In this special period of coexistence of challenges and opportunities, the aviation industry is still focusing on seizing long-term opportunities, such as improving aircraft manufacturing efficiency.
Upholding this belief, Solvay has developed a new generation of composite materials, which has been officially launched this year. It can help aircraft manufacturers produce composite parts at a faster speed and at a lower cost. With this breakthrough technology, metal is no longer the only cost-effective choice for small and medium-sized aircraft parts.
Composite materials for the fastest production
What makes this material special is its curing time. Traditionally, it takes several hours to manufacture parts using carbon fiber resin prepreg due to autoclave curing, and this material can greatly shorten the process time and increase the production speed by 10 to 20 times.
The realization of such a high production speed is also due to the compatibility of this new material with the double film forming method (DDF) and the spring frame pressing method-these are currently the two fastest processes for manufacturing composite parts. Parts can be easily handled by the robot, combined with the fast curing properties of the resin, the cycle time can be reduced from 8.5 hours to 30 minutes. This is just the beginning of a virtuous circle. As part manufacturing speeds up, the level of asset utilization will decrease and output will increase. At the same time, compared with the use of autoclave curing, the thermocompression molding method is more cost-effective, especially for small-sized parts.
Combining these factors, the total cost of each part will be greatly reduced, thereby making the composite material competitive when compared with traditional aluminum. In addition, although the technology is only aimed at small and medium-sized components, the performance and quality of products produced by this technology are in line with aviation standards, which means that the main load-bearing structure and the secondary load-bearing structure can also be applied to these components, and the complex geometric shapes are also Needless to say.
In addition to the commercial aircraft we are familiar with, this material is also suitable for any other field in the aviation industry that requires high-speed production of a large number of parts, such as military aircraft, autonomous aircraft-such as the rapidly expanding drone market, and the emerging urban aerial taxi. For these vertical takeoff and landing aircraft, high-performance, lightweight composite materials will undoubtedly be useful.
Composite material innovation halves aircraft carbon footprint
In view of this innovation, the cost of composite aircraft parts can be higher than that of metal parts. Manufacturers will also increasingly replace metal with composite parts, so that the composite material of aircraft accounts for more than 50% of the watershed. Thereby further reducing greenhouse gas emissions. At the same time, lighter aircraft will also bring a more comfortable travel experience: the flying height can be reduced, the cabin pressure is not so large, and the air humidity can be higher, helping to reduce the discomfort caused by jet lag. In addition, the design freedom brought by the composite material also means that the aircraft can get more room for improvement in passenger comfort.
According to estimates by the aviation industry, the currently used composite materials help save 10% -15% of fuel consumption, which can also be converted into carbon dioxide emission reductions: each kilogram of fuel saved is equivalent to a reduction of 3.15 kilograms of carbon dioxide emissions. The aviation industry is still growing steadily. The only way to successfully achieve the goal of halving the industry's greenhouse gas emissions by 2050 is to keep the aircraft lighter.