Abstract
Thermosetting composites in aircraft structures are typically based on high-performance reinforcing materials, such as carbon fibre, held together by polymer resins, such as epoxies, which undergo an irreversible curing reaction to form the desired structural components. Compared to conventional metallic materials used in aerostructures, thermosetting composites offer superior specific strength and stiffness, along with improved corrosion and fatigue resistance. This can lead to significant gains in performance and fuel efficiency, along with reduced maintenance requirements. Consequently, these materials continue to gain favour in aircraft construction. The drive towards lower production costs, partly facilitated through the development of larger integrated structural components at higher production rates, is leading to new innovations in manufacturing. Advances in liquid resin infusion methodologies are helping to produce such large structural components more economically, while the development of automated fibre placement technologies is enhancing production quality and minimising conventional labour costs. However, a lack of maturity and experience in the analysis, design, manufacture, and maintenance of composite aerostructures continue to necessitate the need for greater research. For example, improvements in non-destructive inspection and adhesively bonded repairs are required to make composite maintenance more efficient and reliable. Further weight savings and performance benefits could also be achieved by integrating essential systems within composite structures, imbuing them with ‘multifunctionality’. Composite waste is another significant issue, given the projected increase in demand for these materials. In particular, thermoset composite recycling is expected to be a key technology requirement.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
References
Berthelot J-M (1999) Classical laminate theory. Springer, New York, pp 287–311
Biron M (2014) Thermosets and composites: material selection, applications, manufacturing and cost analysis. William Andrew
Boeing (2006) Boeing 787 from the ground up. AERO, pp 17–23
Daniel IM, Ishai O (2006) Engineering mechanics of composite materials, 2nd edn. Oxford University Press, New York
Deo RB, Starnes JH, Holzwart RC (2001) Low-cost composite materials and structures for aircraft applications. In: NATO RTO AVT Panel spring symposium and specialists’ meeting. Loen Norway, pp 7–11
Department for Business Innovation and Skills (2016) UK aerospace maintenance, repair, overhaul & logistics industry analysis. London
Falzon BG, Robinson P, Frenz S, Gilbert B (2015) Development and evaluation of a novel integrated anti-icing/de-icing technology for carbon fibre composite aerostructures using an electro-conductive textile. Compos Part A Appl Sci Manuf 68:323–335. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.compositesa.2014.10.023
Federal Aviation Administration (2014) PS-AIR-100-14-130-001: bonded repair size limits
Gagné M, Therriault D (2014) Lightning strike protection of composites. Prog Aerosp Sci 64:1–16. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.paerosci.2013.07.002
Gardiner G (2014a) BMI and benzoxazine battle for future OOA aerocomposites. Compos, World
Gardiner G (2014b) Resin-infused MS-21 wings and wingbox. Compos, World
Gay D (2014) Composite materials: design and applications, 3rd edn. CRC Press, Boca Raton
Hexcel Corporation (2016) HexPly® 8552 Product Data Sheet. https://www.hexcel.com/user_area/content_media/raw/HexPly_8552_eu_DataSheet.pdf. Accessed 10 Dec 2018
Larsson A (2002) The interaction between a lightning flash and an aircraft in flight. C R Phys 3:1423–1444. https://doi.org/10.1016/S1631-0705(02)01410-X
Lubin G (1982) Handbook of composites. Van Nostrand Reinhold, New York
Ma S, Webster DC (2018) Degradable thermosets based on labile bonds or linkages: a review. Prog Polym Sci 76:65–110. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.progpolymsci.2017.07.008
Mccarty JE, Roeseler WG (1984) Durability and damage tolerance of large composite primary aircraft structure (LCPAS). Seattle, Washington
Pickering SJ (2006) Recycling technologies for thermoset composite materials—current status. Compos Part A Appl Sci Manuf 37:1206–1215. https://doi.org/10.1016/B978-1-85573-736-5.50044-3
Pierce RS, Falzon BG (2017) Simulating resin infusion through textile reinforcement materials for the manufacture of complex composite structures. Engineering 3:596–607. https://doi.org/10.1016/J.ENG.2017.04.006
Pimenta S, Pinho ST (2011) Recycling carbon fibre reinforced polymers for structural applications: technology review and market outlook. Waste Manag 31:378–392. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.wasman.2010.09.019
Pimenta S, Pinho ST (2012) The effect of recycling on the mechanical response of carbon fibres and their composites. Compos Struct 94:3669–3684. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.compstruct.2012.05.024
Roeseler WG, Sarh B, Kismarton MU (2007) Composite structures: the first 100 years. In: 16th Int Conf Compos Mater, pp 1–10
Ruiz De Luzuriaga A, Martin R, Markaide N et al (2016) Epoxy resin with exchangeable disulfide crosslinks to obtain reprocessable, repairable and recyclable fiber-reinforced thermoset composites. Mater Horiz 3:241–247. https://doi.org/10.1039/c6mh00029k
Soutis C (2005) Fibre reinforced composites in aircraft construction. Prog Aerosp Sci 41:143–151. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.paerosci.2005.02.004
Strong AB (2008) Fundamentals of composites manufacturing: materials, methods and applications. Society of Manufacturing Engineers, Dearborn
Yao X, Hawkins SC, Falzon BG (2018a) An advanced anti-icing/de-icing system utilizing highly aligned carbon nanotube webs. Carbon N Y 136:130–138. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.carbon.2018.04.039
Yao X, Falzon BG, Hawkins SC, Tsantzalis S (2018b) Aligned carbon nanotube webs embedded in a composite laminate: a route towards a highly tunable electro-thermal system. Carbon N Y 129:486–494. https://doi.org/10.1016/J.CARBON.2017.12.045
Yao X, Falzon BG, Hawkins SC (2019) Orthotropic electro-thermal behaviour of highly-aligned carbon nanotube web based composites. Compos Sci Technol 170:157–164. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.compscitech.2018.11.042
Yuan Y, Sun Y, Yan S et al (2017) Multiply fully recyclable carbon fibre reinforced heat-resistant covalent thermosetting advanced composites. Nat Commun 8:1–11. https://doi.org/10.1038/ncomms14657
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2020 Springer Nature Switzerland AG
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Falzon, B.G., Pierce, R.S. (2020). Thermosetting Composite Materials in Aerostructures. In: Pantelakis, S., Tserpes, K. (eds) Revolutionizing Aircraft Materials and Processes. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-35346-9_3
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-35346-9_3
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-030-35345-2
Online ISBN: 978-3-030-35346-9
eBook Packages: Chemistry and Materials ScienceChemistry and Material Science (R0)