CompositesWorld

MAR 2018

CompositesWorld

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MARCH 2018 38 CompositesWorld FEATURE / In-situ Consolidated TPCs "ermoplastic composite demonstrators — EU roadmap for future airframes" (Learn More). INSCAPE — In-situ manufactured carbon/thermoplastic curved stiffened panel — continues development by Airbus DS (Defense and Space, Madrid, Spain) with FIDAMC from Clean Sky 1, and will feed into the Clean Sky 2 Airframe Integrated Technology Demonstrator (ITD). "e curved structure that was proposed by Airbus DS tries to demonstrate manufacturing capabilities dealing with curvature and tapering on stiffened panels," explains Rene Adam, R&D; director at program partner and composite aerostruc- tures supplier FACC (Ried im Innkreis, Austria). He notes that INSCAPE's approach is similar to FIDAMC's in terms of stringer- skin installation and a one-step AFP in-situ consolidation process with laser heating (Fig. 2, p. 36). "It complements FIDAMC's gantry-installed AFP for semi-flat wing panels in the OUTCOME project," says Adam. "INSCAPE addresses higher curvatures and tapering with a more flexible Kuka robot arm and a different manufacturing process for stringers, as well as different material suppliers and faster layup speeds." He adds that this type of struc- ture may be used in engine nacelles, fuselage doors or the tail cone section of the fuselage, and also in higher curvature structures, such as leading edges, pylons, flaps or other movables. STELIA Aerospace (Toulouse, France) exhibited a TPC fuselage demonstrator at the 2017 Paris Air Show that features welded stringers and frames as well as lightning strike protection (LSP) integrated into the skin during AFP (see Learn More). Automated Dynamics also has patented LSP integrated during AFP, but the full-size, integrally stiffened CF/PEEK fuselage it produced in 2012 for a helicopter customer used one-step ISC vs. STELIA's two-step press-and-weld approach. Langone notes that Auto- mated Dynamics completed sub-scale stiffened fuselage demon- strators 10 years earlier. "In-situ consolidated aerospace parts have long been a focus of ours, and we have many at the demonstration level," he says. "ese include driveshafts, floor panels, fuselage structures and control surfaces, all produced in-situ. We have parts in various stages of being verified and qualified as we work towards regular production." AFP machine development and digital design Langone says Automated Dynamics developed laser heating for ISC and began selling laser-based commercial AFP systems in 2015. "Today, our hot-gas system can process roughly 18 times faster than it could in 1990 in terms of pounds per hour," he notes, "And our laser heating is three times faster beyond that." About this same time, FIDAMC switched to an MTorres eight- tow-head AFP machine with a new optic laser. e 6-kW laser is the same but the optic — which converts the circular light beam into a rectangular profile to match the tape being placed — enables a wider profile to provide heat across the 50-mm width of eight tows vs. the 6-mm-wide unitow of its previous machine. MIKROSAM (Prilep, Macedonia) has developed a machine that can process thermoset or TPC structures, including in-situ consoli- dation. "We can achieve 98% consolidation and more than 30% crystallinity, depending on the materials," says MIKROSAM sales Read this article online | short.compositesworld.com/ISC-Part1 Read more online about Fokker's production of thermoplastic J-nose structures in CW's Plant Tour titled, "Fokker Aerostructures: Hoogeveen, The Netherlands" | short.compositesworld.com/TourFokker Read more online about the RELAY acquisition in "Dieffenbacher acquires Fiberforge tape layup technology" | short.compositesworld.com/RELAY-DB Read more online about Cetim's TPC technologies in the CW Blog titled, "Automated Preforming — Quilted Stratum Process (QSP)" | short.compositesworld.com/AP-QSP Read more online about the TAPAS programs "Thermoplastic composites: Primary structure?" | short.compositesworld.com/PrimaryTPC "TAPAS 2: Next steps in thermoplastic aerostructures" | short.compositesworld.com/TAPAS2next Get more details online about FIDAMC's development of ISC wing panels in "Thermoplastic composite wings on the horizon?" | short.compositesworld.com/WingsTPC Read the online sidebar to this feature article, titled, "Thermoplastic composite demonstrators — EU roadmap for future airframes" | short.compositesworld.com/TPCmapEU Learn more about STELIA's Arches Box TP demonstrator: "STELIA Aerospace develops induction welding technology" | short.compositesworld.com/SteliaWeld "Porcher works with Stelia Aerospace on thermoplastic fuselage" | short.compositesworld.com/TPfuselage Also watch the video | www.youtube.com/watch?v=JAGM6mY-8d4 TAPAS1, TAPAS2 in e Netherlands and the Civil Aviation Research Council (CORAC) "Investing in the Future" program in France — plus programs in Germany, Austria and Spain (find more on these programs in this article's online version and else- where in Learn More). ese programs are coordinated with, and feed into, much larger pan-European collaborations, notably Clean Sky (2008-2016) and Clean Sky 2 (2017-2021), which are part of the European Commission's Horizon 2020 program (2014- 2021). Note these are public/private partnership (PPP) programs deliberately organized to achieve technology readiness level (TRL) 6 for multiple composites and metals technologies and eventual downselection for future aircraft production. ey also involve almost every major aerostructures supplier in Europe. Having demonstrated co-consolidated TPC skin-stringer struc- tures in increasingly larger sizes and complexity, these programs are now ramping to full-scale fuselage demonstrators in Clean Sky 2. e Multifunctional Fuselage Demonstrator is particularly interesting, featuring an asymmetrical, half-barrel fuselage design that will be manufactured by 2020 using thermoplastic compos- ites. e goal is to integrate cabin, cargo and aircraft systems with the airframe to reduce weight and manufacturing cost while enhancing space for passengers and cargo. In general, TPC development in France and e Netherlands has pursued a two-step approach while one-step ISC has been favored in Spain. Full details about these programs, program particpants and outcomes can be read in the online Side Story

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