Design of polymer-based composites with enhanced mechanical properties for the 3D printing of aerospace interior components

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The majority of airplanes' interior panels are mounted using aluminum brackets, which could be replaced by**polymer-based composites with similar mechanical properties but lower mass. Hutchinson, a company**providing smart solutions for automotive and aerospace market with a headquarter located in Montreal, has**developed a lightweight engine torque supporting brackets as the replacement for the aluminum brackets. The**company aims to develop the 3D printing of lightweight brackets for the airplane's interior panels using fused**deposition modeling (FDM), the most frequently used 3D printing technique for thermoplastics. 3D printing**enables fabrication of complex structures without molding, tooling and machining, which lowers significantly**the cost of fabrication for low to moderate number parts production and facilitates the testing of new designs.**In this regards, the company has expressed its great interest for a new collaboration with Laboratory for**Multiscale Mechanics (LM2) to develop a 3D printable polyamide-based composite useful for fabrication of**the brackets. During a six-month project, an experienced research associate (RA), Dr. Kambiz Chizari, will**work in close collaboration with the company to develop and optimize the formulation of the targeted material.**The specific project objectives are to (1) design new composite formulations to enhance the mechanical**properties of polyamide (PA) matrix, (2) enable 3D printing of the developed composites, (3) test the**mechanical performance of 3D printed coupons and brackets, and (4) plan the pathway to reach to the required**aeronautical standards and qualifications with the help of Hutchinson team. PA-based composites will be**fabricated by mixing PA with short carbon fibers (CF) using micro-extruder and their formulation will be**adjusted for FDM 3D printing. The outcomes of this project will certainly contribute to the development of**lightweight 3D printable brackets useful for airplane interior panels by Hutchinson, which will help the**company to enter the market of 3D printing of aerospace parts. This project will also help the two collaborators**to define more innovative research projects in the future.