G8-2012 Material Efficiency - A first step toward sustainable manufacture

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This research will focus on out-of-autoclave processing as a sustainable means of composite manufacturing. The large-scale introduction of composite materials into the aerospace industry will result in lighter planes with greater fuel efficiency. By moving composite manufacturing out of the autoclave, energy consumption during processing will be reduced and production rates will increase. Our proposal will highlight the sustainable aspects of out-of-autoclave composite manufacturing, specifically with regard to vacuum bag only (VBO) prepregs. For our purposes, "sustainability" will refer to preservation and expansion of access to affordable energy, and minimization of environmental impact.The environmental benefits to replacing metal structures with composite materials are clear. Composite parts are light-weight, providing greater fuel efficiency, and also display higher fatigue and corrosion resistance. The composite manufacturing process, however, contains inefficiencies. While moving composite processing out of the autoclave will reduce energy consumption, there are still environmental concerns associated with thermoset composite manufacturing. Waste management and energy savings are of high priority. We will address these issues through three main subject areas; waste reduction, defect control, and manufacturing efficiency.