Composites are coming: With the increasing use of composites in large civil aircraft, is composite parts production creeping up on unsuspecting metal machinists? Andrew ANcock investigates

摘要

"Compared with aluminium, composites should offer like-for-like weight savings of up to 10 per cent, there is no fatigue problem so a design life of 20,000 hours could become 100,000 hours, and maintenance requirements should be lower. Those are the three main drivers," says GKN Aerospace Services' technical director, Phil Grainger, for the uptake of carbon fibre reinforced plastics (CFRP) in civil aircraft - and of which thermosets are the most prevalent type. But he adds that additional benefits are that they can be moulded into complex shapes, have a higher specific strength than aluminium, have a good surface - aerodynamically speaking, and can be swapped for existing aluminium components.