CompositesWorld
Issue link: https://cw.epubxp.com/i/517026
21 CompositesWorld.com NEWS N E W S N S N E W S E N W S W NASA Composites Consortium NASA announced in early April that it had established a public/private partnership with fve organizations to advance knowledge about composite materials that could improve the performance of future aircraft by enhancing the strength of lightweight components without increasing their mass. The agency selected the National Institute of Aerospace (NIA, Hampton, VA, US) to manage what will be known as NASA's Advanced Composites Consortium. Rounding out the Consortium's US-based membership are NASA's Advanced Composites Project, managed from the agency's Langley Research Center in Hampton; the Federal Aviation Admin. (FAA, Washington, DC); General Electric Aviation (Cincinnati, OH); Lockheed Martin Aeronautics Co. (Palmdale, CA), Boeing Research & Technology (St. Louis, MO) and a team from United Technologies Corp. led by subsid- iary Pratt & Whitney, Hartford, CT. The NIA will handle internal communications and help manage the programmatic and fnancial aspects of members' research projects. The NIA also will serve as a "tier two" member with a representative on the consortium's technical oversight committee. "NASA is committed to transforming aviation through cutting-edge research and develop- ment," says Jaiwon Shin, associate administrator for NASA's Aeronautics Research Mission Directorate in Washington. "This partnership will help bring better composite materials into use more quickly, and help maintain American leadership in aviation manufacturing." NASA formed the consortium in support of the Advanced Composites Project, which is part of the Advanced Air Vehicles Program in the agency's Aeronautics Research Mission Directorate. The project's goal is to reduce product development and certifcation timelines by 30% for composites used in aeronautics applications. A panel of NASA, FAA and Air Force Research Laboratory experts reviewed 20 submissions and chose members based on technical expertise, willing- ness and ability to share in costs, certifcation experi- ence with government agencies, and their technology emphases and partnership histories. Representatives from each consortium member participated in technology goal-planning discussions, assembled research teams, and developed draft proj- ect plans in three areas: prediction of life and strength of composite structures, rapid inspection of compos- ites and manufacturing process and simulation. For more on NASA aeronautics R&D; | www.aeronautics.nasa.gov For more on the NIA | www.nianet.org NASA's Advanced Composites Consortium targets future aircraft AEROSPACE INTERNATIONAL INC. EUROPE Sarl ASIA LTD ADVANCED MATERIALS LTD www.airtechonline.com Watch a video on Airpad! Airpad is a non-silicone rubber that can be made into pressure caul sheets and fexible mandrels. Create a toolside part quality on the vacuum bag side of the part. High temperature performance without silicone contamination. Better pressure application means: thickness control, corner consolidation, less surface wrinkling, fewer voids & porosity, and distortion due to uneven laminate. Airpad can be molded to shape to avoid the problems associated with secondary metallic tooling, such as part mark-off and complex shape requirements. Reinforce Airpad with Airtech Tooling pre-pregs to evenly distribute pressure over planar surfaces or male corners, its fexibility can allow removal of negative draft angle part shape, and conformance to allow ply consolidation in sharp female corners. BENEFITS AIRPAD Tooling Rubber