente, Calif.) emphasized its IndyCar design,
engineering and manufacturing capabilities and announced the launch of a
design contest, in which visitors to the Swift site can vote on their favorite car
design. Visit www.swiftengineering.com.
Reusable silicone vacuum bags
Smooth-On Inc. (Easton, Pa.) demonstrated the ease of producing reusable
silicone vacuum bags using its EZ-Brush system. After the silicone system
is mixed and degassed, it is applied to the tool surface to form a high-tem-
perature and tear-resistant, reusable bag that reportedly pays for itself after
eight parts. The company also manufactures EpoxAmite epoxy laminating res-
ins many other products, and also offers technical assistance and training.
www.smooth-on.com
Handheld hot-bonding cure controller
WichiTech Industries Inc. (Baltimore, Md.) showcased its handheld HB-1
Composite Repair System, which the company claims is the smallest yet most
powerful and economical hot bonding cure controller in the composites repair
industry. The 3.5-lb/1.6-kg unit has four thermocouple inputs and is easy to
program. www.wichitech.com
Photo
: S
AM
PE
3 0 | H I G H - P E R F O R M A N C E C O M P O S I T E S
SHOW COVERAGE
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New materials, new parts production
services
Park Electromechanical Inc. (Melville, N.Y.) introduced E-710 easy-
cure epoxy prepreg, and E-710FR, a fl ame-retardant version. Both
feature a low cure temperature of 160°F to 250°F (71°C to 121°C)
and are said to provide long out-time (60 days) at room temperature.
Available reinforcements include carbon fi ber, aramid and fi berglass in
widths up to 60 inches/1,524 mm. Also new: Aeroglide surfacing fi lm,
an epoxy-based composite fi lm that can be oven- or autoclave-cured
at 250°F/121°C or 350°F/177°C to eliminate surface porosity. It pro-
vides a paintable surface, good tack and drapability, is co-curable with
most epoxy prepregs, is UV-resistant and is compatible with lightning
strike screens and foils. www.parkelectro.com
Out-of-autoclave polyimide prepreg
Renegade Materials Corp. (Springboro, Ohio) announced it had re-
ceived a $1 million (USD) Ohio Third Frontier grant for the develop-
ment of out-of-autoclave polyimide prepregs, aimed at making high-
temperature polyimide materials more affordable under a broader
array of processing methods. Renegade will collaborate with Maver-
ick Corp. (Blue Ash, Ohio). The award will be matched by $1 million
from Renegade, Maverick and participating customers. The company
is recruiting program participants. Interested parties should e-mail
inquires to [email protected].
www.renegadematerials.com; www.maverickcorp.com
New resins and vacuum-bagging materials
Airtech International Inc. (Huntington Beach, Calif.) showcased ToolFusion
(above) and several other new products introduced at the JEC Show in Paris
(see the JEC Showcase item on p. 25). www.airtechonline.com
Phenolic prepregs meet FAR Part 25 FST
Lewcott Corp. (Millbury, Mass.) exhibited its expanded LC family of phenolic
prepreg products for aircraft interiors. Lewcott, which manufactures its own
high-molecular-weight phenolic resins, says the prepreg resin can be tailored
for a variety of processes and meets Federal Aviation Regulations (FAR) Part
25.853 and many other fl ame, smoke and toxicity (FST) metrics. Also on dis-
play was the company’s new FM5LF polyester prepreg for composite radome
and antenna applications. www.lewcott.com
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In-process inspection for AFP
Ingersoll Machine Tools Inc. (Rockford, Ill.) discussed its new Real-Time
Inspection System (RTIS) option for automated fi ber placement systems. De-
signed to work in-head, the inspection system is being developed to identify
possible tow anomalies before the fi ber is fed to the compaction roller. Such
anomalies would include tow-width error, twisted tows, material splices, tow
absence, tow-feeding problems, etc. The operator or programmer can choose
from a number of actions to fi x or track these anomalies automatically or man-
ually. www.ingersoll.com
Epoxies for aircraft interiors, repairs & spacecraft
Magnolia Plastics Inc. (Chamblee, Ga.) introduced new epoxy products.
Among them was two-part 132-488 A/B, a low-viscosity resin designed spe-
cifi cally for resin transfer molding (RTM) applications. Made for aircraft inte-
riors and slated for fi rst use in stair steps for a corporate jet), the epoxy has
an eight-hour pot life, is fi re-resistant and meets Federal Aviation Regulations
(FAR) Part 25.853(A) 60-second vertical burn test requirements (three-ply
laminate). www.magnoliaplastics.com
Large-part machining center with built in CCM
Machining specialist Paragon D&E (Grand Rapids, Mich.) emphasized its
large-part, high-speed, high-precision Fidia Y2G machining center. The 5-ax-
is, two-spindle machine measures an impressive 12 by 60 by 10 ft (3.7 by
18.3 by 3m) and is used to produce tooling, machine wind blades and aircraft
structures and other large parts. It features a built-in coordinate measuring
machine (CMM) with which to conduct self-inspections and offers machining
accuracy to within 0.001 inch/0.025 mm. www.paragonde.com
Out-of-autoclave surfacing � lm
TenCate Advanced Composites Inc. (Morgan Hill, Calif.) used the show
to launch its TC235SF composite surfacing fi lm for out-of-autoclave (OOA)
vacuum bag cure. Part of a family of compatible resin systems designed for
low- to moderate-cure temperatures in low pressure, vacuum-only environ-
ments, the new fi lm has an out-time of 30 days and yields a cosmetically
smooth appearance, even over thin-skinned honeycomb-cored composites. It
also maintains its integrity in tight radii while providing low porosity, according
to the company. www.tencate.com
New resins, adhesive & hardener
Huntsman Advanced Materials (The Woodlands, Texas) showcased a series
of new epoxy and benzoxazine resins for high-performance aerospace com-
posites. Among them was low-viscosity Araldite MY0816 naphthalene diep-
oxy, targeted for formulating infusion, resin transfer molding (RTM), prepreg,
adhesive and syntactic systems, combining a very high Tg and high tough-
ness with low moisture absorption and low dielectric constant.
www.huntsman.com/advanced_materials
CNT-enhanced prepreg materials
Zyvex Performance Materials (Columbus, Ohio) showed its Arovex prepreg
that incorporates carbon nanotubes and the company’s multifunctional mo-
lecular technology that allows nano-sized materials to fully bond with host
polymers or materials. The company revealed that its Epovex nano-enhanced
adhesives are now available in smaller cartridge form. www.zyvexpro.com
3 2 | H I G H - P E R F O R M A N C E C O M P O S I T E S
WORK IN PROGRESS: NCAMP SHARED DATABASES PROJECTWORK IN PROGRESS: NCAMP SHARED DATABASES PROJECT
3 2 | H I G H - P E R F O R M A N C E C O M P O S I T E S
Over the years, HPC has devoted
considerable ink to the National
Center for Advanced Materials
Performance (NCAMP) and its
ongoing efforts to establish a
centralized composite material property
database. The group’s efforts have been
newsworthy: “Composite materials are
really still in their infancy, compared to
metals,” Yeow Ng, NCAMP’s associate
director, admits. “We need to develop
material property data that government
agencies and OEMs will readily accept,
as metals data are accepted.” NCAMP,
part of the National Institute for Aviation
Research (NIAR) at Wichita State Univer-
sity (Wichita, Kan.), has made signifi cant
progress toward that goal since our most
recent report (see “Learn More,” p. 23).
BY SARA BLACK
Ongoing testing
NCAMP lab technicians Kayla Krenzel and Troy Lake inspect a short beam strength specimen for parallelism.
NCAMP’S WORK CONTINUES WITH TESTING OF NEW MATERIALS
So
urc
e:
NC
AM
P
Progress toward standardization
As composites-industry practitioners
well know, the number of possible com-
binations of fi bers and resins — and how
they’re combined during processing — is
almost infi nite. Although this fl exibility
is a boon to designers, the trade-off is
that material properties can vary widely
and, sometimes, unexpectedly. Unlike
metals, whose properties are typically
known independent of the structures in
which they are used, composites’ proper-
ties are, in large part, determined as they
are manufactured, says Dr. John Tomblin,
NIAR’s executive director. He notes that
“the ratio of fi ber and resin, orientations
of fi bers, ply schedule, and selected fab-
rication process all have their effects on
the ultimate performance, which can’t be
known until the part is cured and subse-
quently tested.” To minimize risk in criti-
cal airframe applications, it is necessary
to establish rigorous material and pro-
cess controls and testing regimes that
will yield statistically valid material and
design allowables.
Traditionally, large, statistically sig-
nifi cant testing programs have been
undertaken at great expense. Although
funding sometimes has been provided
through an aircraft program or a govern-
ment agency, it has come more often
from the individual airframe manufactur-
ers. Such testing regimes require consid-
erable time and money and often prove
prohibitive for general aviation manufac-
turers. The resulting databases, there-
fore, are typically considered proprietary
SHARED COMPOSITE MATERIAL
PROPERTY DATABASES BY SARA BLACK
J U L Y 2 0 1 0 | 3 3
and are rarely (if ever) shared with other
manufacturers, says Ng. “The metals in-
dustry shares its data amongst suppliers
and users because they don’t consider it
worth hiding. Agencies accept the data
without question,” Ng points out. “In our
industry, this selfi sh mind-set has cost
us. It’s not the material, necessarily, that
makes the difference — it’s design and
engineering.”
Efforts to change the situation gained
traction in the U.S. with the Advanced
General Aviation Transport Experiments
(AGATE) initiative, funded by the Fed-
eral Aviation Admin. (FAA) and the Na-
tional Aeronautics and Space Admin.
(NASA) in the mid-1990s. In essence,
AGATE attempted to encourage the use
of composites in general aviation by
shifting the responsibility for generating
basic composite material property data
from end-users to the material suppli-
ers. The goal was to generate datasets
for commonly used materials and share
that data with airframers. The end-user
could confi rm equivalency by executing
a small test batch of samples to verify
that its process could produce the same
results as those associated with the
standard material in the database. Thus,
the process of specifying a composite
material for aircraft would be greatly
simplifi ed and much less costly.
Although AGATE ended in November
2001, NCAMP was established in mid-
2005 by NASA Langley Research Center
(Hampton, Va.) as a permanent national
center at NIAR. NCAMP was tasked with
continuing AGATE’s mission — for the
entire aerospace industry, not just for
general aviation — and taking it to a
self-sustaining level. NCAMP, in partner-
ship with the FAA and the working group
for Composite Materials Handbook (CMH)-17
(formerly MIL-HDBK-17), has completed
several qualifi cation and equivalency
programs and continues to expand its
base of material suppliers, says Ng.
“There is a lot going on here, although
it might not look that way from the out-
side. We’re engaged in a cost-sharing ef-
fort with a wide variety of partners.”
Off-the-shelf materials?
Ng explains that, depending on the fund-
ing source, material suppliers provide
materials either to NCAMP or directly
to participating aerospace companies,
a 45-member list that includes Airbus,
Bell Helicopter Textron, The Boeing Co.,
Cessna Aircraft Co., Gulfstream Aero-
space Corp., Northrop Grumman Corp.,
Sikorsky Aircraft and Spirit AeroSystems.
Those companies fabricate test panels
and return them to NCAMP for lab test-
ing, the majority of which is done by NIAR.
The rest is done by outside labs, such as
Cincinnati Testing Laboratories (Cincin-
nati, Ohio) and three materials suppliers’
labs: Advanced Composites Group Inc.’s
at its home base in Tulsa, Okla., Cytec
Engineered Materials Inc.’s (Tempe Ariz.)
in Anaheim, Calif., and Hexcel’s (Dublin,
Calif.) in Salt Lake City, Utah. Some com-
panies make qualifi cation panels, and
others produce equivalency panels dur-
ing the same time period. The properties
from all panel tests are pooled to create
a larger dataset, Ng explains, providing
a better model of data distribution. All
generated data meet CMH-17 Revision
G documentation requirements and
comply with several U.S. Department
of Transportation (DOT)/FAA guidance
documents. Therefore, more guidance is
available now than during AGATE.
FAA inspectors and engineers oversee
panel preparation and witness testing
to ensure pedigree. Ng adds that some
technical details with regard to CMH-17
need to be resolved. “For example, CMH-
17 only includes lamina-level data right
now,” he notes. “We are working with
CMH-17 leadership to include laminate-
level properties, which include properties
like open-hole tension, bearing strength
and so on, so that engineers can better
design stacking sequences. Hopefully, our
consensus-building process will allow us
to move toward that type of data.”
According to Ng, several milestones
have been reached over the past 18
months. These include the completion of
qualifi cation and equivalency testing for
several of Advanced Composites Group
Inc.’s MTM45-1 product forms, including
6781 glass, G30-500 plain weave and HTS
12K unidirectional prepreg. NCAMP also
is fi nalizing testing on Hexcel’s 8552 IM7
and AS4 unidirectional prepreg. Testing
is underway for Hexcel’s 8552 AS4 plain-
weave prepreg and Cytec’s 5215 and
5250-5 prepregs.
In 2008, NCAMP received funding from
the Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL,
Dayton, Ohio) Composite and Hybrids
Branch to generate material property data
and qualify Renegade Materials Corp.’s
(Springboro, Ohio) trademarked MVK-14
Freeform polyimide T650 3K 8HS com-
posite prepreg at operating conditions
up to 500°F/260°C wet and 550°F/288°C
dry. The material was voted by NCAMP’s
members as the high-temperature poly-
imide for which airframe fabricators most
wanted property data because it forms
the matrix of a potential substitute for
titanium in airframe and engine applica-
tions. Testing should be complete in the
summer of 2011, says Ng.
NCAMP announced in late 2009 that
it had chosen Cytec’s 5320-1 medium
toughness out-of-autoclave prepreg sys-
tem and Cytec’s 5276-1 high-toughness
prepreg system for its newest material
qualifi cation program. Two product forms
will be qualifi ed with each resin system.
The program is scheduled for comple-
tion within two years. Interest in CYCOM
5320-1 is high among NCAMP voters for
its utility in structures too large for auto-
clave processing.
Ng concludes, “We can make the com-
posites industry more effi cient through
availability of basic material allowables
and material and process specifi cations.
By making composite materials more ac-
cessible and usable, we have a chance
to make vehicles lighter and transporta-
tion systems greener — we want to give
all material suppliers the incentive to
participate.”
Information about NCAMP’s program is
available through its online portal: https://www.
niar.wichita.edu/NCAMPPortal/).
LEARN MORE @
www.compositesworld.com
Read an expanded version of this article online
at http://short.compositesworld.com/uEoGRrMVi.
For more on the NCAMP/AGATE effort, see:
“Shared composite material property
databases,” HPC November 2008 (p. 5) or visit
http://short.compositesworld.com/QS62HN0i.
“Shared material databases: The next
chapter,” HPC May 2005 (p. 7) or visit
http://short.compositesworld.com/eFF6Bf3N.
“Shared databases: The time is now!” HPC
March 2005 (p. 11) or visit
http://short.compositesworld.com/axAjXkBk.
“AGATE methodology proves its worth,” HPC
May 2003 (p. 38) or visit
http://short.compositesworld.com/1ngYXOqa.
“Beyond AGATE: Standardization,” HPC
January 2003 (p. 8) or visit
http://short.compositesworld.com/XasjIjmD.
INSIDE MANUFACTURING
3 4 | H I G H - P E R F O R M A N C E C O M P O S I T E S
n the drive to lightweight commer-
cial aircraft, a recently opened fron-
tier is the production of interior air-
craft brackets, many in the form of
lengthy formed profi les. These criti-
cal but often unseen aircraft assembly
components — C-channels, H-beams,
U-sections, L- and T-stringers and hol-
low trapezoidal/hat stringers — have
long been produced in aluminum.
Compression molding, a process more
commonly associated with automotive
and industrial composites, is changing
that. Continuous Compression Molding
(CCM), an automated, semicontinuous
manufacturing process, has the capac-
ity to take reinforced thermoformable
input (for input types, see “Learn More,”
p. 40) and produce highly shaped pro-
fi les or fl at panels of effectively unlim-
ited length. Operable by one person,
the computer-controlled process yields
product at speeds approaching those
quoted for pultrusion — as high as 40m/
hr (131 ft/hr) for shaped profi les and up
to 91m/hr (300 ft/hr) for fl at panels.
Unlike thermoplastic pultrusion, in
which thermoplastic resin is injected
into dry fi bers at the die, CCM uses input
I
INSIDE MANUFACTURING
materials akin to aerospace-grade epoxy
prepregs — highly aligned, continuous
fi ber reinforcements preimpregnated
with high-end thermoplastics, including
polyetheretherketone (PEEK), polyether-
ketoneketone (PEKK), polyetherimide
(PEI) and polyphenylene sulfi de (PPS).
For nonaerospace applications, polypro-
pylene (PP) and other engineered plas-
tics are the common matrices. The re-
sulting thermoplastic structures exhibit
aerospace-quality consolidation. The
void content is routinely less than 1 per-
cent (verifi ed by laminate micrographs),
compared to the typical requirement
of less than 2 percent for autoclaved
composites. Commercial products, to
date, have used carbon or glass fi ber (al-
though they can be made with aramid or
other fi bers) and include highly loaded
structural elements, such as the carbon
fi ber/polyetherimide (C/PEI) fi xation rail
assembly used to attach Airbus A330/
A340 interior sidewall panels. According
to CCM manufacturer Xperion Aerospace
GmbH (Herford, Germany), more than
30,000 such rails have been produced,
replacing aluminum with an almost 50
percent weight reduction and lowering
production cost by 21 percent, after two
years, with a part rejection rate of less
than 0.1 percent.
A history of knowledge and experienceCCM isn’t new. Ulrich Spelz, a thermoplas-
tic composite (TPC) pioneer in the early
1990s at aircraft manufacturer Dornier
(Wessling, Germany), developed and pat-
ented CCM. In 1999, he founded Advanced
Composites and Machines GmbH (ACM,
Markdorf, Germany) to advance the pro-
cess, test new TPCs, prototype tooling for
customers and bring parts to serial pro-
duction. An early success was the spring
for Bico AG’s (Schänis, Switzerland) in-
novative slatted bed design, nominated
for a JEC award in 2002 (see photo, p.
39). ACM worked with Dyne Design En-
gineering (Niederlenz, Switzerland) and
manufacturer Nägeli Swiss AG (Güttingen,
Switzerland) to adapt the spring design
for Spelz’s process. The resulting CCM
machinery took in fi ve plies of Gurit (Isle
of Wight, U.K.) Plytron 60-percent glass-
reinforced PP unidirectional (UD) prepreg
tape and then heated and compressed
the material. The resulting consolidated
Continuous Compression Molding
process produces structures
30 percent lighter than aluminum
at costs that have both Airbus
and Boeing sold.
Aerospace-grade
COMPRESSION
MOLDING
BY GINGER GARDINER
J U L Y 2 0 1 0 | 3 5
sheet was automatically cut into 650-mm
by 200-mm (25.6-inch by 7.9-inch) plates.
These were fed into a two-sided hydraulic
stamp-forming press, which heated them
to the forming temperature and, every 50
seconds, stamped 25 springs, each 25 mm
wide, roughly 70 mm in length and 1.4 mm
thick (0.98 inch by 2.75 mm by 0.06 mm).
The process produced 1.4 million parts
per year, through 2007.
In 2004, ACM was approached by
Boeing Phantom Works (St. Louis, Mo.)
to assist in developing thermoplastic
composite parts for future aircraft, such
as the 787 Dreamliner. Plans included
a CCM machine capable of producing
both panels and shaped profi les for use
as a research platform in its St. Louis
facility. This prompted ACM to seek an
alliance with a larger manufacturer that
could shoulder the signifi cant invest-
ment. Spelz had crossed paths with Xpe-
rion previously, when the company was
founded in 2000 after purchasing parts of
Dornier. Xperion acquired ACM on Jan. 1,
2007, and Spelz remains Xperion’s chief
technology manager.
Xperion delivered the machine in 2005
and, led by Spelz, continued its work with
Boeing, prototyping a variety of thermo-
plastic composite aircraft parts using
CCM. “Boeing wanted more and larger
components,” Spelz recalls, “so Xperion
began to consider the benefi t of having
a corporate presence in the U.S.” This
led to a 50/50 joint venture with Cutting
Dynamics Inc. (CDI, Avon, Ohio), a long-
time supplier of machined metal compo-
nents for Sikorsky (Stratford, Conn.) and
a qualifi ed supplier for Boeing and Bell
Helicopter (Ft. Worth, Texas). CDI had
signifi cant thermoplastic composites
experience, having purchased a Fi-
Aircraft interior bracketing systems
The CCM process has been used by Xperion Aerospace GmbH ((Herford, Germany) to stamp-form long shaped profiles and holders (see inset) for more than 30,000 of these carbon/PEI fixation rail assemblies, used to attach Airbus A330/A340 interior sidewall panels.
Sourc
e:
Xp
erio
n/C
DI
Continuous Compression Molding lines
A CCM shaped-profile line (left) and a CCM flat-panel line (right). Both lines are automated,
and operable by a single technician. Each is equipped with computer-controlled feed,
press-forming, cutting and stacking functions as well as inline quality assurance.
Source: Xperion/CDI
INSIDE MANUFACTURING
3 6 | H I G H - P E R F O R M A N C E C O M P O S I T E S
INSIDE MANUFACTURING
3 6 | H I G H - P E R F O R M A N C E C O M P O S I T E S
Step 1
Semifinished TPC input materials may be layed up to form a specified laminate schedule, with each ply tack welded to the one or, as shown here, butt-welded edge to edge.
Step 2
TPC inout (or tack-welded laminate stack) is loaded onto the feed creel.
Step 3
Input material is compressed between two stainless steel belts as it is pulled into the machine.
Step 4
The TPC laminate is brought into the press and then compressed, using flat plates. (Note the hydraulic feed cylinders in foreground).
Step 5
Consolidated sheeting exits the press and is automatically cut to length and stacked or wound onto a large spool (spool can be viewed at far right in photo on p. 34).
Step 5
A “T” profile and boxed “C” profile, produced via CCM.
Step 4
A compacted and shaped continuous profile exits the press and is automatically cut and stacked.
Step 3
After preheating and preforming, the input material is compressed, using a shaped die.
Step 2
Input material is preformed. Here, an “H” beam begins. Plies on the left and right enter the stainless steel vertical flange preformers. Center plies enter the horizontal web performer.
Step 1
Semifinished TPC input materials are loaed onto the feed creel.
Shaped Profi le Line:Flat Panel Line:
Sourc
e: X
perio
n/C
DI
J U L Y 2 0 1 0 | 3 7
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berforge (Glenwood Springs, Colo.) Re-
lay Station automated tape laying cell,
which it used along with a traditional
stamp-forming press to produce TPC
parts for aircraft seating. The new entity,
Xperion/CDI, is headquartered in CDI’s
Avon facility and could begin production
of thermoplastic composite ceiling parts
for the Boeing 787 this year. Parts for Air-
bus will continue to be sourced from the
Xperion Aerospace facility in Germany.
CCM process step by step
Both the Xperion Aerospace and the
Xperion/CDI facilities have fl at panel and
shaped profi le CCM machines. Xperion/
CDI has one of each. The fl at panel ma-
chine is capable of a 1600 kN (~360,000
lbf) compression force across a width of
26 inches (660 mm) and a thickness up
to 0.4 inches (10 mm) at a maximum feed
rate of 300 ft/hr (90m/hr) and a maximum
press temperature of 770°F (410°C). The
shaped profi le machine can apply a 400
kN (~90,000 lbf) force over a 4-inch by
4-inch (100-mm by 100-mm) area at a
maximum rate of 150 ft/hr (30m/hr), with
the same thickness and temperature ca-
pability as the panel line.
The CCM process on the panel line be-
gins with the feed creel, which is loaded
with as many rolls of semifi nished TPC
input material as are required to form
the specifi ed laminate schedule. If the
laminate requires angled plies that are
not readily spooled, then strips of wo-
ven or UD input material may be cut
and butt-welded edge-to-edge or tacked
together to form a multilayer panel of a
specifi ed stacking sequence. This welded
laminate is then loaded onto the feed
creel. According to Xperion/CDI, tack-
or butt-welding is a simple process that
also may be automated. But typically,
the input material for the shaped-profi le
line is UD tapes, with no additional prep-
aration required other than loading the
spools onto the creel.
On both lines, a hydraulic feed mech-
anism pulls the input material into the
heating area. It is compressed between
two stainless steel belts on the panel
line. On the profi le line, UD input is
shaped by stainless steel “preformers”
prior to entry into the shaped die (for
the latter, see Shaped Profi le Line Step
2, p. 36). On each line, the material is
brought up to fl ow temperature and
then pulled into a compression mold-
ing press, which features either two fl at
steel plates, for panels, or steel dies for
shaped profi les. The continuous con-
solidated sheet or shaped profi le exits
the press area and is automatically cut
and stacked or wound onto a spool.
Fully computerized, each line may
include automated inline quality as-
sessment. Xperion/CDI’s fl at panel line
already uses a system of four linear en-
coders to continuously measure panel
position and compute panel thickness
and laminate consolidation as it exits
the press. All data is recorded and can be
monitored and analyzed to ensure con-
formity to specifi cations. The data record
is suffi cient to support FAA-required
paper trails. The same system can be in-
stalled on the shaped profi le machine as
well. Some CCM systems also incorpo-
rate inline C-scan equipment.
Inherent process flexibil ityCCM was developed using C/PEEK ma-
terials, specifi cally APC-2 products
INSIDE MANUFACTURING
3 8 | H I G H - P E R F O R M A N C E C O M P O S I T E S
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from Cytec Engineered Materials (Tempe,
Ariz.). Work with less challenging PP, PEI,
PPS and other thermoplastics followed.
“We assumed that if we could process
high-temperature thermoplastics, then
we could solve most of the problems with
low-temperature thermoplastics,” says
Spelz. All of these input materials work
well with CCM, so that material selection
is based on specifi c customer needs. But
some materials reduce the processing
speed. UD prepregs, such as C/PEEK or
C/PEKK from Cytec or C/PPS from Ten-
Cate (Nijverdal, The Netherlands and
Morgan Hill, Calif.) and fabric prepregs,
such as TenCate’s C/PEI, process sim-
ply, he maintains, but “fi lm-stacked or
powder-coated materials need longer
impregnation of the fi bers after reaching
fl ow temperature during consolidation,
and therefore, the machine speed must
be lower than when using well-impreg-
nated materials.”
CCM tooling has benefi ted from ex-
tensive development. “A lot of suppliers
working on thermoplastic composites
came from the injection molding indus-
try or from a background of deep-draw-
forming automotive components, where
tooling is quite complex and expensive,”
Spelz notes. “At Xperion, we devel-
oped a new tooling system, based on
quick-change modules.” All CCM tool-
ing is adapted for a standard pattern of
mounting holes on the machine and are
designed to be modular. Several types of
shapes can be created with one tooling
set, and all the different male and female
tools can be combined and are easy to
change out and modify. For example, an
L-shaped female tool can be used with
different male tools to achieve different
thicknesses or outer radii (as long as the
dimension of the component legs are
the same) without designing new seal-
ing pieces or heating devices. Spelz says
modular tooling has saved money and
time, especially during prototyping.
CCM’s fl exibility is enhanced by the
fact that the part layup can be altered by
adding layers and/or changing the stack-
ing sequence without stopping the ma-
chine, simply by adding, removing and/
So
urc
e:
Xp
erio
n/C
DI
Modular & easily modified
All CCM systems use the same patterns of mounting holes on the machine and are designed to be modular, so that all of the different male and female tools can he combined and easily changed or modified.
Different male molds
Same female or
horizontal mold
J U L Y 2 0 1 0 | 3 9
800.833.2239 www.amamcotool.com
Drilling out through
a face-down OML (outer
mold layer) is tricky
business. That’s why the
world’s leading fighter
jet manufacturer looked
to AMAMCO for the right
composite drill.
This diamond coated
carbide drill works
12.5 times faster
than PCD and lasts
4.36 times longer.
Stanley Dodson
OD Grinder
WOR KS FA STE R,
LASTS LONGER.
or replacing spools onto the feed creel
and introducing them into the feed at
the appropriate location in the stack.
Spelz illustrates this benefi t: “For long
rails, thickness can be increased in high-
load areas.” The CCM process may be
modifi ed for constant high-speed pro-
duction of smaller and thinner parts.
“Because CCM allows you to change
each of the variables independently,”
notes Xperion/CDI managing director
Bill Carson, “the process is very amena-
ble to prototyping and reaching a solu-
tion quickly.” Carson also notes that the
shaped profi le machine’s ability to ap-
ply both vertical and horizontal force to
produce shaped profi les (see illustration
on p.38) results in very high-quality com-
posites with no wrinkling, even on com-
plicated geometries. “This is not easily
achieved with traditional vacuum bag-
ging,” he notes. Carson also sees fl exibil-
ity in the recyclability of TPCs.
Present limits, future promise
Xperion/CDI’s fi rst products will be ceil-
ing components for the 787, including
C-shapes and L-shapes, approximately
2-inches/51-mm wide, that will carry all
loads for the overhead bins. Although
the sidewall rails for Airbus were made
with TenCate C/PEI fabric prepreg, the
787 parts will, most likely use C/PEEK or
C/PEKK unidirectional tapes.
“We have prototyped interior sidewall
panels using CCM panels,” says Spelz,
“but the materials are too expensive for
such a large part vs. the current phenolic
materials, which are very cheap.” Addi-
tionally, the very large machines neces-
sary for sidewalls are less conducive to
CCM processing. “Behind the interior
sidewall panels are many smaller parts
well-suited for thermoplastic compos-
ites and CCM.”
“We take the view that you have to be
honest about what material and process
will function best to produce a given part,”
says Spelz. He readily admits that not ev-
ery part is best produced using thermo-
plastic composites and that hollow parts
and sandwich constructions are better
suited to thermoset processing.
Mass-produced bed springs
Xperion used CCM to thermo-stamp 25 composite bed springs every 50 seconds from glass/polypropylene panels for bed manufacturer Bico AG, with 8 million springs produced between 2001 and 2007.
INSIDE MANUFACTURING
4 0 | H I G H - P E R F O R M A N C E C O M P O S I T E S
WTF
yomingest
ixturesINC.
2960 E. Millcreek Canyon RoadSalt Lake City, UT 84109
Phone (801) 484-5055Fax (801) 484-6008
email: [email protected]
Dr. Donald F. Adams
President45 years of Composite Testing Experience
• Over 40 types of
fixtures in stock,
ready to be shipped.
• Expert consultation
with Dr. Adams
• Email or call today to
discuss your fixture and
custom design needs.
We BELIEVE we make the best fi xtures in the world
and strive to provide the best customer service.
Let us make you a BELIEVER too!
Our Business Manager, Cate O'Hare Adams,
with our Ceramic Flexural Strength Test Fixtures.
Contact Cate for a quote on your next fi xture order.
At the Institut für Verbundwerkstoffe
GmbH (IVW, Kaiserslautern, Germany),
however, there have been recent break-
throughs into sandwich construction
and hollow shapes. In 2009, the non-
profi t research body demonstrated the
continuous manufacture of hollow pro-
fi les via CCM by employing a modifi ed
design that incorporates a fl oating core
in the center of the tooling. Continuous-
length parts were made with a variety of
layups, showing good consolidation and
fi ber volumes between 55 and 60 per-
cent. The work also explored processing
with polybutylene terephthalate (PBT),
formed during processing from the reac-
tive monomer cyclic butylene terephtha-
late (CBT), supplied by Cyclics Corp.
(Schenectady, N.Y.). Cyclics’ formulation
process breaks PBT down into a cyclic
oligomer form that, when heated to a
specifi ed temperature, drops to a water-
like viscosity, facilitating fi ber wetout.
Catalyzed and then cooled, the oligomer
returns to more conventional viscosity
and forms the long-chain, high-molecu-
lar-weight PBT thermoplastic. According
to Cyclics, the material offers the proper-
ties of a thermoplastic but can be pro-
cessed like a thermoset. To visualize the
benefi t, says Steve Winckler, a key pat-
ent author for CBT, one must “think melt
viscosity of cream for CBT vs. silly putty
for PBT, properties much closer to epoxy
than polypropylene, at a neat resin cost
of $6/lb to $8/lb — only slightly higher
than PEI ($5/lb to $6/lb) and a fraction of
PEEK and PEKK ($30/lb).” Winckler also
explains that, as a matrix, CBT inher-
ently “wants” to impregnate composite
reinforcements, resulting in much bet-
ter resin-to-fi ber distribution, which also
helps to achieve mechanical properties
closer to those of epoxy prepreg vs. tra-
ditional thermoplastics. IVW reports that
use of CBT increased processing speed
by a factor of 10 — dramatically reduc-
ing production costs — with no loss of
mechanical properties.
Spelz and Carson agree that the next
step is to combine the high mechanical
properties (traditionally achievable only
with thermoset composites) with the
high speed, high quality and low cost of
CCM to produce, fi rst, stringers and stiff-
eners for aircraft ceilings and structural
components, and, eventually, skin-
stringer assemblies, well-aimed at appli-
cations such as fl ooring. CCM profi les
and CCM fl at sheets can be fusion-bond-
ed to produce very long assemblies,
quickly and cost-effectively. Here, Carson
sees a whole new world open to Xperion/
CDI. “Based on CDI’s long history as a
supplier, we know the material and labor
costs of aerospace parts,” he notes. “We
now have a process which is easily adapt-
ed to take advantage of the opportuni-
ties we see, We can replace aluminum
and other metal structures with compos-
ites that are at least 30 percent lighter
but at a cost previously unattainable,
and we can readily recycle.”
Read this article online at
http://short.compositesworld.com/s660jPYM.
Input materials suitable for CCM are listed in
our Web-only sidebar, online at
http://short.compositesworld.com/MDhVqSOQ.
LEARN MORE @
www.compositesworld.com
CALENDAR
CALENDAR
J U L Y 2 0 1 0 | 4 1
Autoclaves & Control Systems“The world leader in composite autoclaves & control systems”
We Repair / Retrofi t ALL
Makes of Autoclaves
Worldwide
ASC Process System
14062 Balboa Blvd.,
Sylmar, CA 91342 USA
ph. 1.818.833.0088
www.aschome.com
• Largest autoclaves manufacturer in the USA• Sizes from .5-10m diameter and .5-60m long• Highest quality in the industry• World’s leading CPCTM controls• Value pricing & quick delivery• Superior service & support• Over 20 years in business
Oct. 6-7, 2010 The Int’l Symposium on Composites
Manufacturing (ISCM)
Marknesse, The Netherlands | http://iscm.nlr.nl
Oct. 11-14, 2010 SAMPE Fall Technical Conference 2010
Salt Lake City, Utah | www.sampe.org/
events/2010SaltLakeCityUtah.aspx
Oct. 12-14, 2010 JEC Composites Show Asia
Singapore | www.jeccomposites.com
Nov. 9-10, 2010 High-Performance Fibers 2010
Charleston, S.C. | www.compositesworld.com/
conferences/high-performance-fi bers-2010
Dec. 7-9, 2010 Carbon Fiber 2010
La Jolla, Calif. | www.compositesworld.com/
conferences/carbon-fi ber-2010
Dec. 27-30, 2010 2nd Int’l Conference on Composites: Characterization,
Fabrication and Application (CCFA-2)
Kish Island, Iran | ccfa.iust.ac.ir
March 1-3, 2011 4th International Composite-Expo 2011
Moscow, Russia | www.mirexpo.ru/eng/exhibitions/
composite11.shtml
March 29-31, 2011 JEC Composites Show 2011
Porte de Versailles, Paris, France |
www.jeccomposites.com
July 4-10, 2010 ICCE-18
Anchorage, Alaska | www.uno.edu/~engr/composite
July 19-24, 2010 Farnborough International Airshow 2010
Hampshire, U.K. | www.farnborough.com
August 24-26, 2010 Alabama Composites Conference
Birmingham, Ala. | www.eng.uab.edu/uvaidya/
ACC2010/MainConference.htm
Sept. 14-15, 2010 Composites Europe 2010
Essen, Germany |
www.composites-europe.com/en-gb.index.cfm
Sept. 15-17, 2010 China International Composites Expo 2010
Beijing, China | www.chinacompositesexpo.com
Sept. 15-17, 2010 Asiamold
Guangzhou, China | www.asiamold.de
Sept. 20-23, 2010 American Society for Composites Technical
Conference
Dayton, Ohio | http://asc2010.udayton.edu
Sept. 23-24, 2010 High-Performance Resins 2010
Schaumburg, Ill. | www.compositesworld.com/
conferences/high-performance-resins-2010
Sept. 28-30, 2010 IBEX 2010
Louisville, Ky. | www.ibexshow.com
http://cvddiamond.com
4 2 | H I G H - P E R F O R M A N C E C O M P O S I T E S
APPLICATIONS
APPLICATIONSThird-party tests support claims for crosslinking spray adhesive
Aerospace manufacturers that adopt
vacuum infusion processes are discov-
ering what processors of boat hulls and
wind turbine blades already know: Place-
ment of multiple plies of slippery dry
fi ber reinforcements in molds with ver-
tical sides or tight radii is problematic.
Although a common trick of the trade is
to use a spray adhesive to temporarily
hold the materials in place until place-
ment of the vacuum bag and subsequent
injection, general-purpose spray adhe-
sives, applied too thickly or unevenly,
can retard or block resin fl ow through
the reinforcements. The resulting voids
or “dry spots” are hidden structural weak-
nesses and raise the risk of delamination
under load. In some cases, small bubbles
of uncured resin that could not disperse
during infusion can cause osmotic blister-
ing. Water that enters through the blister
encounters the resin, forming an acidic
solution that eventually breaks through
to the laminate surface, causing a hole.
In 2004, Westech Aerosol (Port
Orchard, Wash.) introduced InfuZene, a
high-temperature, solvent-based spray
adhesive tailored for infusion. Accord-
ing to the company, the adhesive doesn’t
interfere with resin cure. Instead, West-
ech says, it is designed to crosslink and
cure with vinyl ester, polyester or other
styrenated thermoset resins.
Recent tests confi rm these claims.
One test, conducted for the company by
an independent university composites-
testing laboratory, showed that infused
laminates made with InfuZene were up
to 30 percent stronger in interlaminar
shear strength than laminates made with
a leading general-purpose spray adhe-
sive, as measured by ASTM 2344 (Short
Beam Shear Strength). In a separate trial,
overseen by testing fi rm CRITT Materi-
So
urc
e:
West
ech
aux Poitou-Charentes (Rochefort, Cedex,
France), InfuZene was tested alongside
an adhesive typically used in yachtbuild-
ing. The conclusion was that InfuZene
showed a superior resistance to osmotic
aging vs. the other tested product, which
started blistering after only fi ve days of
exposure to a laminar fl ow of water.
Westech offers its product in 13-oz spray
cans and in bulk, via a canister system with
a reusable spray gun and hose.
HHigh Temperature Bond Tools x� BMI
x� Epoxy
Mill Fixtures
Pressure Intensifiers / Cauls
Backup Structure Materials x� Panels, Tubes, Angles
Backup Structure Kits
CO
MP
OS
IT
E T
OO
LI
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6262 W. 34th Street South Ɣ Wichita, KS 67215
Phone: 316-946-5900 Ɣ Email: [email protected]
802-223-4055
www.cadcut.com • [email protected]
ISO 9001-2000 / AS9100 Certifi ed
KIT CUTTING
COMPOSITE SUPPLY SERVICES
Laser and Knife Cutting Systems
8 Cutting Rooms
Environmentally Controlled Processing
9500 cu. ft. Freezer Storage
J U L Y 2 0 1 0 | 4 3
MARKETPLACE
MARKETPLACEMANUFACTURING SUPPLIES
Available in various temperature ranges
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Used world wide by composite manufacturers
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Website: http//:www.airtechintl.com
Manufactured by:
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Toll Free: (877)-264-9711
WEAVING CREELS
PULTRUSION CREELS
TAPE MACHINE CREELS
Diamond and Solid Carbide • Technical Advice
• Rotary Drills/Routers
• C’sinks/Hole Saws
• Stock and Specials
Designed For Composites
www.starliteindustries.com
800.727.1022 / 610.527.1300
Since 1978
. . . marketing innovative quality
materials and accessories for the
advanced composites industry.
(801) 265-0111 • Fax (801) 265-0184
www. tmi-slc.com
e-mail: [email protected]
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Ultrasonic C-Scan Inspection Systems
for your
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• Automated Ultrasonic C-Scan
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Immersion Tanks
• System Upgrades
www.matec.comEmail: [email protected]
56 Hudson St., Northborough, MA 01532 508-351-3423
TESTING
888-433-5736
1024 Grand Central Avenue • Glendale, CA 91201Internet: www.delsen.com • Fax: (818) 247-4537
MEMBER
SPECIALISTS IN TESTING ADVANCED COMPOSITES
■ Mechanical Testing ■ Metallography
■ Thermal Analysis (DMA, DSC, TMA, TGA)
■ Flammability, Smoke Toxicity and OSU
Heat Release ■ Electrical Properties
TRAINING, CONSULTING & EQUIPMENT SALES FOR NONDESTRUCTIVE TESTING
R-CON Nondestructive Test Consultants, Inc.
Ph. (715) 235-7222 • Fx. (715) 233-3460 • www.rcon-ndt.com
Specializing in Ultrasonic Scanning Systems
MARKETPLACE
4 4 | H I G H - P E R F O R M A N C E C O M P O S I T E S
TOOLING SERVICE/SUPPLIES
RVBS*: Reusable Vacuum Bagging SystemsBP1/4: Thru-Bag Vacuum ConnectorsSTRUX-TS : 400°F. Positive Tool SealCURED & B Stage: Clave-Grade Elastomers
www.bondlineproducts.com s [email protected]
(562) 921-1972 U Fax (562) 921-1869
Bondline Products: BONDPRO USA
RECRUITMENT/HELP WANTED
www.forcomposites.comComposites Industry Recruiting and Placement
COMPOSITES SOURCES14726 Avalon Avenue, Baton Rouge, LA 70816
Phone (225) 273-4001 • Fax (225) 275-5807
Email: [email protected]
ADVERTISERS’ INDEX
Dedicated to Excellence in Advanced Composite TrainingS i n c e 1 9 8 3
1-800-638-8441 www.abaris.com
Reno, NV * Griffi n, GA * Cwmbran, Wales UK
ENGINEERING
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TRAING SEMINARSTo advertise in the
High-Performance
Composites
Marketplace contact
Becky Helton:
or 513.527.8800 x224
A&P Technology Inc. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Inside Front Cover
AMAMCO Tool . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .39
ASC Process Systems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .41
Burnham Composite Structures Inc. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .42
CAD Cut Inc. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .42
CGTech . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .17
Cobham Composite Products . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .12
CVD Diamond Corp. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .41
De-Comp Composites Inc. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .21
Diab International AB . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .3
General Plastics Mfg. Co. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Back Cover
HITCO Carbon Composites Inc. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .19
Huntsman Advanced Materials . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1
IBEX . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .23
Lectra Systems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . *8
Magnolia Plastics Inc. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Inside Back Cover
Master Bond Inc. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .4
Matrix Composites Inc. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .5
Onsrud Cutter LP . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .19
Owens Corning Composite Materials LLC . . . . . . . . . . . .8
Park Advanced Composites . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .6
Plascore Inc. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .4
Precision Fabrics Group . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .18
Precision Quincy Corp. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .5
Pro-Set Inc. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .27
Renegade Materials Corp. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .30
Rohacell . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .31
SPE Automotive Division. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .45
Specialty Materials Inc. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .20
Superior Tool Service Inc. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .15
TE Wire & Cable . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .37
Torr Technologies Inc. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .20
Verisurf Software Inc. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .38
Weber Manufacturing Technologies Inc. . . . . . . . . . . . . .11
WichiTech . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .23
Wyoming Test Fixtures Inc. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .40
*regional insert
J U L Y 2 0 1 0 | 4 5
MARKETPLACE
ATTEND THE WORLD’S LEADING AUTOMOTIVE COMPOSITES FORUMThe Automotive and Composites Divisions of the Society of Plastics Engineers (SPE) International invite you
to attend the 10th-annual SPE Automotive Composites Conference and Exhibition (ACCE), September
15-16, 2010. The show will feature technical paper sessions, panel discussions, keynote speakers, net-
working receptions, & exhibits highlighting advances in materials, processes, and applications technolo-
gies for thermoset and thermoplastic composites in a wide variety of ground-transportation applications.
SHOWCASE YOUR PRODUCTS & SERVICES
A variety of sponsorship packages – including displays, conference giveaways, advertising and publicity,
signage, tickets, and networking receptions – are available. Companies interested in showcasing their
products and/or services should contact Teri Chouinard of Intuit Group at [email protected].
COMPOSITES: SHAPING NEW VEHICLES
SEPT 15-16 2010 PLEASE ATTEND
FOR MORE INFORMATION
www.speautomotive.com • [email protected]
SPE Automotive Div., 1800 Crooks Rd., Ste. A, Troy MI 48084, USA
+1.248.244.8993
EXHIBIT & SPONSORSHIP OPPORTUNITIES
2010 ACCE EARLY-BIRD SPONSORS MSU MANAGEMENT EDUCATION CENTER 811 W. SQUARE LAKE RD. TROY, MI USA
IN ASSOCIATION WITH:
R E G I ST E R TO DAY AT C O M P O S I T E S WO R L D. C O M / C F
Providing an update on current
supply and demand for carbon
fi ber as well as in-depth exploration
of new and emerging carbon fi ber
applications.
FOCUS ON DESIGN
4 6 | H I G H - P E R F O R M A N C E C O M P O S I T E S
he smooth, clean, swept lines of an
aircraft propeller suggest simplic-
ity. However, the design embodied
in its sculpted blades is anything
but. Essentially a spinning wing,
the prop’s airfoil-shaped blades are en-
gineered to produce forward thrust that
counteracts an aircraft’s aerodynamic
drag, which together with the lift gener-
ated by the wings, enables fl ight.
Forged aluminum blades are the
industry standard for general aviation
T
DIGITAL DESIGN, RTM UPDATE Second-generation type-certified propeller delivers for Cirrus Aircraft’s
piston aircraft, and Hartzell Propeller
(Piqua, Ohio) is a leading manufactur-
ing of metal blades, says Mike Disbrow,
the company’s VP of engineering, qual-
ity and purchasing. Yet the company
also manufactures a composite blade
that offers compelling advantages over
metal in some applications.
Hartzell’s original composite blade,
made primarily with aramid fi ber, was
initially offered in 1978, on the fi rst-ever
FAA type-certifi ed composite propeller.
Recently, Disbrow says, “We conducted
a signifi cant general aviation market
analysis and found that the demand
was there for a high-performance,
lower-horsepower-compatible com-
posite propeller.” As a result, Hartzell
developed a second-generation blade
design, the Advanced Structural Com-
posite (ASC), trademarked ASC-II. “By
making changes to our materials and
manufacturing process, we can now of-
fer one at a lower price point.”
HARTZELL ASC-II THREE-BLADE PROPELLER
Propeller hub
Nickel erosion shield on
leading edge
Foam core
inserts
Trailing edge
BLADE CROSS SECTIONDESIGN RESULTS
• Composite design is customized to specific aircraft performance goals and engine characteristics, while meeting stringent Federal Aviation Admin. (FAA) type-certification requirements.
• Resin transfer molding (RTM) process, using comolded components, is faster and less costly than prepreg layup, enabling a wider market reach.
• Composites lengthen blade life, because damaged material can be replaced during repairs, where damaged aluminum blades must be ground smooth, which eventually results in an undersized propeller.
Carbon and aramid
fi ber plies form
“monocoque”
spar structure
around core
Outer skin of
fi berglass and
aluminum lightning-
protection mesh
Urethane tape on
inner leading edge
Comolded metal
components in blade root
facilitate attachment to hub
Nickel erosion
shield on outer two-
thirds of blade
J U L Y 2 0 1 0 | 4 7
BY SARA BLACK
ILLUSTRATION / KARL REQUE
AIRCRAFT PROPELLER
Second-generation prop
The ASC-II, an all-composite
propeller from Hartzell
Propeller (Piqua, Ohio), is
certified for the Piper Matrix
shown here, the Cirrus
SR-22 on this issue’s cover,
and other general aviation
planes. Its blades combine
carbon- and aramid-fiber
reinforcements in a new
design developed for resin
transfer molding.
SR-22 at a more affordable price.
A multitude of design factors“Aircraft design, and by association pro-
peller design, is a series of compromis-
es,” observes Bruce Hanke, Hartzell’s
VP of engineering. The designer must
match the propeller to that aircraft’s
“mission,” or ideal operational enve-
lope: Is the aircraft intended for high-speed,
cross-country cruising, or is climb rate more
important, such as in an agricultural plane.
Will it operate predominately at high or low
altitude? What are the engine’s horsepower
and rpm range? These questions help de-
signers optimize the design variables —
blade length and propeller diameter, the
number of blades per prop (two, three
or even more), and blade shape, thick-
ness, chord length and twist — for that
specifi c plane and engine. Blade twist is
important because a propeller moves
at much greater speed at the blade tips
than at the center hub. Varying the twist
distribution along the length of the
blade helps equalize (as much as pos-
sible) the lift along the blade. “We bal-
ance aerodynamics against structural
demand,” Hanke explains. “The airfoil
must be thick enough to handle fl ight
loads, without excessive weight, yet still
thin enough, with the right twist, to de-
liver adequate thrust and fl ight perfor-
mance for the aircraft in question.”
For Cirrus Aircraft’s (Duluth, Minn.)
single-engine SR-22, the fi rst application
of the ASC-II, the proprietary twist ratio
was tailored for the six-cylinder engine’s
rpm and performance characteristics. Be-
cause the SR-22 is a relatively fast com-
posite aircraft, the company also focused
on the blade’s aerodynamic shape. Thin-
ner airfoil sections provide better high-
speed performance and less form drag.
“Since metal blades can be made quite
thin, they have traditionally been hard to
beat for high-performance applications,”
says Hanke. “We wanted to achieve a very
thin airfoil over the entire blade length to
meet or exceed the performance of metal
blades. The use of carbon and aramid fi -
bers in the ASC-II gave us that ability.”
The new blades also had to transition
from an airfoil shape to a round stainless
shank that connects them to the central
hub. It was a challenge, he admits, to
keep the airfoil shape through as much
of the blade as possible, yet terminate in
a robust metallic hub attachment.
Additional design factors included
signifi cant operational loads, which in-
clude centrifugal pull-out forces (blade
weight pulling against the hub attach-
ment during rotation); the steady bend-
ing and torsional forces that occur on
each blade as it advances through the
air during fl ight; and the dynamic fatigue
loads caused by excitation “pulses.” The
latter occur in piston engines, Hanke
explains, each time a spark plug fi res
to initiate combustion, but also can be
introduced by other factors, such as tur-
bulence from upstream aircraft compo-
nents or engine exhaust. These pulses
create what are called multiple order excita-
tion modes, and typically occur anywhere
from two to eight times during each rota-
tion, depending on the engine make and
model. (Turbine, or jet, engines don’t
experience these pulses, so propellers
for turboprops are designed for different
fatigue regimes.) “For the Cirrus SR-22’s
engine, we wanted to ‘tune’ the lami-
nate architecture’s natural frequencies
to withstand and partially damp these
high-cycle fatigue loads as well as other
excitation modes,” notes Hanke.
Design decisions with digital helpTo achieve these goals, the company
used its own proprietary design software
called PROP Code. This aerodynamic pro-
gram, notes Hanke, interfaces seamlessly
with ANSYS fi nite element analysis (FEA)
software from ANSYS Inc. (Canonsburg,
Pa.) for determination of stresses and
their distribution in the blades. Hartzell
designers then used another internally
developed program to generate the ASC-
II’s laminate architecture.
The result was a foam-cored sand-
wich design that Hanke describes as a
monocoque structure. A combina-
Sourc
e:
Hart
zell
Pro
pelle
r
Sourc
e:
Pip
er
Aric
raft In
c.
FOCUS ON DESIGN
4 8 | H I G H - P E R F O R M A N C E C O M P O S I T E S
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tion of carbon and aramid fi bers (in both
woven hybrid and unidirectional forms)
wet out with epoxy enclose a closed-cell
foam insert to form an integral compos-
ite spar that runs the length of the blade.
A second, shaped foam insert fi lls the
trailing edge. Carbon fi ber provides the
spar’s high modulus and high bending
strength, while aramid supplies excel-
lent torsion and damping performance
through the whole blade. The continuous
outer skin is formed from fi berglass and
an aluminum lightning protection mesh.
The number of plies and their orienta-
tion varies throughout the blade span,
resulting in a variable-thickness part.
Although Hanke won’t reveal how
the composite interfaces with the co-
molded stainless steel shank that con-
nects the blade to the hub, he does
say, “We connected the composite ma-
terial to the shank in such a way as to
minimize stresses, a result we achieved
through FEA analysis.” Specifi c materi-
als and suppliers are trade secrets, but
Hanke revealed that the materials se-
lected were aerospace-grade and that
the laminate thickness was optimized at
different locations along the blade span,
to meet varying loads. Along the outer
two-thirds of the blade’s leading edge —
the segment that travels at the highest
speed — a highly durable, removable
nickel erosion strip provides damage
protection. Urethane tape protects the
third closest to the hub.
A revised design in hand, Hartzell
turned to the molding process. “The leg-
acy prepreg propeller was an excellent
solution, but the prepreg and layup costs
made it too expensive for most general
aviation applications,” Disbrow recalls.
“The design goal for the ASC-II was to
make an affordable advanced propeller
that didn’t sacrifi ce any of the benefi ts of
the earlier designs.” This led to the adop-
tion of resin transfer molding (RTM).
The company produces its own lay-
up kits, which contain the appropri-
ate number of dry composite materials
and metal parts, permitting quick layup
in two-part steel molds, designed in-
house. The blade parts are comolded
and infused with epoxy resin at multiple
workstations, each equipped with an
automated RTM cell. Part production is
fast and overall labor costs are lower as
well, the company says.
Because Hartzell chose to market the
ASC-II to FAA-certifi ed piston aircraft,
like those built by Cirrus and Piper,
rather than limit it to uncertifi ed experi-
mental planes, the blade had to be type-
certifi ed, which is “a huge, demanding
task,” Disbrow stresses. A series of strin-
gent ground tests included a 4-lb/1.8 kg
bird strike at the critical fl ight regime of
full power at take-off rotation; lightning
strike trials (200,000 amps); cyclic fa-
tigue tests; and pull-out tests, in which
a test fi xture tried to pull the blade from
the hub, simulating an engine over-
speed condition. These were followed
by instrumented fl ight testing. Disbrow
points out that the expense and time
required by FAA’s test regime is one big
reason “why there are so few composite
propellers on the market for certifi ed
aircraft.” Yet, overall, he says, “We deter-
mined it was worth the effort.”
Lower weight, longer life, less costWorth the effort, it was: The ASC-II blade
saves 16 lb/7.3 kg in three-blade confi gu-
ration on the Cirrus SR-22, over a com-
parable aluminum-bladed prop. Beyond
weight savings, Hanke and Disbrow ex-
plain that the ASC-II has the potential to
last 50,000 fl ight hours — unheard of for
a metal blade — because of its repair-
ability. When a metal blade is damaged
(usually by gravel or debris), repair in-
volves grinding down the surface to re-
move potential stress risers and restore
the damaged area. Over time, repeated
grinding results in an undersized propel-
ler. In contrast, the ASC-II’s erosion strip
can be removed and replaced, and if the
composite itself is damaged, material
can be replaced at the damage site, so
undersizing isn’t an issue. Other advan-
tages include a shank design geometri-
cally similar to that used for aluminum
blades, so that composite blades can be
substituted readily for metal blades on
a propeller. De-icing systems also are
compatible, for aircraft so equipped.
ASC-II is marketed to piston aircraft
with 180- to 350-hp engines, and to tur-
bine aircraft that generate between 400
and 1,800 hp. One arena in which the
propeller excels, Hanke reports, is the
diesel-powered aircraft niche. Diesel
compression ratios are very high, result-
ing in large excitation pulses. Aluminum
props fatigue too quickly, but the ASC-II
blades have successfully managed the
extreme fatigue regime.
More than 500 propellers have been
manufactured and shipped so far. The
company is currently adapting the two-
and three-blade design to additional air-
craft and is working on a four-blade ASC-
II design. Concludes Disbrow: “The
ASC-II gives us a competitive advantage,
since the composite materials allow us
to balance weight, durability, perfor-
mance and cost.”
Prepping the prop for fatigue resistance
Screen shots from the FEA analysis show the first fundamental bending load and first
fundamental torsion mode for propeller blades, the easiest loads to excite in a blade. The
composite laminate of the ASC-II blade was “tuned” to damp these modes to the extent possible.
Source: Hartzell Propeller
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