You are on page 1of 19

COMPOSITE MATERIALS IN AEROSPACE APPLICATION

Submitted to, Dr. Kuruvilla Joseph, HOD, Dept. of Chemistry

Name: S.Mehatab.Nabi ID No: SC11B048

Contents
1) Introduction 2) Composites 3) Composite materials in aerospace fields 4) Some more applications 5) Conclusion

Introduction
The need for the highly effective and efficient material which should be concerned with the ecology concerned world of finite resources has led advanced composites to be one of most important materials in the high technology revolution in the world today. A composite material typically consists of relatively strong, stiff fibres in a tough resin matrix. Wood and bone are natural composite materials: wood consists of cellulose fibres in a lignin matrix and bone consists of hydroxyapatite particles in a collagen matrix. Better known man-made composite materials, used in the aerospace and other industries, are carbon- and glass-fibre-reinforced plastic which consist of carbon and glass fibres, both of which are stiff and strong, but brittle, in a polymer matrix, which is tough but neither particularly stiff nor strong. Very

simplistically, by combining materials with complementary properties in this way, a composite material with most or all of the benefits is obtained with few or none of the weaknesses of the individual component materials. The primary benefits that composite components can offer are reduced weight and assembly simplification. Composite materials are particularly attractive to aviation and aerospace applications because of their exceptional strength and stiffness-to-density ratios and superior physical properties. The increased availability of these light, stiff and strong materials has made it possible to achieve a number of milestones in Aerospace technology. Nowadays, a significant amount of advanced polymer composites is used for military and commercial aircraft and satellite components. Usage of such materials will reduce fuel consumption, improve efficiency and reduce direct operating costs of aircrafts. Composite materials are one such class of materials that play a significant role in current and future aerospace components.

Composites
Composite materials, often shortened to composites or called composition materials, are engineered or naturally occurring materials made from two or more constituent materials with significantly different physical or chemical properties which remain separate and distinct at the macroscopic or microscopic scale within the finished structure. Composite is composed of a matrix as a binder (continuous phase) containing a filler as reinforcement (discontinuous phase). The matrix material surrounds and supports the reinforcement materials by maintaining their relative positions. The reinforcements impart their special mechanical and physical properties to enhance the matrix properties. There should be a definite interface between the matrix and reinforcement, usually of zero thickness. The properties of composites depend upon those of the individual components and on their interfacial

compatibility. The strength of the composite depends on the amount, arrangement and type of fiber reinforcement in the resin. These composite materials are anisotropic in nature.

The composites are classified based on the matrix into: 1) Metal matrix composites 2) Ceramic matrix composites 3) Polymer matrix composites

On the basis of reinforcement, it is classified into: 1) Particle reinforced composites 2) Structural composites 3) Fiber reinforced composites

Composites in aerospace field


Fiberglass composites

The most extensively used fiber in aerospace field is fiberglass. Fiberglass consists of glass fibers embedded in a resin matrix. Main properties which led to its popularity is light weight, high strength and non metallic properties. In aerospace application, fiberglass composite is widely used on aircraft parts that do not have to carry heavy loads or work under good stress. Usually, it always used for interior parts such as window surrounds and storage compartments, as well as for wing fairing and wing fixed trailing edge panels.

Fiberglass was first used widely in the 1950s for boats and automobiles, and today most cars have fiberglass bumpers covering a steel frame. Fiberglass was first used in the Boeing 707 passenger jet in the 1950s, where it comprised about two percent of the structure. By the 1960s, other composite materials became available, in particular boron fiber and graphite, embedded in epoxy resins. The U.S. Air Force and U.S. Navy began research into using these materials for aircraft control surfaces like ailerons and rudders. The first major military production use of boron fiber was for the horizontal stabilizers on the Navy's F-14 Tomcat interceptor. By 1981, the British Aerospace-McDonnell Douglas AV-8B Harrier flew with over 25 percent of its structure made of composite materials.

Fiberglass
One of the most common grades of fiberglass is E-type. E is representing for electrical because its chemical composition formulate an excellent electric insulator. So, it is most favorable application for small passenger aircraft parts, aircraft interiors and aircrafts secondary parts such as radomes and rocket motor casings. E-glass provides a high strength-to-weight ratio, good fatigue resistance, wonderful dielectric properties, and retention of 50%, tensile to 600F, excellent chemical corrosion and environmental resistance. Fiberglass being a selected material in several applications such as corrosion, low volume production, very large parts, contoured or rounded parts and any parts required high specific strength. By using fiberglass, the parts can be modified to obtain the strength and or stiffness as required by tactically inserting materials and familiarizing the fiber direction. E-glass also the

most economical fiberglass for composite and provide adequate strength in almost appliances at a quite low cost.

Carbon fiber composites Carbon fiber (Graphite fiber) is an extremely strong thin fiber about 0.0050.010 mm in diameter and composed mostly of carbon atoms. It is produced from the pitch, which is produced as a byproduct during the cracking process of crude oil. It is known for its excellent tensile strength, heat resistance and chemical rsistance. Carbon fiber reinforced plastics (CFRP) are stiffer than fiberglass. Typically, CFRP has a modulus of the order of three times that of GRP, one and a half times that of a Kevlar composite and twice that of aluminum alloy. Its strength is three times that of aluminum alloy, approximately the same as that of fiberglass, and slightly less than that of Kevlar composites. Aerospace CFRP does, however, suffer from some disadvantages. It is a brittle material and therefore does not yield plastically in regions of high stress concentration. Its strength is reduced by impact damage which may not be visible and the epoxy resin matrices can absorb moisture over a long period which reduces its matrix dependent properties, such as its compressive strength; this effect increases with increase of temperature.

Carbon fibers

Further, the properties of CFRP are subject to more random variation than those of metals. All these factors must be allowed for in design. On the other hand, the stiffness of CFRP is much less affected than its strength by the above and it is less prone to fatigue damage than metals. It is estimated that replacing 40% of an aluminum alloy structure by CFRP would result in a 12% saving in total structural weight. Ceramic matrix composites Major efforts are underway to develop light-weight, high-temperature composite materials at National Aeronautics and Space Administration

(NASA) for use in aircraft parts. Temperatures as high as 1650C are anticipated for the turbine inlets of a conceptual engine based on preliminary calculations. In order for materials to withstand such temperatures, the use of Ceramic Matrix Composites (CMCs) is required. The use of CMCs in advanced engines will also allow an increase in the temperature at which the engine can be operated, leading to increased yield. Although CMCs are promising structural materials, their applications are limited due to lack of suitable reinforcement materials, processing difficulties, lifetime and cost. Spider silk fibers Spider silk is another promising material for composite material usage. Spider silk exhibits high ductility, allowing stretching of a fiber up to 140% of its normal length. Spider silk also holds its strength at temperatures as low as -40C. These properties make spider silk ideal for use as a fiber material in the production of ductile composite materials that will retain their strength even at abnormal temperatures. Ductile composite materials will be beneficial to an aircraft in parts that will be subject to variable stresses, such as the joining of a wing with the main fuselage. The increased strength, toughness and ductility of such a composite will allow greater stresses to be applied to the part or joining before catastrophic failure occurs.

Synthetic spider silk based composites will also have the advantage that their fibers will be biodegradable. Hybrid composite steel sheets Another promising material can be stainless steel constructed with inspiration from composites and nanontech-fibers and plywood. The sheets of steel are made of same material and is able to handle and tool exactly the same way as conventional steel. But is some percent lighter for the same strengths. This is especially valuable for vehicle manufacturing. Patent pending, Swedish company Lamera is a spinoff from research within Volvo Industries.

HONEYCOMB USAGE:
Honeycomb structures are natural or man-made structures that have the geometry of a honeycomb to allow the minimization of the amount of used material to reach minimal weight and minimal material cost. Honeycomb shaped structure provides a material with minimal density and relative high out-of-plane compression properties and out-of-plane shear properties

There are three types of honeycomb structures: 1)Fiber glass 2)aluminum 3)Graphite Honeycomb stuctures.

This is structure of Aluminum Honeycomb structure.

HELICOPTERS:

ADVANTAGES AND DISADVATAGES OF COMPOSITES

Some applications by famous companies


The structural complexity of a Sea King helicopter rotor blade is considerable. It incorporates CFRP, GRP, stainless steel, a honeycomb core and foam filling. An additional advantage of the use of composites for helicopter rotor blades is that the moulding techniques employed allow variations of cross-section along the span, resulting in substantial aerodynamic benefits. This approach is being employed in the fabrication of the main rotor blades of the GKN Westland Helicopters EH 101.

A composite (fiberglass and aluminum) is used in the tail assembly of the Boeing 777 while the leading edge of the Airbus A310-300 and A320 fin assembly is of conventional reinforced glass fiber construction, reinforced at the nose to withstand bird strikes. A complete composite airframe was produced for the Beechcraft Starship turboprop executive

aircraft which, however. was not a commercial success due to its canard configuration causing drag and weight penalties.

FUTURE USES
The environmental case for developing our understanding and increasing our exploitation of composites is compelling .The Stern Review, 2006,identified that 1.6% of globalgreenhouse gas emissions come from aviation but that the demand for air travel will rise with our income.To combat the environmental threat that aviation poses, the Advisory Council for Aeronautical Research in Europe in 2002 laid out targets to reduce the emission of CO2 (animport and greenhouse gas) from an aircraft by 50% by 2020

Conclusion
Due to their reduced weight and almost the same strength, composite materials have an advantage over conventional metallic materials. Although, currently it is expensive to fabricate composites, research is being done to reduce initial implementation costs and address the issue of non-biodegradability of current composites. If those few limitations are overcome, then definitely composites are going to replace heavy metals and become materials for the future.

You might also like