SBIR Phase I: Autoclave Equivalent Composites Via In-Situ Pressurization

这个小型企业创新研究第一阶段项目旨在开发能够在不使用高压灭菌器的情况下生产航空复合材料的材料和制造工艺。为了确保最佳的材料质量和可靠性，航空航天复合材料在结合了热和压力的高压灭菌器中进行加工，以完全粘结多层复合材料。现在有了可以容纳飞机机身和机翼的高压灭菌器。与高压灭菌器加工相关的资本成本、劳动力成本和制造时间是巨大的，但对于确保复合材料质量来说，这是必要的缺点。Out of Autoclave(OOA)技术在降低成本和简化复合材料制造操作方面存在巨大机遇。目前工业OOA的重点是开发新的树脂/织物系统，这种系统可以处理OOA，但仍能产生合适的性能。实现广泛的OOA制造的一个更好的方法是使现有的树脂/织物系统相容。这一目标可以通过组合新的工具材料和制造工艺来实现，这些材料可以自我加压和加固复合材料。第一阶段工作的结果将展示一种真正的OOA技术，该技术允许在任何现有的树脂/织物系统中实现等同于高压罐的复合材料性能，而无需使用高压罐。该项目更广泛的影响/商业潜力是为复合材料行业提供独立于树脂的OOA解决方案。在飞机上使用先进的纤维增强复合材料已经成为实现更高性能和更高燃油效率的必要手段。波音的787和空客的A350就是两架这样的飞机，它们都在推动将合成成分的重量增加到50%以上。OOA技术在降低成本和简化复合制造操作方面有很大的机会。第一阶段开发的面向对象分析技术将通过降低成本和提高制造效率对复合材料行业产生重大影响。它将使更广泛的制造基地能够生产类似高压灭菌器的部件。社会将看到在空中和陆基车辆中更广泛地使用节油复合材料的好处。这一努力还将促进小企业和大型航空航天制造商之间的合作，并为本科生和高中生提供参与该项目的机会。

This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project seeks to develop materials and manufacturing processes that enable aerospace composite materials to be produced without an autoclave. To ensure the best material quality and reliability, aerospace composites are processed inside autoclaves that combine heat and pressure to fully bond multi-layered composites. Autoclaves that can accommodate aircraft fuselages and wings now exist. The capital costs, labor costs, and manufacturing times associated with autoclave processing are significant but are a necessary evil to ensure composite quality. A large opportunity exists for Out Of Autoclave (OOA) technology to reduce costs and streamline composite manufacturing operations. The current OOA focus of industry is to develop new resin/fabric systems that can be processed OOA but still yield suitable performance. A better approach to achieve broad-based OOA manufacturing is to compatibilize existing resin/fabric systems. This goal may be achieved through a combination of new tooling materials and manufacturing processes that can self-pressurize and consolidate composites. The results of the Phase I effort will demonstrate a true OOA technique that allows autoclave equivalent composite properties to be achieved in any existing resin/fabric system without the use of autoclave. The broader impact/commercial potential of this project is to provide the composites industry with an OOA solution that is resin independent. The use of advanced fiber reinforced composites in aircraft has become a necessity to achieve higher performance and greater fuel efficiencies. Boeing's 787 and Airbus' A350 are two such aircraft that exemplify the push to increase composite content above 50% by weight. A large opportunity exists for OOA technology to reduce costs and streamline composite manufacturing operations. The OOA technology developed in Phase I will have a large impact on the composites industry through cost reduction and manufacturing efficiency gains. It will allow a broader manufacturing base to produce autoclave-like parts. Society will see benefits through the broader use of fuel-efficient composites in air- and land-based vehicles. This effort will also foster collaboration between small business and large aerospace manufacturers as well as offer undergraduate and high school students an opportunity to work on the project.