RECENT TRENDS AND CHALLENGES IN AEROSTRUCTURES

Sp. Pantelakis, K.I. Tserpes

Laboratory of Technology & Strength of Materials, Department of Mechanical Engineering &

Aeronautics, University of Patras, Patras, 26500, Greece

ABSTRACT
In this paper, we discuss the recent trends and challenges in aerostructures.

KEYWORDS: Aerostructures, Integral structure, Composite materials, Adhesive

bonding, Damage tolerant design

1. INTRODUCTION

Since Orville and Wilbur Wright powered their Flyer with a purpose built, cast aluminum
engine to meet the specific requirements for power to weight ratio, advancements in
aeronautics rely heavily on the development of new materials, manufacturing processes
and design concepts. Increased strength to weight ratio has been the main requirement
for producing low weight aerostructures. Recently, cost was also introduced as a design
parameter, while in the last decade environment plays also a major role in the evolution
of aeronautical technology.
The main environmental goal set in the Vision for European Aeronautics in 2020
published by the Advisory Council for Aeronautical Research in Europe (ACARE) is the 50% cut
in CO2 emissions per passenger kilometre (which means a 50% cut in fuel consumption in the
new aircraft of 2020) and an 80% cut in NOx emissions. The ways to reduce emissions are to
reduce the overall fuel consumption and to increase engine efficiency. Reduction in fuel
consumption can be achieved by reducing both aircraft weight and its parasitic drag (drag due
to the non-lift component i.e. the fuselage). Weight reduction of aerostructures can be achieved
by optimizing the synergy between design of lightweight structures and use of lighter and
stronger materials. Hence, novel manufacturing techniques suitable to process the advanced
materials of today at a reasonable cost and innovative design concepts allowing to take full
advantage of the properties of advanced materials (e.g. anisotropy and damage tolerance of
composites) are the means to meet the challenges for developing the next generation
aerostructures.

2. WEIGHT REDUCTION

During the first three decades of aviation (1903-1930) the minimum weight possible was of
significant importance due to the poor performance of propulsion systems (the Wright Flyer had
about 8hp). This led to the use of wood covered with varnished fabric, which had limited
strength and loading capacities. Aluminum alloys became the baseline for aircraft structures
after corrosion issues were partially overcome in 1927. Initial advancement concentrated on the
refining of aluminum alloys and the development of new materials, such as composite systems
which consist of two or more phases on the macroscopic scale. The mechanical performance of
the combined system is superior to those of the constituent materials. These materials were first
applied on civil aircraft with the Boeing 707 in 1957, with approximately 20m2 of polymeric
composites in mainly tertiary roles, such as cabin structures.
The use of composite materials has remained limited, with only a three per cent increase
observed from the A300 to A310. However much larger structural parts, such as the vertical
stabilizer (8.3m by 7.8m at the base), were now being fabricated entirely from carbon reinforced
polymers. This gives a weight saving of more than 400kg over an aluminum alloy structure,
resulting in approximately 0.5 per cent reduction in fuel burn per hour. Aluminum/lithium alloys,
first proposed at late 1930s, were also introduced to reduce the density of components (one per

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cent of lithium reduces the density of aluminum alloys by three per cent). Production issues
initially restricted their use but they are now utilized in a variety of structural applications.
The latest development in the field of aerospace materials arises from the use of
application-specific materials (Fig.1). The A380, which at 61 per cent has the lowest percentage
of aluminum by weight of all flying Airbus models, has 20 different alloys and tempers compared
to the six utilized on the A320/330 aircraft. The A380 also saw the application of a new material,
GLARE, for fuselage skins which shows improved fatigue and impact properties at a lower
density than incumbent materials. Extensive use of GLARE and CFRPs in A380 has led to
weight reduction of 15 tonnes compared to what would be if metallic materials were used.

Figure 1: Airbus A380 materials composition (source: Airbus)

Development of aerostructrures relies on the development of new materials with improved

specific properties and the development of novel manufacturing techniques and design
concepts which will allow extending the use of existing advanced materials such as composites.

3. NEW MATERIALS

Aluminum alloys. As the most common of aviation materials, it is unsurprising that a large
number of developments are in the pipeline for aluminum alloys. These include further
refinement of current alloys to improve specific strength and corrosion resistance [1,2], as well
as developing alloys for specific manufacturing processes such as friction stir welding and laser
welding. These advancements will continue the trend for much larger numbers of alloys in
aircraft (the A380F has three planed alloys for wing panels) leading to lighter structures with
location specific properties.
Composite materials, and especially CFRPs, have proven their effectiveness as they have
managed to significantly reduce the weight of aircrafts without compromising safety. Despite the
increased use of composites, which has been reached up to 50% in Boeing 787 (Fig.2), further
substitution of metals by composites has presented formidable design challenges to realize
lighter, stiffer, stronger, damage tolerant structures. A major design problem in composite
structures is efficient joining.
 Figure 2: Boeing 787 materials composition.

Most applications of composite aerostructures are with thermosetting composites. In the

recent years, a systematic effort is in progress in order to replace thermosetting composites with
thermoplastic ones due to specific advantages of thermoplastic over thermosetting resin
including higher impact strength, better joining possibilities (e.g. welding) and recyclability.
Major drawback of thermoplastics is the lack of cost-effective manufacturing processes. A
systematic research is evolving in the last years with specific achievements (Fig.3).

a b

Figure 3: a. Stiffeners made from thermoplastic NCF material [3], b. A helicopter canopy
made from thermoplastic composite material [4].

Super-alloys. Current research in this area is focused on fourth generation super-alloys

containing ruthenium to improve micro-structural stability and increase high temperature creep
strength.
Titanium. The main area of research with titanium is in improvements to the production process
to lower costs [5]. A number of development projects are being carried out with the potential to
reduce the cost of final titanium products by very significant amounts, in the region of 30 per
cent or more.
Ceramics. Ceramics exhibit superior thermal properties and major progress has been achieved
in improving the mechanical properties so ceramics can now compete with metals in
applications for which they where previously unsuitable. Development of ceramic materials has
led to the use of these highly thermal stable materials in a variety of applications, such as main
shaft bearings, engine seals and thermal barrier coating on turbine blades. The use of ceramics
in these applications allows engines to work at a higher temperature, increasing their
thermodynamic efficiency.
Lattice materials. One area of particular interest is lattice block, which works on either
pyramidal or tetragonal truss arrangements and is produced using investment casting. These
structures weigh approximately 15 per cent of a solid plate of the same external dimensions,
whilst still exhibiting good compressive and impact strength (Fig.4).

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 Figure 4: Impact test in a cellular solid [6].

Foams. Another major development in the use of aluminum alloys is the production of foam or
cellular systems. These are produced by a number of methods such as direct foaming using
gas and investment casting, but all methods produce a material containing a number of voids.
The size, density and structure of the void produced depend on a number of variables, and
particularly the production method. There is a strong possibility that foam structures will replace
honeycomb structures and could lead to higher performance at reduced cost. The use of low
density super-alloy foam in noise abatement applications, replacing acoustic liners, would allow
for an increase in engine burn efficiency, again reducing fuel burn and emissions.
Hybrid laminates. A number of laminate systems are under investigation with a variety of
constituents. The laminate structure prevents catastrophic failure and exhibits improved impact
characteristics. One such material is fiber metal laminate, which consists of layers of composite
and aluminum and provides high impact strength and directional strength at a low density. A
number of different composites have been investigated, such as aramid, glass fiber and carbon
fires with a variety of metal layers such as aluminum, titanium and steel. New approaches are
investigating asymmetrical lay-up approaches tailoring the panel properties to the application
requirements.

4. NOVEL MANUFACTURING TECHNIQUES

The target for cost and weight reduction has led industry in the development of integral
structures for aircraft fuselage and wing assemblies [7]. Integral “unitized” panels benefit from
the absence of crack initiation sources compared with the traditional built-up structures, for
example, riveted panels. Rivets in aluminum panels are not only sources of crack initiation but
also for corrosion sites (Fig.5). On the other hand, integral panels lack the capability of retarding
or arresting crack propagation due to the lack of redundant members.

Figure 5: Corrosion sites in rivets joining aluminum aircraft panels.

Realization of integral structures is based on the development of specific manufacturing

processes, such as welding, casting, forging, large-scale extrusion, and high-speed machining,
which will permit modular prefabrication of large sections of an aircraft before final assembly.
Development of these processes for metallic materials has progressed to a point that allows
manufacturing applications. For instance, the techniques of laser welding and friction stir
welding of aluminum have shown a significant progress in the last few years. A considerable
contribution in this progress is given by numerical modeling [8-10] (Fig.6).
 a b c

Figure 6: a. FE modeling of laser beam welding process, b. FE modeling of friction stir

welding process c. Prediction of temperature field due to friction stir welding, d. Laser welded
aluminum fuselage panel [8].

Development of composite integral structures is still in the first stages due to lack of
cost-effective manufacturing techniques and joining methods.
For manufacturing thermosetting composites, there are two available techniques:
autoclave, which has unlimited capabilities but it is very expensive and RTM, which is cost-
effective but when applied for complicated geometries may cause quality problems due to
insufficient poor infiltration of resin in high density areas. On the other side, novel manufacturing
techniques which will allow for an increased use of thermoplastic composites in aerostructures
have been developed. An example represents the Cold Diaphragm Forming technique (Fig.7
[9]) which has been already applied to manufacture a series of NCF thermoplastic parts such as
stiffeners and helicopter parts (see Fig.4). In parallel to the developments of manufacturing
processes for composite integral structures, a virtual experimentation concept (Fig.8) developed
in [4] is implemented in order to optimize the processes with regard to both cost and material
quality measured in terms of mechanical properties.

Figure 7: Cold Diaphragm Forming process scheme.

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 Figure 8: Overview of optimization procedure [4].

An advantageous manufacturing technique for integrated composite structural parts is

preforming being an intermediate molding process whereby the reinforcement is assembled in
the shape of the part to be molded. This technique helps to ensure uniform properties in a
composite product, speeds the molding cycle and significantly reduces the number of joints
required. A preform of an H-shaped beam is shown in Fig.9 [11]. The main disadvantage of
preforming is the large defect density of produced parts which is attributed to the incomplete
infusion of resin in the high densities of the preform (Fig.10).

Figure 9: H preform [11].

Figure 10: X-ray images showing porosities and lack of resin areas in H preform.

5. DESIGN OF NOVEL ASSEMBLY CONCEPTS

5.1 Joining of composite structures

Composite aircraft components are mainly assembled by mechanical fasteners. Main

advantages of bolted joints are:
 Tolerance to the effects of environment and fatigue,
 Ease of inspection,
 Capability for repeated assembly,
 High reliability, and
 No special surface preparation required.
On the other hand, transfer of distributed loading along rivet lines in the assembly of flat
or curved thin-walled stiffened panels, and introduction of concentrated loads for connecting
lugs with thicker laminates are special problems in composite aerostructures. Due to the large
number of such interfaces in aircrafts, a solution to these problems is highly promising in terms
of weight and cost reductions. Besides, such interfaces and joints have not reached their best
possible mechanical performance. Indeed, high in-plane stiffness, out-of-plane strength, bearing
strength, resistance to delamination/damage tolerance of fastened areas are concurrent
mechanical objectives that are difficult to achieve simultaneously within the current design,
analysis and manufacturing practice. Moreover, it can be stated that current design practices
give non-optimal joining systems that are poor in terms of weight penalties and cost efficiency.
Consequently, composite designs are often rejected in favor of traditional metallic concepts.
The trends for the improvement of joining of composite structures are: a) replacing
mechanical fasteners either by adhesive bonding, b) constructing more integral structures
requiring lesser joints, and c) reinforcing existing joints.

5.1.1 Adhesive bonding

Adhesive bonding is the most straightforward alternative joining method to mechanical

fastening. It is established in aeronautical industry for more than 20 years. Main advantages of
bonded joints are:
 High joint efficiency index (relative strength/weight of loading joint region),
 Low part count,
 No strength degradation of laminate by use of cutouts,
 Low cost potential, and
 Fewer problems associated with corrosion.
Currently, the application of adhesive bonding in primary CFRP structures is restricted to
the manufacturing of stiffened panels, e.g. co-bonded CFRP stringers on CFRP skin of vertical
tail plane (Fig.11a) These types of CFRP primary structures are not load-critical. The use of
adhesive bonding in load-critical structures is still not feasible mainly due to:
 Environmental ageing, and
 Low quality of the bondline.

a b

Figure 11: a. Example for adhesive bonded primary structures: Stiffened CFRP skin of A380
vertical tail and b. Example of load-critical CFRP primary structure to be assembled by adhesive
bonding: fuselage structures shall be joined by adhesive bonding.

Requirements on the quality assurance of manufacturing processes of load-critical parts

are very high. Hence, a robust and reliable quality assurance process for adhesive bonding is a
must to achieve the expected benefits. The performance of adhesive bonded CFRP
components depend on the intensity of operational loads to which the adhesive bond is
exposed during in-service aircraft operation, the density and size of defects such as unbonds,
pores, delamination and the physico-chemical properties of the adhesive bonds (see Fig.12).
The operational, environmental and mechanical loads are considered in the structural design.
Defects in the joint area can be detected by means of conventional NDT (see Fig.13).

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 Figure 12: Influences on the performance of adhesive bonds [12].

Figure 13: C-scan of the bondline in a Pi-shaped adhesively bonded joint [13].

The properties of adhesive bonds result from the physico-chemical properties of

adherend surfaces and adhesives. The physico-chemical properties of adherend surfaces are
affected for example by the degree of contamination and activation after surface pre-treatment.
The physicochemical properties of adhesives depend on the curing parameters, the aging of the
adhesive, the application parameters, ambient conditions etc (see Fig.14). The adhesion
(chemical and physical interactions) of the interphase area, the morphology of the interphase
and the cohesion of the cured adhesive are resulting from these properties and are fundamental
for the strength of the adhesive joint. If the physico-chemical properties of adhesive bonds are
not sufficient adhesion failure, weak bonds or bonds that weaken in-service occur. Therefore
there is a need to characterise the physico-chemical properties of adhesives and adherend
surfaces and/or to characterise the adhesion properties of the adhesive bond. Currently, a
systematic research is in progress [12] aiming to identify, develop and adapt methods that are
suitable for the assessment of adhesive bond quality, CFRP adherend surfaces and adhesives.
Supplementary to these methods detection capabilities and the sensitivity of measuring
techniques have to be tested/improved in order to achieve quantifiable analytical results. If
these methods will be available and implemented in the field of adhesive bonding in
manufacturing, rework or in-service repair processes aviation safety can be improved
substantially by the elimination of human error.
 Figure 14: Effect of thermal treatment and wet-ageing on mode-II interlaminar fracture
toughness of composite bonded joints. Contribution of LTSM/University of Patras in ENCOMB
project [12].

5.1.2 Reinforcement of composite bolted joints

A novel design approach aiming to improve existing mechanical fastening concepts and in
some cases reduce weight of joints is the implementation of reinforcement solutions. This task
is the subject of the European research project CERFAC [14] started on 2010. In Fig.15 some
of the reinforcement solutions being examined are presented. Optimization of these solutions is
done by means of mechanical testing and numerical analysis (see Fig.16).

3D reinforcement at the hole area Hole reinforcement by Press molding of net shape
by edge near stitching patches add on reinforcement

3D reinforcement at the FPP carbon fibre

Reinforcement by embedded interface area by edge near reinforcement rosette
titanium foils stitching (EADS-IWG)

Figure 15: Reinforcement solutions for composite fastened joints [14].

Figure 16: FE model of the half of a composite bolted joint reinforced by titanium foils (red
elements) (Contribution of LTSM/University of Patras in CERFAC project [14]).

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5.1.3 Joining profiles

Modular joining elements made from NCF and 3D woven preform composites have been
developed within the frame of MOJO project [15], by combining preform technology and low
cost resin infusion techniques. The profiles have several shapes, such as Pi-, H- (see Fig.9), L-
and T-shapes and can be used to assemble composite parts of various geometries either
through co-curing (integration of parts) or adhesive bonding. The profiles were optimized by
using of numerical analysis (Fig.17).

Figure 17: FE model of Pi-shaped joint (Contribution of LTSM/University of Patras in MOJO

project [15]).

Main disadvantages of composite profiles are the low resistance to delamination and
large defect density which is due to incomplete infusion of resin in the preform. Those two
problems interact to each other since the requirement for increased out-of-plane strength leads
to a high density in which resin is very difficult to be inserted. In order to enhance out-of-plane
strength of composite profiles reinforcement solutions, such as stapling and pinning and tufting
of the material are being examined (Fig.18).

a b c

Figure 18: Reinforcement solutions for increasing out-of-plane strength of composite joining
profiles.

5.2 Damage tolerance design of composite materials

Unlike metallic structures, there is a lack of reliable methodologies for assessing fatigue life and
residual strength of composite structures. This is due to complex architecture of composites and
the early belief that composites are not prone to fatigue. This might be true for the service
stresses that are low. However, at the early beginning of 21st century, findings from both
academic researches and industrial investigations have weakened this belief.
For designing metallic aircraft structural components against fatigue, three approaches
have been mainly used: the safe-life, the fail-safe and the damage tolerance approach. The
same approaches, with small modifications, have been also used for the fatigue design of
composite aircraft structural components. In recent years, the damage tolerance approach has
been eventually adopted by the aircraft industry, due to its economic and safety advantages
(higher fatigue life combined to higher damage tolerance capability, higher corrosion resistance
lead to minimum maintenance cost). Damage tolerant composite aircraft structural components
are designed on the basis of residual strength. The residual strength of a damaged component
decreases as damage accumulates with the increased number of cycles, as shown in Fig.19.
After certain number of cycles, the residual strength will fall below a maximum expected service
stress, at which cyclic failure of the component becomes probable.

Figure 19: Schematic of a residual strength diagram.

One of the basic aspects of damage tolerant design is the initial damage pre-existing in
the material before loading. As initial damage may also considered the damage caused in the
component not by the loading that the component has been designed to carry, but from an
external factor such as an impactor during the assembling of the aircraft structure (e.g. a tool
dropped by a technician) or during the aircraft operation. The initial damage appears in a larger
extent in composites than in metals due to the presence of two or more dissimilar phases. The
effect of initial damage upon damage accumulation and as a consequence, upon residual
properties of the component must be considered in the damage tolerant design.
In LTSM/University of Patras, a damage tolerance concept for composite structural parts
has been developed. The concept is based on the combination of mechanical testing, non-
destructive testing and numerical analysis. The proposed concept relies on
 the definition of damage mechanisms to be accounted for
 the quantification of the selected damage mechanisms,
 the development of capabilities to measure the above damage quantities,
 the development of tools to compute damage evolution with regard to applied load and
finally,
 the development of a model able to evaluate the residual strength of the structural part
under consideration at appropriate inspection intervals which will ensure the residual
strength will not decrease beyond a threshold.
In the damage tolerant design of composite structural parts developed herein, all possible
damage mechanisms of composite materials are considered. However, in each application the
predominant failure mechanisms are selected as the driving mechanisms of the concept and the
appropriate NDT technique for their detection is selected.
To the date, the damage tolerance concept has been applied to the problem of fully
reversed cyclic loaded CFRP specimens made from the aeronautical thermosetting Fibredux-
HTA/6376 and the APC-2 composite systems. Computed results are in the form of residual
strength prediction (Fig.20) as a function of number of applied cycles and delamination
progression (Fig.21).

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 Figure 20: Residual strength prediction for the APC-2 thermoplastic composite.

Figure 21: Delamination accumulation in a Fibredux-HTA/6376 laminate, at various fractions

of fatigue life obtained a. experimentally using C-scan evaluation, and b. by the combined
progressive damage model after simulation of initial damage.

5.3 Durability of polymer composites

As aerospace structural applications of CFRPs demand lifetimes of 15, 25 and 50 years and the
mechanical properties of these composites have a time dependent nature, i.e. strength and
stiffness are time-dependent due to the hereditary nature (viscoelasticity) of polymers, durability
is also a major problem for composite aerostructures. To resolve this problem, it is not
expectable to perform tests on either materials or structures for very long periods to cover the
design lifetime. Therefore, there is a strong need for accelerated lifetime characterization
methodologies which can predict the evolution of stiffness and strength of CFRPs in order to
assure the integrity and safety of structural components. In this area, the combined
experimental-theoretical work Miyano and his collaborators [e.g. 16,17] on CFRPs and GFRPs,
assuming that the time-superposition principle is the same for static, creep and fatigue strengths
and therefore, could be used successfully to predict all strengths, is present state-of-the art.
However, essential effort are still needed to fully face the durability problem of composites.

6. RECYCLING OF AEROSTRUCTURES

Recycling of aerostructures is the second environmental dictation in addition to the reduction of

pollution for environmental friendly aircrafts. Contrary to pollution, for which significant steps
have been made, recycling of aerostructures is still in the beginning of development. Europe,
through funding of PAMELA (Process for Advanced Management of End-of-Life of Aircraft)
project [18], pioneers aircraft recycling initiatives. Main driver behind PAMELA project is the
estimation of Airbus that 200 aircraft per year over 20 years will be taken out of service.
One of the most important challenges in recycling of aerostructures is how composite
materials should be treated. For European manufacturers this is a particularly complex problem.
The method usually involved today for recycling composites is regrinding of the parent material
to create filler to be inserted in resin to create new composites. Although recycled material has
by definition a degraded mechanical performance compared to the parent material, the method
of regrinding generates new composite materials of very low performance. Research in the area
of composites recycling has started very recently and it is expected to be denser in the
forthcoming years. Making recycling a design parameter might pave the way to face this
demanding issue.
Figure 22: Disassembled fuselage of an Airbus A300-B4 aircraft at Tarbes Airport (PAMELA
project [18].

7. CONCLUSIONS

This paper gives an overview of some recent trends and challenges for the next generation of
aerostructures. Developments in aerostructures, mainly driven by the need for creation of more
integral structures, comprise new materials with improved specific properties as well as novel
manufacturing techniques and design concepts. For metallic integral structures, a great
progress has been achieved regarding manufacturing processes with managing to weld a
number of structural aluminum alloys but there is still much to be done. For composite
aerostructures essential efforts are still needed in the development of cost-effective
manufacturing techniques, especially for thermoplastic composites, and designing of new
joining methods that will potentially replace mechanical fasteners. Also, a big challenge for
composite structures remains the development of numerical tools capable to assess their
fatigue behavior and durability. These tools are prerequisite for the development of reliable
damage tolerant design concepts.

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