Regarding composite materials, the main current focus of the industry is on thermoset based composites, for many reasons, such as:
• Thermoset composites have been used in the aerospace industry since the 1960s, and the design and processing knowledge to exploit the materials has developed substantially.
• Major investments have been made in material property databases for thermoset composite man-rated aerospace applications.
• In many cases, these databases are treated as company proprietary intellectual property, which makes it difficult to justify investment in alternate materials and processes.
• Industries associated with reinforcement that utilizes thermoset-compatible sizing are mature, including weaving and conversion into prepreg.
• Capital equipment and support services, such as tooling and semi-automation methodologies, are well established.
As expected with a maturing technology, major thermoset composite technology innovations and cost reduction opportunities are less frequent, with some notable exceptions.
The use of composite continues to be one of the most important resources to save weight in transportation but it is crucial for society related to the aerospace market and the increase of transport of passenger
The turn of the industry toward thermoplastic composite will help to introduce new outstanding features such as better recyclability, easier part joining while continuing to keep the potential for weight saving. This will help for CO2 reduction and will also be very helpful in the age of more electric vehicles.
The KEELBEMAN project goal is to perform the design and manufacturing of a KEELBEAM section made in thermoplastic composite to validate the technology at TRL3.
The current keel beam structure on short-range aircraft (A320) is made out of metallic material.
Thermoset composite keel beam has been developed for a long-range program like A350 to save weight. But this technology applied to short-range aircraft would be more expansive than the metallic solution and the impact on global mass would be lower than for long-range aircraft.
Therefore, the aim of KEELBEMAN project is to develop a thermoplastic composite concept for a short-range aircraft that could allow for a reduction of the part production cost along with an increase of the production rate. This could be achieved based on two aspects related to thermoplastics specific feature:
• Large scale pieces can be produced using Continuous Compression Moulding (CCM) which is a fast process.
• Parts junction can be realized using the induction welding technique, avoiding rivet assembly which is very time-consuming.
