Analysis and Design for Accelerated Production and Tailoring of composites (ADAPT)

If demand for production of next-generation, short-range commercial aircraft is to be profitably met, current methods for composite airframe manufacture must achieve significant increases in material deposition rates at reduced cost. However, improved rates cannot come at the expense of safety or increased airframe mass.

This project will enable a fourfold increase in productivity by establishing novel manufacturing techniques that speed up deposition of stiffness tailored material. New continuum mechanics-based forming models will ensure delivery of better products by minimising occurrence of manufacturing defects. In a parallel stream of activity, new methodologies for analysis and design of composite structures in which the ply angle and thickness of fibre-reinforcement is spatially tailored, both continuously and discretely, will reduce the need for stiffening, leading to significant savings in structural mass (by up to 30%) and manufacturing cost (by up to 20%). Potential structural integrity and damage tolerance issues, such as transition in fibre angle and tapering of laminate thickness from one discrete angle to another, will be addressed.

The project will engage a multidisciplinary team of engineers and applied mathematicians to develop novel manufacturing and modelling techniques. An embedded university-industry partnership will focus on the creation of new manufacturing and analysis capabilities, supported by fundamental research. Academics at Bath and Exeter will partner with the National Composites Centre and with industrial collaborators that span the airframe supply chain. The project will enable production of high performance composite components at rates suitable for the next generation of short-range aircraft. There are also opportunities for impact in the wider composites manufacturing industry, including automotive and energy sectors.

Successful resolution of the process and performance issues associated with high-rate production of laminated composites is fundamental to the long-term success of UK composites manufacturing, both in terms of advanced wing design, aero engine development and manufacture of major aerospace components. The latter is predicted to generate opportunities worth $4.5tn for UK suppliers over the next 20 years.

Specific impact (and beneficiaries) will arise in the design and manufacture of laminated composite structures in the form of:

1. New process simulation software (OEMs - Airbus, Boeing & Bombardier; Tier 1 suppliers - GKN and others);
2. Improved design principles (OEMs & Tier 1 suppliers);
3. New high-rate manufacturing techniques (OEMs, Tier 1 suppliers & material suppliers).

Significant opportunities for impact also exist within the wider composites manufacturing industry, e.g. in the automotive and energy sectors.

The proposed work complements national research activity elsewhere; specifically, the EPSRC Centre for Innovative Manufacture in Composites and the National Composites Centre. Full transparency of developments will be maintained with these national centres to avoid overlap and enhance impact.