OUT OF AUTOCLAVE PROCESSED LIGHTWEIGHT COMPOSITE STRUCTURES FOR AEROSPACE VEHICLES

摘要

Lightweight Composite Structures for Aerospace Vehicles is a program concerned with the application of out of autoclave processable structural composite materials. The program is funded by the US Navy with the Advanced Composites Group (ACG) as the primary contractor. This effort is primarily focused on the MTM45-1 resin system which has a significantly lower density than most traditional autoclave curing structural materials used in airframe applications and therefore offers the possibility of a weight reduction in addition to the potential cost advantages of out of autoclave curing. Additionally, thin skinned honeycomb sandwich structures are typically designed by impact and fluid intrusion considerations and are a particularly suited to the application of a high toughness material such as MTM45-1. An overview of the program is given, including the development work on honeycomb sandwich structure processing and the associated screening of compatible ancillary materials such as film adhesives and surfacing films.