Aerospace & Defence
4 Once an aircraft engine or body part has been designed, it needs to be casted, machined, extruded or 3D printed. Boris Sedacca reports that coatings also play a key role in parts design.
4 Une fois qu’un moteur ou une pièce de carrosserie d’un avion a été conçue, elle doit être ensuite coulée, usinée, extrudée ou imprimée en 3D. Boris Sedacca nous raconte que les revêtements jouent également un rôle essentiel dans la conception des pièces.
4 Sobald ein Flugmotor oder Karosserieteil entwickelt ist, muss er oder es gegossen, bearbeitet, extrudiert oder in 3D gedruckt werden. Boris Sedacca berichtet, dass die Beschichtung bei der Teileentwicklung ebenfalls eine entscheidende Rolle spielt.
Aerospace materials face testing times
T
Fig. 1. An automated fibre placement machine fabricates an Airbus A350 XWB rear wing spar section at GKN Aerospace
he use of composites in Aerospace has come a long way since they were first tested by the US military about forty years ago. Subsequent research, testing
and technological developments in the design and manufacturing process of composite materials have led to an expansion in their usage in other segments of the Aerospace industry. According to a market research report by
Visiongain titled The Aerospace Composites Market 2012-2022, this is evident in the introduction of new aircrafts such as the B787 Dreamliner and that of the A400M military transport aircraft. The range of composite materials available has also extended too. Fibre-reinforced materials can now include
glass and carbon, thermosets composites such as aramids and metal and ceramic matrices. Whilst initially, composites usage was limited to the secondary structures of aircraft, better understanding of the physical attributes of composite materials has led to increasing usage in primary structures such as airframes. The light-weight, strength and non-
corrosive quality of composites make them
attractive to the Aerospace industry. For aircraft users who are keen to keep fuel and maintenance costs down, the development of aircraft which make use of substantial composite parts is particularly appealing. Overall, the Aerospace composites market
is characterised by strong and steady growth. North America, Japan and Europe are the dominant markets but the global economic crisis coupled with low labour rates and improvements in the production process from emerging markets will contribute to a shift in market share away from those more mature markets. As such, the rate of growth of the global market will be dependent on how national markets such as China, Brazil and India develop high end and high value composite materials which can be used for aircraft.
Structural testing
Saab has extensive experience and well equipped facilities to meet the demanding test requirements of the modern Aerospace industry. For 60 years the company has performed structural testing of specimens ranging from small components to complete airframes. Its Aerospace customers include
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