In advanced large aircraft, CFRP is widely used as the main bearing structure material. And in the newly developed airship successfully, CFRP is also used as a structural material.
The oil crisis in the mid-1970s was the direct cause of the use of carbon fiber in aircraft manufacturing. In order to alleviate the energy crisis, the US government at the time launched the "Aircraft Energy Saving Plan." Modern aircraft fuselages are made of steel, aluminum, titanium and other metals and composite materials. In order to save fuel and improve operational efficiency, reducing airframe mass has always been one of the core challenges in aircraft design and manufacturing technology. The mature application of CFRP in aircraft fuselage manufacturing provides the most effective way to reduce the quality of aircraft fuselage. For example, the fuselage mass of the Boeing 767 made of metal materials (CFRP only accounts for 3%) is 60 tons, and when the CFRP consumption is increased to 50%, the mass of the new aircraft fuselage drops to 48 tons. This greatly improves the energy and environmental benefits of this type of aircraft.
Both the Boeing 777X aircraft under development and the newly put into production Boeing 787 aircraft use 50% of the fuselage composite materials. The Boeing 777X aircraft is a large twin-engine passenger aircraft based on the Boeing 777 aircraft. It is planned that the first aircraft will be delivered and put into operation in 2020. The main wing of the Boeing 777X aircraft is made of CFRP, and its wingspan is about 72m (235 feet), making it one of the longest wingspans among passenger aircraft. The longer the wingspan, the greater the lift. Therefore, the single-seater fuel consumption and operating costs of the Boeing 777X are very competitive. In addition, the CFRP wings are not only strong and flexible, but also foldable at the end, so that most airports can meet their wide-span parking requirements. The main bearing structures such as the main wings and fuselage of the Boeing 787 aircraft are made of carbon fiber prepreg from Japan's Toray Company.
In November 2005, Toray and Boeing signed a 10-year agreement to provide carbon fiber prepreg for the Boeing 787 Dreamliner. On November 9, 2015, Toray announced that it had reached a comprehensive agreement with the Boeing Company of the United States to provide carbon fiber prepreg for the 787 and 777X aircraft produced by Boeing. Boeing plans to increase the monthly production of 787 aircraft from 10 in 2015 to 12 in 2016 and 14 in 2020; at the same time, the ratio of large modules will also increase, which will greatly promote the demand for CFRP . In order to ensure the supply of materials after the monthly output of the Boeing 787 aircraft reaches 12, Toray Composites (USA) has completed the expansion in January 2016; at the same time, Toray Corporation of Japan decided to build the plant in Spartanburg County An integrated production line including raw silk, carbon fiber and prepreg, with a designed annual production capacity of 2,000 tons. This is the first time that Toray has built an integrated carbon fiber production line in the United States for the development of Boeing 777X aircraft and meeting monthly production requirements and the demand for a Boeing 787 aircraft.
On August 17, 2016, the newly developed British large-scale airship completed its maiden voyage. This airship is a lighter-than-air spacecraft designed to perform reconnaissance, surveillance, communications, cargo and rescue supplies transportation, and passenger transportation. The airship uses the polyarylate fabric produced by Japan's Kuraray Company as the skin, and the skin is filled with pressurized helium; the shape and structure of the airship are made of CFRP, which minimizes the mass of the airship. When unattended, the airship can float in the air for up to 5 days at a time.