This could have been tricky, as when you attach the stringers you can have a lot of tension and difference in stresses in the two parts." She emphasises that, Sonell Shroff notes that "The consortium succeeded in reaching its objectives in a single trial, confirming predictions regarding spring-back (5), and was successful in anticipating potential issues with the co-curing process.
PEEK made it possible to reinforce the wingbox cover using stringers without the need for fasteners (bolts or rivets) which would have added weight and complexity.Ĭlean Aviation Project Officer Dr. At that point, FIDAMC, along with aerostructures design and manufacturing specialists Aernnova, formed the OUTCOME consortium.Ī key sustainability enabler underpinning the project was the consortium's decision to use a thermoplastic called Polyetheretherketone (PEEK) – a material which matches the performance properties of thermosets, even surpassing them in terms of ageing and damage tolerance, while bringing valuable weight savings. These mutual interests converged through Clean Sky activities which Airbus, as Airframe ITD demo co-project leader, proposed, launching a call for core partners to explore the potential of thermoplastic technologies. We saw their sustainability potential in addressing not just recyclability of materials but to also help us meet EU REACH (4) contamination regulations.Īround 2007 FIDAMC had also initiated projects using thermoplastics. Rubén Tejarina Hernanz, Airframe R&T Manager for Integration at Airbus Defense and Space (ADS), the Topic Manager for OUTCOME, explains the background : ADS has been involved in this technology since around 2010 when we saw that thermoplastics could be an alternative to the thermosets for use on primary and secondary structures. This 'reversibility' means that at the end of the component's operational service life, the material can be recycled for use in future products.Īn additional advantage thermoplastics offer is their environmental value in terms of reducing potential contamination.
AUOCLAVE PEEK MATERIAL DRIVER
Recyclability potentialĪnother key environmental driver of OUTCOME was that “ Thermoplastic materials are reversible, and manufactured parts can be reconsolidated, thus reducing the number of non-quality parts that could not be used in a real demonstrator,” explains Mar Zuazo Ruíz, R&D composites specialist at FIDAMC, Spain's Centre of Excellence for research, development and innovation in composite material technologies, and project coordinator of OUTCOME. The project aligns with the aeronautics sector's shift to thermoplastics which are lighter than their metal counterparts. This saves time and energy resources – an environmental win. This is a production method where sequential production steps are integrated into a unified process involving 'lamination and consolidation', a method of combining different parts (in this case the wingbox cover 'skin' and reinforcing stiffening structures called stringers (3). OUTCOME's main premise was to switch from using thermosetting plastic (1), which requires processing in an autoclave (2) (a high-energy consuming type of industrial oven) to the use of thermoplastics, using an energy-efficient 'out-of-autoclave' 'one-shot process'. The project feeds into Clean Sky 2's Airframe ITD D1-4/6 demonstrator, an advanced composite wingbox (the central structure of an aircraft that connects the wings with the main body/fuselage).
AUOCLAVE PEEK MATERIAL SKIN
Clean Sky 2's OUTCOME project has devised a sustainable manufacturing process for producing a 4m x 1m thermoplastic-stiffened upper skin for the external wingbox (wingbox cover) of a regional/utility ( Airbus C-295) aircraft.
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