Carbon Fibers
If we recycle it, will they come?
Thanks to the 787 and the A350 XWB aircraft programs, the composites industry has more scrap carbon fiber prepreg than it knows what to do with. At least, not yet.
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Composites help Bell V-280 toward Future Vertical Lift
Bell’s design for future military helicopter uses hybrid metal-composite construction and Large Cell Carbon Core technology for unitized wing.
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Aircraft composites repair moves toward maturity
New technologies seek to address the challenges MROs will increasingly face in the age of commercial airliners with composite airframes.
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“Smart tooling” cuts time and risk for complex unitized composite structures production
One-piece bladder tooling helps to actualize NASA/Boeing’s revolutionary fluted core design for next-gen cryogenic fuel tank skirt.
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February supplement: Out-of-autoclave processing for aero use
We here at CW put together a supplement published with the February issue of the regular magazine that focuses on the technologies, tools and materials being used today in out-of-autoclave (OOA) processing for aerocomposites.
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Alternative precursor R&D: What are the alternatives to PAN?
Carbon fibers made from other precursors are in use, commercially, and many more precursor alternatives have been investigated.
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Alternative precursor R&D: Oak Ridge National Laboratory
Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL, Oak Ridge, TN, US) has been at the forefront of North American research into alternatives to the polyacrylonitrile (PAN) precursor used to make aerospace-grade carbon fiber.
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Alternative precursor R&D: Lignin in the lightweighting limelight
This abundant, renewable resource shows promise as an alternative to PAN for low-cost, functional carbon fibers.
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Recycled carbon fiber proves its potential for aircraft interiors
An Airbus-led team characterizes RCF veils and shows their ability to best glass fiber composite sidewalls in cost, weight and surface finish.
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Plant tour: Spirit AeroSystems: Prestwick, Scotland, UK
Global aerostructures giant Spirit AeroSystems ventures into out-of-autoclave (OAA) composites manufacturing via vacuum infusion.
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