of-autoclave Innovation for Advanced Composites Fabrication

Transcription

1 Quickstep: An Out-of of-autoclave Innovation for Advanced Composites Fabrication Presented by: Dale Brosius, Chief Operating Officer, Quickstep Technologies We will begin the webinar at 1:00EST Please note: All participants are muted to begin, to avoid background noise. We encourage participants to use the chat feature throughout the presentation to ask questions, and there will be a question & answer period at the end of the webinar.

2 Outline Drivers to get out of the autoclave Introduction to the Quickstep process Performance comparison Quickstep vs. autoclave for carbon fiber prepregs Novel solutions using fluid heat transfer Benefits and opportunities

3 Prescient Pronouncements? Steel is for cars, aluminum is for airplanes, and plastics are for toys. Francois Castaing, VP of Vehicle Engineering, Chrysler in 1995 Aerospace engineers have considered aluminum the material of choice for decades and there is no foreseeable replacement in sight. Washington Post article, 2000

4 C/E Empanage 1993: A330/340 13% of wing is composite % Composite A A C/E Spoiler 757/ : A320 C/E tail plane Winglet 1985: A310 C/E tail fin box A330/ A

5 Need for Time Efficient Processes Aircraft companies Further weight reduction More seats Public Increased comfort Cheap flights Governmental Directives Ecological (less fuel low emission) Enhancing material properties Wide structure, more space Reduced operating costs OoA technologies Playing with matrix rheology Control over processing system Quick production Lower investment and tooling costs

6 Prepreg and Autoclave Curing Dominates the Current Market for Advanced Composites Driven by use in low volume aerospace where price has not been a major consideration High part quality Well-characterized materials Slow, labor-intensive processing

7 Motivation for Out-of of-autoclave (OoA)) Technology Disadvantages of Autoclave: High Capital investment Large Factory High cost of nitrogen Poor Energy efficiency Long turn around times

8 Outline Drivers to get out of the autoclave Introduction to the Quickstep process Performance comparison Quickstep vs. autoclave for carbon fiber prepregs Novel solutions using fluid heat transfer Benefits and opportunities

9 The Quickstep Process Heat Transfer Fluid Pressure Chamber Flexible Bladder Flexible Bladder sealing mould to pressure chamber Mould tool floating and supported in HTF Composite part to be moulded Rapidly applying heat to the laminate, placed between a rigid or semi rigid mould Mould and laminate separated from the circulation HTF by a flexible membrane Use of balanced pressure and vacuum on the laminate to cure the part Economical construction due to low pressure in both the molds (up to 0.8 bar)

10 Working Principle of Quickstep Hot Medium Cold Programmable Logic Controller (PLC) F Press 200 Cure Cycle F Press T T ( C) t (min)

11 Viscosity [mpa.s] Low Viscosity Processing 2.8C/min 11C/min 22C/min 4100 cps 1500 cps 1060 cps Quickstep rapid heating Time [min] Typical Autoclave Toray G83C Automotive Prepreg Lower flow resistance: Improves fibre wetting, enables low pressure processing Increase in resin bleeding: increases fibre volume content Potential of improve in surface wetting of foam cores

12 Observed improvement in fiber/matrix adhesion - Material: HexPly 914 UD tape Autoclave Quickstep Photos: Jin Zhang

13 Cure Cycle Optimization Required Initial Quickstep cure cycle: 175ºC cure for 60 minutes Total Cycle time: 75 minutes Photomicrographs showed excessive void content Hexcel 914C using initial cure cycle Optimized cure cycle: 140ºC hold for 30 minutes 180ºC cure for 60 minutes Total Cycle time: 110 minutes Photomicrographs showed quality equal to 300 minute autoclave cycle Hexcel 914C with optimized cure cycle

14 Cure Cycle Selection Pre-configuration of curing process Temperatures Dwell times Mould pressure Availability of hot and cold HTF enables the process to step quickly from one thermal state to another

15 Process Monitoring

16 Production Reporting 8 thermocouples distributed across part surface 35 minute total cycle

17 Global Locations European Quickstep Centre of Excellence Manchester, UK Quickstep GmbH Munich, Germany North American Quickstep Center of Excellence Dayton, Ohio Quickstep Headquarters Australian Centre Perth, Western Australia Deakin University VCAMM Geelong, Australia

18 QS20 machine (Perth, Australia)

19 QS5 Pilot plant machine and curing chamber (Geelong,, Australia)

20 QS5 Machine and Curing Chamber (Manchester, UK)

21 QS20 at North American Center (Dayton, Ohio)

22 QS20 Machine at Quickstep GmbH (Ottobrunn, Germany)

23 Alternative Curing Technologies to Autoclave under consideration by the Aerospace Industry Quickstep Oven cure with specific OoA prepreg E-Beam Curing Microwave oven Microwave and RF In-situ Curing Induction heating Infrared A strong advantage of QUICKSTEP compared to the others is the ability to control heat flow in and out of the composite product All epoxy resins systems in use today have exothermic potential

24 Outline Drivers to get out of the autoclave Introduction to the Quickstep process Performance comparison Quickstep vs. autoclave for carbon fiber prepregs Novel solutions using fluid heat transfer Benefits and opportunities

25 Some Materials Processed to date with Quickstep Prepregs (partial list) Toray: G83C, , 2510 (AGATE) Cytec: 2020, 977-2, 977-3, FM94 (GLARE), 5610 (NCAMP) Hexcel: 8552, 914C, 924, 6268, M18, M36 (RFI) ACG: MTM 49, MTM 56, MTM 44-1, MTM 45, MTM 46 Phenolics from Cytec, Primco, Lewcott Adhesives & Surfacing Films FM300, FM94, FM73, Redux 322, Redux 319A, Synskin Core Materials Honeycombs: aluminium, Nomex, polypropylene Foams: Rohacell, Polyphen, urethane, PVC, plus balsa Liquid resins using Vacuum Infusion polyurethane, polyester, vinyl ester, epoxy Thermoplastic Composites Twintex, Celstran

26 Low Pressure, Low Void Cytec Prepreg Material: (HTA/5HS/977-2/370 gsm) Fiber Volume: 60.7% Thickness: 3.6 mm Dimensions: 800 mm x 800 mm Void Volume: 0.27% Testing performed for Airbus UK

27 Property Comparison Toray Fast Curing Prepreg Cycle Time Tg (DMA) Tensile Strength Tensile Modulus Flexural Strength Flexural Modulus Void Volume Autoclave 150 min 138 C 1979 MPa ksi 109 GPa 1386 MPa 100 GPa 1.56% Quickstep 30 min 138 C 2166 MPa 111 GPa 1297 MPa 101 GPa 1.14% Material: Toray P3831C, G83C resin, T-600 fiber unidirectional, 38% RC, 52% FV Autoclave cures by Toray Composites, Quickstep cures at Quickstep facility All testing conducted by Toray Composites America

28 Adhesion to Foam Core Materials: Toray G83C/T600S UD tape, Cytec FM 94 film adhesive, 12 mm core Panels produced using same prepreg, adhesive and foam lots Autoclave cures by Degussa (Germany), Quickstep cures at Deakin University (Australia) Climbing drum peel testing conducted by Degussa

29 Delamination Resistance of Rohacell Sandwich Panels Peel Torque [Nmm/mm] Quickstep Autoclave 51WF-HT 110WF-HT 51RIST-HT 110RIST-HT Rohacell Core (increasing cell wall thickness) Core failed under high Autoclave pressure Advantage using low density cores Thin cell walls collapse under high pressure More homogenous adhesive film distribution over the surface Performed by Degussa/Germany and Deakin University/Australia

30 Time Saving Temperature [ C] Autoclave Quickstep Temperature Pressure ΔT = 175 min Pressure [bar] Time [min] -1 M18/1 G939 panels have been produced 43% quicker than in the Autoclave due to higher ramp rates M. Kaiser et. al, SAPME 2007

31 Improved Adhesion to Honeycomb Better face-sheet to core adhesion of Quickstep-produced panels Quickstep CDP-samples (24,1±5,1Nmm/mm) demonstrate a slightly higher specific peel torque (12%) than Autoclave specimens (21,5±8,7Nmm/mm) 30,00 25,00 24,14 21,54 mittleres spez. Schälmoment [N] 20,00 15,00 10,00 5,00 Autoclave Quickstep 0,00 Autoklav Quickstep

32 Property Comparison Hexcel 914C Aerospace Prepreg Cycle Time (inc. 30 min. at 110ºC and 60 min. at 180ºC) Tg (DMTA) Tensile Strength (Weft) Tensile in-plane shear strength Open Hole Tensile Strength Interlaminar Shear Strength Autoclave 300 min 200 C 600 MPa 226 Mpa 240 MPa 75 MPa Quickstep 110 min 208 C 660 MPa 229 MPa 270 MPa 83 MPa Material: Hexcel Fibredux 914, 5HS, 200 gsm, 40% RC, with 4 hour postcure Panels produced using same material lot and prepared by same Hurel technician Autoclave cures by Hurel-Hispano, Quickstep cures at Quickstep facility All testing conducted by Hurel-Hispano UK and U. Manchester

33 Optimised Cure Cycle Hexcel 8552 AGP-280 5HS Fabric Prepreg Cure Cycle - 1/30/ C C C Temperature ( C) Vacuum Pressure (kpa) TC1 TC2 VacP Time (min) Total Quickstep Cycle Time 120 minutes Nominal Autoclave cycle over 5 hours

34 Property Comparison Hexcel 8552 AGP-280 5HS Prepreg Cycle Time Tg (DMTA) Flexural Strength (Weft) ILSS Fibre volume fraction Void volume Quickstep 120 min C MPa Mpa 58-61% 0 to 0.64% Typical Autoclave 300+ min 200 C 600+ MPa 70 MPa 60% <1% All testing conducted by University of Manchester.

35 Aircraft Using Toray 2510 AGATE Products Eclipse 500 Adam A500 and A700 Epic Elite

36 Property Comparison Toray T700S PW/2510 AGATE Qualified Prepreg Cycle Time 0º tensile strength 0º Tensile Modulus 90º tensile strength 90º tensile modulus 0º compression strength 90º compression strength Interlaminar shear strength Tg by DMA, onset in storage modulus AGATE Database 240 min 132 ksi 8.09 Msi 112 ksi 7.91 Msi 103 ksi 101 ksi 8.61 ksi 298 F Quickstep 60 min 139 ksi 8.27 Msi 123 ksi 8.10 Msi 104 ksi 103 ksi 8.93 ksi 302 F Testing by Toray Composites (America)

37 Outline Drivers to get out of the autoclave Introduction to the Quickstep process Performance comparison Quickstep vs. autoclave for carbon fiber prepregs Novel solutions using fluid heat transfer Benefits and opportunities

38 Melding as an Alternative to Adhesive Bonding Melding = Melting + Molding Cold Hot Hot Meld line Cold Partially cured and uncured sections Precisely controlling the temperature of the fluid and time on their application to the part as well as the area of contact No difference in mechanical performance T. Corbett, Deakin University, Geelong

39 Melding as an Alternative to Adhesive Bonding Partially cured and uncured sections Precisely controlling the temperature of the fluid and time on their application to the part as well as the area of contact No difference in mechanical performance T. Corbett, Deakin University, Geelong

40 Melded Stiffened Skin Fully cured Fully uncured After initial cure cycle Cured, melded panel Photos: Siriwinn Sao

41 Quickstep tube production Process developed using special tooling approach and fluid curing Fully cured tubes manufactured using Toray G83C carbon fabric prepreg and Saint-Gobain Twintex glass/pp Cycle times as low as 7 minutes with epoxy Illustration: Mike Silcock

42 Additional Tubes Oval Tube 300 mm Melded Tube

43 Preform-LCM Process Flow for Quickstep Preforming Quickstep 2D/3D Preform Tool loading Vacuum bagging Tool and preform heat-up Final part Curing Infusion Quickstep Resin infiltration

44 RTM6 Trials: Quickstep Curing Vs Oven Curing Temperature [ C] Panel manufactured using RTM6 Time [min] % time saving due to faster heating and cooling rates Improvement in Tg (203 C for oven cured sample, 216 C for Quickstep cured sample)

45 Not just for simple parts

46 Effective use of simulation for tool design CAD Model Meshed Model Thermal simulation Flow simulation Tooling design for complex geometries based on Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) modeling

47 Outline Drivers to get out of the autoclave Introduction to the Quickstep process Performance comparison Quickstep vs. autoclave for carbon fiber prepregs Novel solutions using fluid heat transfer Benefits and opportunities

48 Benefits of the Quickstep Process Liquid heat transfer = faster cycle time 50 to 90% cure cycle reductions Very accurate part temperature control Out of autoclave processing = lower investment and recurring cost 75-90% lower energy consumption Significantly lower capital and tooling costs Improved productivity in operations No waiting on other parts in large batch autoclaves Lower development costs due to faster iteration of experiments

49 Benefits of the Quickstep Process Flexible Processing Rapid curing of conventional autoclave or ovenstyle prepregs Liquid Resin Infusion, such as VARTM, SCRIMP or light RTM Resin Film Infusion (RFI) Fiber-Metal Laminates New Quickstep techniques High volume tube production Melding

50 Carbon fiber hood cost study Results of study: Materials cost reduced by 21% Tooling investment lowered by 62% Capital investment reduced by 62% Layup, bagging and curing labor lowered 25% Energy cost reduction of 80% Study based on production of 10,000 parts per year

51 Targeted Aircraft Components High volume parts Stringers, frames and stiffeners (full or partially cured) Access doors Nacelle components like blocker doors Interiors (seat pans, seat backs, business/first class modules) Parts of moderate shape Floor beams Airfoil shapes: Flaps, ailerons, rudder, trim tabs Helicopter blades Fairings Clips, brackets Large or complex components Rear pressure bulkhead Wing skins and spars (exotherm reduction) Melded wing boxes, including central wing box Melded fuselage sections Use of melding to join fuselage sections

52 Potential Automotive Components Structural Floor pans Front and rear crash structures Wheel houses Monocoque chassis Exterior (OEM or aftermarket) Hoods Roof Panels Deck Lids Spoilers The technology is presently suited to volumes of 500 to 10,000 parts per year per machine

53 Thank you for attending today s webinar Questions? Comments? You can contact Dale Brosius at: dbrosius@comcast.net Today s presentation will be posted on the SME Composites Manufacturing Tech Group webpage ( We will send you an once the presentation is posted. This webinar was brought to you and made possible by the SME Composites Manufacturing Tech Group. If you are interested in becoming active in this group, please techcommunities@sme.org Mark your calendar! The SME Composites Manufacturing Event is April in Salt Lake City, UT. Visit for more information! *Plus* the SME Tooling for Composites event is coming Fall For more information, contact KMennillo@sme.org