Description du projet
Nouvel outil de soudage pour la chaîne d’assemblage d’avions en Europe
L’assemblage des composites thermoplastiques (CTP) représente une étape cruciale dans la fabrication de structures CTP destinées à l’aérospatiale. La prochaine génération d’avions civils aura massivement recours aux CTP, plus légers et pouvant être assemblés par soudage. En plus d’éliminer le besoin d’attaches, cela améliorera également la fiabilité et réduira les coûts d’assemblage. Pour exploiter le plein potentiel des CTP dans l’aviation, le projet TCTOOL, financé par l’UE, va mettre au point de nouveaux effecteurs d’extrémité pour l’assemblage sans dispositifs des structures de fuselage en CTP. En outre, il entend également mettre au point un nouvel outillage adaptatif pour le soudage de la peau du fuselage en thermoplastique aux longerons et aux cadres. Son objectif est de mettre en place un assemblage sans défaut rentable pour les chaînes d’assemblage d’avions en Europe.
Objectif
The next generation of large passenger aircraft will make extensive use of thermoplastic composites which could replace thermoset composites and metals in many areas of aircraft construction. Thermoplastic composites can be lighter in weight even than thermoset composites, but the key advantage is that they can be joined together using welding processes. This has the potential to eliminate many of the hundreds of thousands of fasteners in an aircraft, improving reliability and reducing assembly costs by over 60%.
To take full advantage of thermoplastic composites weldability will require the development of innovative new approaches to tooling and automation to eliminate or reduce fixed tooling costs which can account for more than one third of non-recurring costs.
This project will develop innovative new end-effectors for jigless assembly of thermoplastic composite fuselage structures and new adaptive tooling for the welding of thermoplastic fuselage skin to stringers and frames. This will allow highly automated assembly of these complex structures with tooling that can be re-configured digitally and re-used. The project will also deliver simulation tools and perform manufacturing simulations to quantify variations in assembly, risk of defects, and optimise the process to achieve cost-effective zero-defects assembly.
This €1050k project will be led by TWI a major industrial research organisation with world-leading expertise in composites joining and large equipment design, FADA-CATEC Center for Advanced Aerospace Technologies with expertise in robotic assembly and aerospace technology, London South Bank University – developers of innovative robotic and end-effector solutions, Brunel University – experts in thermoplastic composites welding and AcroFlight – experts in virtual engineering and simulation.
Champ scientifique
- engineering and technologymaterials engineeringcomposites
- engineering and technologymechanical engineeringvehicle engineeringaerospace engineeringaircraft
- social sciencessociologyindustrial relationsautomation
- engineering and technologyelectrical engineering, electronic engineering, information engineeringelectronic engineeringrobotics
- natural sciencescomputer and information sciencessoftwaresoftware applicationssimulation software
Programme(s)
Régime de financement
CS2-IA - Innovation actionCoordinateur
CB21 6AL Cambridge
Royaume-Uni