Composite Materials for Aerospace Structures

Dr. Douglas S. Cairns, Lysle A. Wood Distinguished Professor Department of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering Montana State University y ME 480 Introduction to Aerospace, Spring 2010

Lysle Wood Professor

Goals of the Professorship Make a positive and significant impact on aerospace technology nationally and in Montana Provide support for aerospace related faculty development d l Enhance student learning opportunities for aerospace related engineering careers

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Cairns Background
Began composites career in 1978 as a Staff Engineer at the University of Wyoming Characterization of compression fatigue mechanisms of F18 vertical stabilizer (AS1/3501-6) for Navy Hygrothermal characterization of Carbon Glass and Kevlar with Hercules 3501 6 for Carbon, Glass, 3501-6 Navy and Army Senior Engineer, Hercules Aerospace, Magna UT (designed and analyzed space and aircraft structures manufactured from composite materials) Ph.D. in Aeronautics and Astronautics, MIT, thesis on damage resistance and g damage tolerance due to impact damage in carbon/epoxy and kevlar/epoxy structures, research sponsored by FAA Manager of Composites Technology, Hercules Materials Company US largest manufacturer of structural carbon fibers materials for military and commercial aerospace primar str ct ral applications militar primary structural Radius Engineering Board of Directors since 1988 Joined Mechanical and Industrial Engineering at Montana State University in 1995, began working on wind turbine blade structures, <$10/lb final part cost target based on aerospace technology Teamed with Boeing engineers to develop and implement Aircraft Structures course at MSU Former Chairman, AIAA Materials Technical Committee Co-Chairman Damage Tolerance Committee NASA/ MIL HDBK 17 Composites Private Pilot Certificate, 2006 FAA Consultant for developing composite materials specifications for General Aviation Aircraft
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Introduction

Composite materials are used more and more for p primary structures in commercial, industrial, aerospace, marine, and recreational structures

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Composites:
Composites materials consist of a fibrous reinforcements bonded together with a matrix material g Occur naturally in your bones, in wood, horns etc. Allow the stiffness and strength of the material to change with direction of loading

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The Hierarchy for Advanced Structural Materials

Begin as laboratory curiosity Applications to expensive structures (often Military Aerospace) Applications to stuff rich people buy Applications to things you and I can afford Key Assumption: R K A ti Raw materials are ultimately t i l lti t l inexpensive and materials synthesis is ultimately inexpensive p

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Case History- Aluminum

At one time, more rare than gold and silver; Kings and Queens wanted aluminum plates p Very Expensive Applications
Art Deco furnishings in the 1920s and 1930s Milit Military aircraft during WW II i ft d i

Stuff that rich people buy (Post WW II through 1960s)

General Aviation Boats Bicycles

Toda Today
Aluminum BBQ grills at K-Mart Aluminum shower curtain rods at hardware store

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Composites:

Carbon Fibers Fiberglass Fibers

Kevlar Fibers

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Radius Engineering- Salt Lake City, Utah

Radius developed Swix carbon fiber Gold ski poles; have been used by G medal Olympic skiers since 1990s

Radius developed the Trek carbon fiber bicycle used by y y Lance Armstrong

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Discussion Objective
Provide a brief introduction to composite materials and structures in Airplane Structures p

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Composites are Damage Tolerant

F18 Midair Collision (Circa 2002, no injuries)

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Composites are Damage Tolerant (cont.)

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Composites are Damage Tolerant (cont.)

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Composite Vertical Stabilizer and Rudder Damage

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Composition of Composites

Fiber/Filament Reinforcement

Matrix

Composite

High strength High stiffness Low density

Good shear properties Low density

High strength High stiffness Good shear properties y Low density

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Carbon is the Emperor

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The Emperors New Clothes

Two Basic Facts Hamper Application of Carbon Fibers to Primary Structure

Carbon Fiber is expensive; about 8X-10X E-glass fibers Much more sensitive to fiber mis-alignment from g manufacturing process

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Not Just An Academic Exercise

Consequence of Misalignment in Large, Composite Structure

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The Emperors New Clothes

Two Basic Facts Hamper Application of Carbon Fibers to Primary Structure

updated 3:56 p.m. MT, Fri., Aug 14, 2009 Boeing Co. has discovered another problem with its long-delayed 787 jetliner, prompting the aircraft maker to halt production of fuselage sections at a factory in Italy. The Chicago-based company found microscopic wrinkles in the skin of the 787s fuselage and ordered Italian supplier Alenia Aeronautica to stop making sections on June 23, spokeswoman Lori Gunter said Friday. Boeing has started patching the areas. The plane, built for fuel efficiency from lightweight carbon composite parts, is a priority for B i f Boeing as it struggles with dwindling orders amid th global recession. t l ith d i dli d id the l b l i

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/32415601/ns/business-aviation/

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Difficult to Control Manufacturing Defects in Production

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Shorthand Laminate Orientation Code

Tapes or Undirectional Tapes

[45/0/-45/902 /-45/0/45

[45/0/-45/90] s

Tapes or undirectional tapes

Each lamina is labeled by its ply orientation. Laminae are listed in sequence with the first number representing the lamina to which t e a o is po t g a a c the arrow s pointing. Individual adjacent laminae are separated by a slash if their angles differ. Adjacent laminae of the same angle are depicted by a numerical subscript indicating the total number of laminae which are laid up in sequence at that angle. angle Each complete laminate is enclosed by brackets. When the laminate is symmetrical and has an even number on each side of the plane of symmetry (known as the midplane) the code may be shortened by listing only the angles from the arrow side to the midplane. A subscript S is used to indicate that the code for only one half of the laminate is shown. Design and Analysis of Aircraft Structures
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Shorthand Laminate Orientation Code

Fabrics and Tapes and Fabrics
[(45)/(0)/(45)] Midplane Fabrics [(45)/0(-45)/90]

Midplane

Tapes & Fabrics

When plies of fabric are used in a laminate. The angle of the fabric warp is used as the ply direction angle. The fabric angle is enclosed in p g g parentheses to identify the ply as a fabric ply. When the laminate is composed of both fabric and tape plies (a hybrid laminate). The parentheses around the fabric plies will distinguish the fabric p g plies from the tape plies. When the laminate is symmetrical and has an odd number of plies, the center ply is overlined to p indicate that it is the midplane.

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Fatigue Performance of Composites Exceeds That of Metals

1.00 (Reference only)

0.75

25/50/25/ Gr/Ep

Maximum cyclic stress/ultimate stress

0.50

7075-T6 aluminum

Room temperature, temperature dry R = -1.0 K1 = 3.0

0.25

0 102 103 104 105 106

107

Cycles to failure
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Reduced Corrosion Problems With Advanced Composites

Advanced composites do not corrode like metals the combination of corrosion and fatigue cracking g g is a significant problem for aluminum commercial fuselage structure.

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Corrosion Case History Aloha Airlines

Low time airframe (but many Ground-Air-Ground cycles, 89,090 compression and decompression pressurization cycles from short hops) Operated in moist, warm environment (chemical processes exponential with temperature) Design and Analysis of Aircraft Structures

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767 Exterior Composite Parts

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Honeycomb Usage

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SummaryAdvantages and Disadvantages of Composite Materials

Advantages Weight reduction (approximately 20-50%) Corrosion resistance Fatigue resistance Tailorable mechanical properties S l through offset Sales th h ff t Lower assembly costs ( (fewer fasteners, etc.) , ) Disadvantages Some higher recurring costs Higher nonrecurring costs Higher material costs Nonvisible impact damage Repairs are different than those to metal structure Isolation needed to prevent adjacent aluminum part galvanic corrosion

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Material and Process Specifications

Material specifications
Supplier qualification Fiber requirements P Prepreg requirements i t
Fiber volume Resin chemistry Mechanical properties Forms (tape, fabric) Cure cycle Quality controls Manufacturing characteristics

Process specifications
Storage and handling Cure cycle L Layup and bagging db i procedures In-process quality control Postprocess quality control Acceptable anomalies Splicing

Incoming and receiving tests

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Building Block Approach

Environment
Coupons (Thousands) (Th d ) Elements Joints Small Panels (Hundreds)

RT/Ambient
Large Panels
Subcomponents (Dozens)

Components

Full Airplane Structure

Coupons and Elements Mechanical properties Interlaminar properties St Stress concentrations t ti Durability Bolted Joints Impact damage characterization E i Environmental f t t l factors
Materials The effects of temperature and moisture are accounted for in d i values and t d f i design l d strength properties.

Large Panels and Test Boxes Validate design concepts Verify analysis methods Provide substantiating data for material design values Demonstrate compliance with criteria Demonstrate ability of finite element models to predict strain values
Analysis Thermal and moisture strains calculated using finite element model for each critical condition.
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Design and Analysis of Aircraft Structures

FAA/JAA Requirements for Material Allowables

FAR 25.613, Material Strength Properties Material
Statistical basis Environmental effects accounted for MIL-H-17B

FAR 25.615, Design Properties , g p

A basis for single load path B basis for redundant structure

FAA AC 20-107A JAR 25.613, 25.615, and 25.603 similar to , , FAA regulations
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FAA/JAA Regulations That Govern Structural Materials

FAR 25.603, Materials ,
Suitability and durability established by tests Conform to specifications that ensure strength Takes into account environmental conditions

FAR 25.605, Fabrication Methods

Fabrication methods must produce consistently sound structure (repeatability) New methods must be substantiated by tests

FAR 25.609, Protection of Structure

Protected against deterioration or loss of strength

JAR 25.603, 25.605, and 25.609 similar to FAA 25 603 25 605 25 609 regulations
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FAA/JAA Advisories That Govern Composite Materials

FAA AC 20-107A, Composite Aircraft Structure , p
Presents an acceptablebut not the onlymeans for certifying advanced composite structure

FAA AC 21-26, Quality Control for the Manufacture of Composite Structure

Presents an acceptablebut not the onlymeans for complying with the quality control requirement of FAR 21

JAA ACJ 25.603, Composite Aircraft Structure Similar to FAA AC 20-107A

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Strength Reduction of Advanced Composite Materials

Pristine Materials

Reduction R d i of the allowable stress Stress

Processing anomalies Surface irregularities Splicing Waviness Inclusions Voids Damage Visible damage Nonvisible damage Repair (holes, etc.) Design D i Environment Allowable strain reduction

Allowable design region S a Strain

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777 Composite Primary Structure Certification

Sequence 1

Load Description Limit proof Load p a. Up bending b. Up bending/unsymmetric c. Down bending d. Down bending/ g Unsymmetric e. Stall buffet (unsymmetric) Strain survey Fatigue spectrum

Sequence 4 5 6 7

Load Description y Strain survey Fatigue spectrum Strain survey Ultimate load strain survey a. Stall buffet b. Up bending c. Down bending Destruction test down b di d bending
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2 3

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787 Airplane
Approximately 50% of the airframe is made from composites; a very bold move in the commercial aircraft industry

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Boeing 787 Dreamliner Logistics

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Summary
Composite parts used for aircraft applications are defined by
Material, process, and manufacturing specifications. Material allowable (engineering definition).

All of these have a basis in regulatory requirements. Most efficient use of advanced composites in aircraft structure is in applications with
Highly loaded parts with thick gages. High fatigue loads (fuselage and wing structure, etc). Areas susceptible to corrosion (fuselage, etc). Critical weight reduction (empennage wings fuselage etc) (empennage, wings, fuselage, etc).

Use must be justified by weighing benefits against costs.

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