AIRCRAFT APPLICATIONS
Richard N . Hadcock
48.1 INTRODUCTION
Advanced composites, composed of high-
strength, high modulus, low density
continuous fibers embedded in polymer
matrices, first became available some 30 years
ago. Since then, composite aircraft structures
have transitioned from laboratory curiosities
into low-risk, light-weight alternatives to
metal structures. Thousands of safety-of-flight
composite components are flying in regular
service on military and civil aircraft.
Major advantages of high-performance
composite structures include weight savings,
material tailorability, improved fatigue and
corrosion resistance. Disadvantages are pri-
marily cost related. Almost all the composite
structures currently in production and service
have thermoset matrices. A few aircraft parts
are currently being made from thermoplastic
matrix composites. Metal matrix composites
are still in the development stage.
'Conventional' aircraft structural materials
now include polymer matrix composites in
addition to aluminum, titanium and steel. The
chronology of utilization of different rein-
forced plastics is shown in Fig. 48.1.
48.2 DESIGN AND CERTIFICATION
REQUIREMENTS
The general structural design and certification
requirements apply to both composite and
Handbook of Composites. Edited by S.T. Peters. Published
in 1998 by Chapman & Hall, London. ISBN 0 412 54020 7
48
metal aircraft structures. However, there are
some basic differences between the generic
civil and military requirements and further
variations associated with the intrinsic differ-
ences between the structural behavior of
metals and composites.
The US Federal Aviation Regulations (FAR)
for civil aircraft and the US Air Force (USAF)
and US Navy (USN) military aircraft require-
ments have differences. The European Joint
Airworthiness Requirements (JAR) are similar
to the FAR and have a similar numbering sys-
tem, but, again, there are some differences.
FAR sections related to design and certifica-
tion of aircraft, aero engines and propellers
contain more than 600 pages'. The equivalent
USAF documents contain almost 400 pages
and distribution is restricted.
Although the requirements are applicable
to both metal and composite structures, certifi-
cation of composite structures is very much
more extensive and requires many more tests.
The contractor must fabricate and test thou-
sands of specimens and hundreds of
subcomponents to qualify a single new car-
bon/epoxy system and associated structural
details.
As an example, the material qualification
program for the all-composite Beech Starship
included collection and analysis of thousands
of data points from element, panel and sub-
component tests. Finally, fatigue and residual
strength tests were made of a complete air-
frame2f3. A similar test program
- - was used by
CASA to certify the Airbus A320
carbon/epoxy stabilizefl.

Colton/ x- -.- x P r o p e l l e r s
8.lUllt.
FbuPhenolk x - - - x
Fig. 48.1 Aircraft structural reinforced plastics. (01994 RNH Associates.)
Certification of military aircraft composite
structures also requires a major test program.
The ’Building Block‘ approach, which starts
with static, fatigue and damage tolerance
tests of elements, followed by tests of sub-
components and full-scale components, has
been very successful in identifying and solv-
ing design and manufacturing problems
before the design is finalized and frozen. Live
fire tests are also required for US military air-
craft certification. The ’Building Block’
approach was for certification of the
Grumman/US Air Force B-1A composite hor-
izontal stabilizer and for the McDonnell
Douglas/US Navy F-18 and AV-8B composite
wings5r6.
Advanced composite materials 1023
Composite M a t e r i a l x--RhD.-x Development
Winp Spar, Fuselage Produdlon
48.3 ADVANCER COMPOSITE MATERIALS
Boron fiber reinforced plastics (BFRP) and car-
bon fiber reinforced plastics (CFRP) advanced
composite materials were first used for aircraft
structures in 1966. Epoxy matrices were used
for these materials, which were produced as
prepregs in the form of unidirectional prepreg
tape.
Use of BFRP has been limited by the very
high material price (more than $900/kg in
1993).
Since the early 1970s, CFRP prepregs have
become available in the form of unidirectional
tape, woven broadgoods and other forms with
many different types of carbon fibers and with
many different epoxy, polyimide and bis-
maleimide (BMI) thermoset matrices. CFRPs
have also been available with PEEK and other
thermoplastic (TP) matrices.
1024 Aircraft applications

Almost all CFRP aircraft structural compo- Because the price of aviation fuel has
nents have been made with thermoset dropped dramatically since 1978 relative to
matrices (1993 prices ranged from $60/kg for material and labor costs, aircraft prices have
epoxy matrix unidirectional tape to $250/kg now become far more important a design
for BMI matrix materials). Thermoplastic requirement than weight savings. As such, it
matrix applications have been limited by the should now be assumed that the customer will
high price (about $250/kg) and low compres- pay very little premium for weight savings
sion strength of these materials. and the prices of composite components
Glass fiber reinforced plastics (GFRP) con-should be comparable to their metal counter-
sisting of E-glass, and the higher strength parts. Early in the design phase, weight
S-glass fibers in epoxy, polyimide and pheno- savings can be transformed into cost savings
by reconfiguring the airplane, but this is not
lic matrices are being used for helicopter rotor
blades, for many secondary structures such as possible once the overall design is frozen.
radomes and fairings. Glass/phenolic ther- Weight savings are most valuable early in the
moset and glass/polyethersulfone and other design phase, but the value of weight savings
thermoplastic matrix composites are used for diminishes as the design becomes finalized.
fire-resistant cabin and freight hold panels and The design of the structure is primarily
liners because of their low heat and smoke dictated by production costs and by main-
release properties. Prices of glass /epoxy tainability and repair considerations.
prepreg range from $5/kg to $10/kg. Composite material prices are very high and
DuPont introduced KevlaP 49 aramid fiber costs of design, certification testing, tooling,
in 1971. Aramid fiber reinforced plastics inspection, material storage, waste material
(AFRP) have low density, high tension disposal and repair are all higher than for alu-
strength and excellent impact damage resis- minum structures. However, these higher
tance, but low compression strength. AFRP costs can be offset by designing large integral
materials are being used for radomes, leading composite components which reduce part
edges, fairings, floors and other secondary count, the number of joints and assembly
structure applications. AFRP has also been costs.
used with some local CFRP reinforcement for Most aerospace companies are using the
the complete airframe of the Avtek 400A busi- 'Concurrent Engineering' approach, where
ness aircraft. engineering, manufacturing, quality control,
Most of the composite primary and safety- logistics support and cost estimating person-
of-flight structure components (wings, nel are formed into collocated teams. The more
fuselages, empennage and control surfaces) important interfaces are listed in Fig. 48.2.
currently in service are made from The costs and prices of aircraft components
carbon/epoxy prepreg unidirectional tape or vary considerably with the type of aircraft and
woven broadgoods. Some light aircraft are the type, construction, size and materials used
made almost entirely from GFRP woven for the component.
broadgoods. Current (19924) civil aircraft prices vary
from $70/kg ($30/lb) for a small private air-
48.4 THE DESIGN PROCESS
craft to between $800/kg and $lOOO/kg for
airliners and business aircraft. Military aircraft
Composites Structure design involves many costs are very much higher and are very
different disciplines and is far more complex dependent on the total numbers of aircraft pro-
than metal structures design because of the duced. These range from a cumulative average
anisotropic strength and behavior of the com- cost of $2100/kg for 3000 General Dynamic
posite material7. F-16 fighters to more than $12 OOO/kg for 20
 The design process 1025

Requirements I
External geometry
Interface geometry
External loads
Structural requirements
Interface requirements
Operational environment
Weight & cost targets

Design engineering
Internal loads (from stress)
Materials selection
(with M&P and stress)
Cost/weight tradeoffs
Detail design
Joints and attachments
Detail drawings
(Paper/computer)

I Engineering Production Other

Loads & dynamics Materials & processes Quality control
Loads Material specifications Material control
Stiffness requirements Process specifications NDI equipment
Flutter analysis, etc. M&P standards NDI/DI requirements
Accept/reject criteria
Stress Manufacturing (with stress and M&P)
Finite element models Manufacturing engineering Dimensional inspection
Design allowables Manufacturing methods MRR action/damage repair
(with M&P) Shop instructions (with stress, design and M&P)
Structural optimization Subassembly
(with weights) Assembly Cost estimatingkontrol
Stress analysis Manufacturing
Facilities/equipment Materials (including costs of
Test requirements
Stress reports Autoclaves/presses/ovens waste and waste disposal)
Refrigerators Engineering
Weights ATMs/TPMs Quality control
Weight targets NC ply cutters MRR actions
Weight control RTM/RIM equipment IE, facilities and equipment
Machining/ drilling/ trimming Rates and overheads
Structural test
Element tests Tooling Product support
Subcomponent tests Tool design Maintenance & repair manu LS
Static and fatigue tests Moldform tooling Inspection requirements
Environmental tests Bonding tooling Repair mater& and processes
Flight test support Assembly tooling Special repairs

Fig. 48.2 Design/manufacturing interfaces. (0

1994 RNH Associates.)
1026 Aircraft applications

v)
Z

1
7
1000
100
i”’
MILITARY TRANSPORTS

AIRLINERS

BUSINESSNC

tff PRIVATE AIC

w- 1
0
U
a
0.1

0.01
1000 10000 100000 1000000
OPERATING EMPTY WEIGHT, kg
a

CIVIL

v)
Z
0
i
1
7
te
W-
0
a
a

b OPERATING EMPTY WEIGHT, kg

Fig. 48.3 Aircraft costs and prices. (a) Fixed wing aircraft; (b) helicopters. (01994 RNH Associates.)
 Structural applications 1027

48.5 STRUCTURAL APPLICATIONS grown during the past 30 years. Published

During the past 30 years, structural applica-
tions of composite materials have grown from
a few radomes and fairings to the entire air-
frame. Many hundreds of CFRP wings,
stabilizers and flight control surfaces are cur-
rently flying in regular service.
The composites weight fraction has also
weight fractions are based on either airframe
weight, structure weight (airframeplus landing
gear), or operating empty weight; and in some
cases the base is not defined at all. Because of
these differences, the structural composite
material weight fractions shown in Fig. 48.4
have been normalized in terms of per cent
structure weight (airframe plus landing gear).

40-
xi---------- AV-88 Rafale DGripen
1
\ \ I
30
25
20
15
10

0
YEAR (FIRST FLIGHT)

Fig. 48.4 Composite material weights. (a) Tactical aircraft; (b) civil transports. (01994 RNH Associates.)
1028 Aircraft applications
The composites weight fraction for tactical
aircraft, Fig. 48.4(a), appears to have leveled
between 22% and 26%. The Lockheed F-22A
airframe is composed of 26% composites, 30%
titanium and 14% aluminum; the McDonnell
Douglas F/A-l8E structural weight is 22%
composites, 15%titanium, 29% aluminum and
14%steeP.
Composite weight fractions for other pro-
duction and technology demonstrator military
aircraft, such as the Grumman A-6E (which
has a CFRP wing designed and manufactured
by Boeing), Northrop B-2A bomber and YF-
23A fighter, General Dynamics F-16XL,
Grumman X-29A, Rockwell/MBB X-31A, IAI
Lavi, the British Aerospace EAP, the
Eurofighter 2000 and the Mitsubishi FS-X, are
not included because of space limitations or
availability of weight data.
The composites weight fraction for civil
transports, Fig. 48.4(b), has two branches: the
I-
10 20
COMPOSITES, % STRUCTURE WEIGHT
Fig. 48.5 Composite weight savings. (01994 RNH Associates.)
upper branch includes most of the Western
European airliners and the Boeing 777; the
lower branch includes the McDonnell MD-11,
Ilushin 11-96 and the Boeing 737X. The latter
aircraft is reported to have less composites
than the Boeing 737-300 because many of the
operators will be the smaller airlines which do
not have composite maintenance and repair
facilities12.
Weight savings provided by composites
vary considerably with the type of aircraft and
component. Weight savings, in terms of com-
posite weight fraction, are shown in Fig. 48.5.
These tend to decrease as the overall compos-
ite weight fraction increases. These data were
obtained from different sources, primarily
References 7, 9 and 12-18. It should be noted
that the weight savings for the AV-8B are
based on a weight estimate for comparable
aluminum wing, and not the AV-8A aluminum
wing, which is smaller15.
A
TACTICAL AIRCRAFT
I
TRANSPORT AIRCRAFT
30
 Structural components 1029

48.6 STRUCTURAL COMPONENTS combat and technology demonstrator aircraft

Many composite components are currently
being produced in the US and overseas for
military and civil aircraft. Most of the major
commercial aircraft primes subcontract out the
production of more composite components
than they build in-house.
Composite structural and semi-structural
components which are currently being pro-
duced are listed in Table 48.1. Some specific
aircraft components are described later in this
section.
Different forms of construction have been
used for many of these components. Some
Table 48.1 Aircraft composite structural components
wings have composite skins which are bolted
to metal substructure (e.g. the McDonnell
Douglas F/A-18, Grumman X-29, Rockwell
X-31, General Dynamics F-l6XL, IAI Lavi),
other wings have composite skins which are
bolted to composite substructure (e.g.
McDonnell Douglas AV-8B, Bell/Boeing V-22,
SAAB Gripen, Grumman/Boeing A-6E,
Dassault Rafale, British Aerospace EAP,
Eurofighter 2000)6,9,12,14,15,17.
At least three different forms of construc-
tion have been used for stabilizers: composite
skins bonded to metal/honeycomb substruc-
ture (Grumman F-14, McDonnell Douglas F-15

Wings: Fuselages: Propulsion systems:

Box beam skins Radomes Engine fan blades
Box beam substructure Forward fuselage Engine casings
Winglets Canopy frames (helicopters) Nozzle flaps
Leading edge flaps/slats Mid fuselage Thrust reversers
Ailerons/Flaperons Rear fuselage Engine nacelles and cowlings
Flaps Speedbrakes Fan cowls
Flap vanes Tailcone Engine doors
Spoilers Floor beams Fences
Fixed leading edges Floors Transcowls
Fixed trailing edge panels Rotordomes Firewalls
Flap track fairings Crew compartment armor Turbine blade containment
Actuator fairinns Rotary launchers rings
Cabin doors (helicopters) Drive shafts
Empennage: Cabin and freight hold Pylon fairings
Horizontal stabilizerslcanards: linings and partitions Fuel tanks
Skins Overhead baggage Drop tanks
Substructure compartments Propeller blades
Elevators Air ducts
Miscellaneous:
Leading edges Flight refuelling probes
Fixed trailing edge panels Crew seats
He1icopter/Rotorcraft: Toilet waste tanks
Tips
Main rotor blades Filament-wound air bottles
Vertical stabilizers: Tail rotor blades Cargo containers
Skins Rotor drive shafts Cabin door balance springs
Substructure Tooling
Doors and fairings: - moldforms
Rudders
Leading edges Landing gear doors - assembly/bonding fixtures
Fixed trailing edge panels Landing gear fairings - checking fixtures
Ventral fins Landing gear pods Honeycomb core (GFRP and
Tips Wing-fuselage fairings CFRP)
Antenna housings Stabilizer fairings Damage repair (metal and
EauiDment access doors composites)
1030 Aircraft applications

and F-18, Mikoyan Mig-29), composite skins stabilizer of the Grumman F-l4A, Fig. 48.6.
bolted to metal substructure (General The Navy requirement that the stabilizer
Dynamics F-16), and composite skins bolted to should be fully qualified by full-scale static
composite substructure (McDonnell Douglas and fatigue tests one year before the first flight
AV-8B, Bell/Boeing V-22)9,15*17,20J1. was satisfied by successful tests in 1969. More
Elevators, rudders, ailerons and other con- than 1500 stabilizers had been built when F-14
trol surfaces have generally been made by production ended in 1991l'.
bonding composite skins to substructure com-

spars.
All composite sheet-stiffened construction
is used for the forward fuselage of the
McDonnell Douglas AV-8B and the complete
fuselage of the Bell/Boeing V-229J4,16.
There are also many variations in the con-
struction of composite components used for
civil aircraft and helicopters.

48.6.1 MILITARY AIRCRAFT COMPONENTS

Development of advanced composites tech-
nology was initiated in 1964 by General
Bernard Schriever of the US Air Force who
tasked the Air Force Materials Laboratory
(AFML) at Wright Patterson Air Force Base,
Ohio, to contract some US aircraft companies
to design, fabricate and test various structural
components made from boron/epoxy.
McDonnell made 45 rudders which were
installed on F-4 fighters for service evaluation;
Fig. 48.6 (a) Grumman F-14; (b) F-14 borodepoxy
General Dynamics was awarded a major con- horizontal stabiliser.The stripes on the lower cover
tract to develop a boron/epoxy horizontal are aluminium foil for lightning protection.
stabilizer for the F-111 in 1966; and Grumman (Courtesyof Grumman Corporation.)
won a contract to design and fabricate a wing
box beam for a conceptual advanced fighter in
1968. The US Navy awarded a contract to Boron/epoxy covers were utilized for the
Douglas to develop a carbon/epoxy horizon- McDonnell F-15 horizontal and vertical stabi-
tal stabilizer for the A 4 in 1971. Douglas had lizers and rudders. The large speed brake,
previously made and flown a carbon/epoxy which is located on the fuselage behind the
wing flap on an A-4. By May 1971, more than canopy, is carbon/epoxy-aluminum honey-
80 different advanced composite aircraft com- comb sandwich. The F-15 was still being
ponent programs had been initiatedzJ3. produced in 1994,20 years after the first flight.
The first production application of The principal production use of
advanced composites for a safety-of-flight boron/epoxy was for the F-14 and F-15 stabi-
component was the boron/epoxy horizontal lizer covers. Boron/epoxy was selected

because a comprehensive design database was
available for the material from Air Force
development programs and was less expen-
sive than carbon/epoxy. During the
intervening years, this situation has changed.
Extensive design data have been generated for
many different carbon/epoxy systems and
prices are now significantly lower than for
boron/epoxy,
Carbonlepoxy was selected for the hori-
zontal and vertical stabilizers covers of the
General Dynamics F-16. These covers are
bolted to aluminum substructure. More than
3000 F-16s have been produced between since
1976.
McDonnell Douglas, with Northrop as the
major subcontractor, was awarded the Navy
Air Combat Fighter contract in 1976 with the
F/A-l8A, an enlarged and extensively modi-
fied version of the Northrop YF-17. To save
weight and offset the increased weight of the
landing gear and other components required
for carrier operation, carbon/epoxy materials
were used for the wing, tail, control surfaces
Percent of Structural Weight
FIA-18CID FlA-18UF
UAlurninurn 49 ________ 31
HSteel ___________ 15________ 14
NUilTitaniurn 13 ________ 22
Carbon EDOXV.--10 ________
Fig. 48.7 McDonnell Douglas F/A-l8E/F material usage. (Courtesy of McDonnell Douglas.)
Structural components 1031
and access panels. The aircraft is currently
being extensively redesigned and enlarged.
Designated the F/ A-1 8E / F, carbon / epoxy
accounts for 18%of the structure weight com-
pared to 10% for the F/A-18A. Because of its
higher strength and stiffness, the new
IM7/977-3 carbon/epoxy system is being
used for the wing and empennage skins
instead of AS4/3501-6’J2. F/A-l8E/F material
usage is shown in Fig. 48.721.
In 197677, McDonnell Douglas extensively
redesigned the British Aerospace AV-8A
Harrier vertical take off and landing (VTOL)
fighter/attack aircraft for the US Marine Corps
to improve range/payload capability.
Carbon/epoxy was utilized for the complete
wing, horizontal stabilizer and forward fuse-
lage. Designated the AV-8B Harrier 11, the
composite wing weight is about the same as the
aluminum wing of the AV-8A but has 19%more
area, a 50% increase in internal fuel capacity
and a supercritical airfoil. Range-payload capa-
bility was increased by 100%. Because of high
temperatures from the exhaust in the VTOL
18
1032 Aircraft applications
mode, carbon/bismaleimide is used for the
skins of the inboard flaps and the strakes,
which are mounted under the fuselage9J2.
Usage of composites, which account for 26% of
the airframe weight, is shown in Fig. 48.8.2l
Composites are also used on other US tacti-
cal aircraft. The Navy funded Boeing to design
a CFRP wing for the Grumman A-6E in 1987
because fatigue of the aluminum wings lim-
ited the life of the aircraft. Boeing built 179
composite wings in Seattle, which were
installed on the last batches of 21 A-6 aircraft.
An additional 158 aircraft were retrofitted
with CFRP wings. A follow-on program for
120 wings was canceled by the Navy in
September 1993.
The first production application of car-
bon/thermoplastic composites was the
stabilizers of the Lockheed F-117A interdictor.
The complete fleet of F-117A aircraft are being
filled with these stabilizers to extend the flight
envelope9J2.
The wing, fuselage, tail and the rotors of the
Bell/Boeing V-22 Osprey multi-mission VTOL
tilt-rotor aircraft are almost entirely made
from CFRP and GFRP. Composites, which
Fig. 48.8 McDonnell Douglas/BAe AV-8B material usage. (Courtesy of McDonnell Douglas.)
account for 44% and 7% respectively of the
structure and rotor weight of the aircraft, are
estimated to have provided a 25% weight sav-
ing relative to a comparable metal airframe1*J4.
Because weight is so critical to performance of
this aircraft, much of the structure is currently
being redesigned to further reduce weight and
costs'*.
The outer skin and much of the substruc-
ture of the large Northrop B-2A bomber is
made from carbon/epoxy. The B-2A was
designed and produced by a team composed
of Northrop, Vought and Boeing. The B-2A,
which has a wing span of 52 m (172 ft), a wing
area of 464 m2 (5000 ft') and a gross weight of
180 metric tomes (4000001b), first flew on
July 17,1989 and is by far the largest 'compos-
ite' aircraft to fly to date9J2.
McDonnell Douglas is using 6800 kg
(15 000 lb) of composite materials for control
surfaces, stabilizer leading edges, the tail cone,
landing gear doors and pod, engine nacelles,
and the wing-fuselage fairing of the US Air
Force C-17A transport.
These components, shown shaded in Fig.
48.9, account for 8% of the structure weight

and are made by McDonnell Douglas and
many different American and European sub-
contractors including Grumman (ailerons,
elevators, rudders), Heath Techna (fairings),
Beechcraft (landing gear doors),
Aerostructures Hamble (flap hinge fairings
and trailing edge panels) and Northwest
Composites (main landing gear pods).
Since 1970, more than 7500 fixed wing US
military aircraft have been produced which
utilized composites for safety-of-flight compo-
nents, such as horizontal stabilizers, wings
and control surfacess.
Composite materials have also been used
for many structural components of European
and other military aircraft. In France, Avion
Marcel Dassault-Breguet Aviation and
Aerospatiale have been involved in composite
structures development programs with the
French government support since 1972. A
boron/epoxy rudder was flown on a Dassault
Mirage I11 in 1975; horizontal stabilizers were
flown on the Mirage F I in 1976 and composites
first entered production in 1978 with CFRP
ailerons for the Mirage F I, which provided
NONSTRUCTURALPARTS,
LINERS, TROOP SEATS
7
Fig. 48.9 McDonnellDouglas C-17A composite applications.(Unpublished:all rights reserved under copy-
right law by McDonnell Douglas. Reprinted with permission.)
Structural components 1033
26% weight saving26. The Dassault Mirage
2000, which first flew in 1978, has a CFRP fin
designed and built by Aerospatiale, a
CFRP/BFRP hybrid rudder, and CFRP
elevons, nose landing gear doors and some
equipment doors. Composites account for
about 12% of the structure weight and provide
a 25% weight savings of that total. About 350
Mirage 2000 had been delivered by the end of
1993133.
Dassault Rafale C and M tactical combat air-
craft are now in production with CFRP wings,
forward fuselage, vertical stabilizer, fin, and
control surfaces with an AFRP radome and jet
pipe fairings, accounting for about 25% of the
structure. Other advanced materials include
superplastic formed-diffusion bonded tita-
nium leading edge flaps and canards and
aluminum-lithium fuselage panels9J3.
British Aerospace (BAe) designed and built
a CFRP wing for the SEPECAT Jaguar and
teamed with MBB, in Germany, to design,
build and fly a CFRP taileron for the Panavia
Tornado in the early 1980s. The British gov-
ernment authorized BAe to go-ahead by with
. .
GFRPlNomex Core
KevladFoam Core
Kevlar/Nomex
1034 Aircraft applications

development of the EAP (Experimental

Aircraft Programme) in 1982. The EAP had a
carbon/epoxy wing with carbon/epoxy sub-
structure co-bonded to the lower cover. BAe
made the right wing and Aeritalia, who con-
tributed about 15% of the costs of the program,
made the left wing9J3.The EAP flew in 1986
and the CFRP wings provided much of the
technology and background of experience
used currently by BAe Aeritalia (now Alenia),
CASA and MBB-Dornier (now DASA) for
Eurofighter 2000 (EFA) carbon/epoxy wings,
fin,rudder and control surfaces. The first EFA
flew in 19939.
The EAP wing also provided BAe with the
experience to assist SAAB in the design of the
CFRP wing for the Swedish JAS 39 Gripen
multi-mission fighter. The first three and a half
wing sets were manufactured by BAe, subse-
quent wings and all other CFRP components
are manufactured by SAAB in Sweden. CFRP
components include the wings, canards, fin,
outboard elevons, landing gear doors, fuse-
lage and fin fairings and some fuselage access
doors, shown in Fig. 48.10. The Gripen first
flew in 1988 and entered service with the
Swedish Air Force in 19939,'3J7.
Other military aircraft which have
AIRFRAME
advanced composite components and are cur- The airframe S ~ N C ~ I Cis~deslgned for hlgh durablilty and lo modern
rently being produced include the Russian damage tolerancecdteda. To keep the welght low, abaut 25 %of the
s t i c h m Is made lmm carbon flbre CompoGltes.
Mikoyan MiG-29 fighter and the Ukrainian
Antonov An-124 heavy transport. The rear
portions of the horizontal stabilizers, fins, md-
ders, ailerons and flaps of the MiG-29 have
carbon/epoxy covers, which account for about
7% of the airframe weight. Mixed composites
are used for many secondary structure appli-
cations on the An-124 stabilizer including
trailing edge panels, landing gear pods, wing-
fuselage and flap track fairings, floor beam
caps, and nacelles. About 5500 kg (12 125 lb) of (c) Carbon Fibre CompositesContent
CFRP, AFRP and GFRP are used on the An-
124, saving 1800 kg (3968 lb)9,13.
Many technology development and flight
demonstration programs which have incorpo- Fig. 48.10 SAAB JAS39 Gripen (a) Composite wing
rated CFRP wings and other components. assembly; (b), (c) composite applications. (Courtesy
These include the Rockwell International of SAAB Military Aircraft.)
 Structural components 1035

HiMAT, Grumman X-29A, Israeli Aircraft structures. Lockheed designed and made 18
Industries Lavi (the CFRP wing and vertical AFRP fairing panels and 8 AFRP ailerons for
stabilizer were designed and built by L-1011 Tristars. Lockheed changed many
Grumman), the General Dynamics F-16XL and glass/epoxy panels and fairings to
the Rockwell International/MBB X-31A9. Kevlar /epoxy for the extended-rangeTristars3I.
Aeroelastic tailoring was used on the The experiences gained from the ACEE pro-
HiMAT and X-29A to improve maneuver capa- grams provided the confidence needed by
bility and, in the case of the X-29A, prevent Boeing to select CFRP for the Boeing 757, 767
divergence of the forward-swept wing2s,29. and 737-300 control surfaces in the late 1970s.
Dornier designed, built and ground tested a Boeing uses about 1500 kg (3300 lb) of
CFRP wing for the Alpha Jet in 198630. advanced composites in the 757 and 767 and
680 kg (1500 lb) in the 737-300. CFRP compo-
48.6.2 CIVIL AIRCRAFT APPLICATIONS
nents include elevators, rudders and many
secondary structure components made from
Prior to 1972, the major US aerospace compa- CFRP, GFRP and CFRP/GFRP hybrids. By the
nies advanced composite development end of 1988, composite components on Boeing
programs were primarily directed toward mil- airplanes had accumulated more than 9-mil-
itary applications of these materials. Boeing lion flight hours3*.Most of the 757 and 767
flew a boron/epoxy fore-flap on a 707 in 1970, fairings and fixed panels were originally
but commercial aircraft advanced composites aramid / epoxy or aramid / carbon/epoxy
development essentially began when the hybrid-honeycomb sandwich construction.
ACEE (Aircraft Energy Efficiency) Program Because of surface and matrix cracking, much
was initiated by NASA in 1972. The program of the aramid/epoxy was replaced with
determined properties of different carbon/ glass/epoxy, to improve surface p r ~ t e c t i o n ~ ~ .
epoxy material systems after long-term world- Following definition in 1990 of the 777, the
wide environmental exposure and spectrum world’s largest twin-engined jet, Boeing
fatigue loading equivalent to 20 years or 36 000 formed design/build teams to develop the air-
flights of airline service. The program also frame and systems. About 15 000 kg
included flight service of numerous composite (33 000 lb) of composite materials are used on
components to obtain confidence in the long- the 777. The empennage, produced by Boeing
term durability of advanced composite at the new Composites Manufacturing Center
structures and materials3*. at Fredrickson, Washington, is made from a
The Boeing carbon/epoxy flight service new toughened-matrix carbon/epoxy com-
program, which began in 1973, included 108 posite prepreg, manufactured by Toray in a
Boeing 737 spoilers, ten 727 elevators and four plant next to the Fredrickson facility. The same
737 horizontal stabilizers. The McDonnell material is used for the floor beams, which are
Douglas carbon/epoxy program included 20 produced by Rockwell International. Other
DC-10 carbon/epoxy rudders and a single composite components are supplied by com-
vertical stabilizer. By 1991, one of the DC-10 panies in the USA, Canada, Europe, Australia,
rudders and the vertical stabilizer, which was Singapore, Brazil and Korea. The first 777 flew
installed on a Finnair DC-10, had respectively in June 1994 and deliveries began in July 1995.
accumulated 58 300 and 17 580 h o ~ r s l * , ~As ~ .of September 1996, Boeing had delivered 35
Lockheed made a carbon/epoxy vertical stabi- aircraft and had 281 orders from fourteen air-
lizer for the L-1011, which was tested but not lines8J2. Composite structure on the 777 is
flown. shown in Fig. 48.11.
The Lockheed flight service program was The stabilizers have laminated skins with
primarily directed to Kevlar/epoxy (AFRP) cocured stringers, solid laminate spars, simple
1036 Aircraft applications
m composite materlais
Toughenedmaterial for Improved damage reslstaneaand damagetolerance,
- and parts are deslgnedfor slmple, bolted or bondedIwairS
Corroslon andfatlgue reslsmt
* Welght savings
ITwghened graphite
I Glsphlte
1 HYbm
6 Flb.wb
Wlng fixed leading
Trailing edge panel
Nose
radome
Fig. 48.11 Boeing 777 composite structure. (Courtesyof the Boeing Company.)
honeycomb sandwich ribs and non-structural
forward torque boxes. They are designed for
simple repair. The horizontal stabilizer has a
span of 21.3m (70 ft) and the projected tail
area is 101 m2 (1090 ft2),about twice the span
and four-times the area of the AV-8B ~ i n g ~
Following successful airline service of the
DC-10 CFRP rudders and fin, deployed under
the ACEE program, and production experi-
ence from composite components on the
MD-80, McDonnell Douglas extended use of
composites on the MD-11 wide-body airlineP.
Almost 5000 kg (11000 lb) of composite
materials are used on the MD-11 of which
4400 kg (9700 lb) is structural (primarily car-
bon/epoxy). Weight savings of 20-30% have
been achieved after trading some weight sav-
ings for improved reliability, maintainability,
durability and producibility. Most of the com-
posite structure is solid-skin or Rohracell foam
sandwich construction. Honeycomb sandwich
construction has been avoided because of sus-
ceptability to impact damage and moisture
penetration into the core1*.MD-11 composite
components are shown in Fig. 48.12.
As a result of the very successful French
Dassault-Aerospatiale composites develop-
Outboard alleron fln torque box
Stablllzertorque box
leading and trailing
ment programs, which included components
for military aircraft and a complete CFRP wing
for the Falcon 10, Airbus Industrie began
using carbon/epoxy for the A-300-600 spoilers
in 1983 and for the complete vertical stabilizer,
, rudder,
~ ~ . elevators and spoilers of the A310-300
in 1985. The vertical stabilizer is used as a fuel
tank on extended range aircraft26.
The entire tail, control surfaces, and cabin
floor of the A320, A321, A330 and A340 are car-
bon/epoxy. The A300 medium-range narrow-
body airliner entered airline service in 1988 the
larger A330 and A340 wide-body airliners
entered service in 1993 and 1991 respectively.
Composite applications on the A320 are
shown in Fig. 48.1326.
The Airbus CFRP horizontal stabilizers are
designed and manufactured by CASA in Spain
and the vertical stabilizers are manufactured
by Deutsche Airbus in germ an^^,^^.
Avions de Transportation Regionale (ATR),
the Aerospatiale/ Alenia consortium, uses car-
bon/epoxy for all the control surfaces and
Kevlar/epoxy for many components of the
ATR 42 regional airliner which was certifi-
cated in 1985.

Winglet Trailing Edge No. 2 Engine inlet
Access Panels
Outboard Ailerons
Fig. 48.12 McDonnell Douglas MD-11 composite structure. (01991 by McDonnell Douglas Corporation.
All rights reserved. Reprinted by permission.)
ATR utilizes carbon/epoxy for the complete
outer wing boxes of the ATR 72, a stretched
version of the ATR 42, the first airliner with a
CFRP wing box to be fully certificated in
Europe and the USA. It first flew in 1988 and
was certificated and entered airline service in
1989. The wing box, which is a fuel tank, is
made by Aerospatiale at Nantes. The weight of
the wing box was reduced by 130 kg (286 lb)
using CFRP instead of a l u m i n ~ m ' ~ , ~ ~ .
Composite materials used on the ATR 72
and details of the CFRP wing box are shown in
Fig. 48.14.
Domier chose CFRP for the complete tail
and rear fuselage of the Domier 328 regional
airliner, which also has an AFRP pressure bulk-
head. The 328 was fully certificated and
entered airline service in 1993. Material distrib-
ution and details of the CFRP rear fuselage/fh
box structure are shown in Fig. 48.15.
The de Havilland Canada Dash 8, Embraer
Brizilia, SAAB 340 and other regional airliners
are using AFRP or CFRP for many secondary
structure components.
Structural components 1037
Maln Landing Gear
Door and Struts
OF-*
Many thousands of structural components
made from composites are currently in airline
service. Damage assessment and repair has
been a major problem to the airlines. Too many
different fiber-matrix systems are currently
being used, even by the same OEM; prepreg
materials are expensive and have a limited life;
damage assessment requires special non-
destructive test equipment and experienced
technicians; minor repairs need special skilled
mechanics; major repairs must be made in an
autoclave and take many days to complete;
cost of replacement parts or leasing spares are
much higher than metal part^^^,^^.
IATA sent a questionnaire to the airlines to
obtain information on composites maintain-
ability in December 1991. The ATA/IATA/SAE
Commercial Aircraft Composite Repair
Committee (CACRC) was formed the follow-
ing year. Committee members include
representatives from the FAA, airlines, OEMs,
NASA and material s ~ p p l i e r s ~ ~ .
1038 Aircraft applications

m CFRP Ailerons
IAFRP
CFRPIAFRP Spoile
GFRP shroud

j H o r c o n t al
stabi
. Iize r s
and elevators

Landing gear doors trailing edge

Fairings access
panels

Fig. 48.13 Airbus A320 composite applications.

corbcn 1 nomex sandwich

c o k n rnonolimic structure
kwhr 1 n o m u sandwich
kevlar 1 nornex sandwich
wifh stiffening carbon plies
A fib-lair I nomex sandwich A

dsm cobin floor an& : kevlar / nomex sandwich

propeller plader : fibreglorr / polyurethane foorn / d ~ r n i n i ~spar
m
broker : carbon
5,.Ib,II 91

CARBON SPARS
(FRONT AND RFAR )

(b)

CARBON PANELS
(TOP AND BOTTOM)

Fig. 48.14 ATR72 (a) composite applications; (b) CFRP wing box. (Courtesyof ATR.)
 Structural components 1039

Domier 328 CFC Components of the Rear Fuselage , ,u ,

653515.11
1,~ ~
and the Vertical Stabllirer Box

(b)

Fig. 48.15 Domier 328 (a) composite applications; (b) rear fuselage and fin. (Courtesy of Domier.)

48.6.3 GENERAL AVIATION APPLICATIONS The Starship and the one-piece CFRP wing,
The Windecker Eagle, which flew in 1967, was which has a span of 16.6 m (54 ft) are shown in
the first all-composite (GFRP) airplane to Fig. 48.16.
obtain full FAA certification. The Eagle was The complete rear fuselage, tail, and canard
followed by the Lear Avia Lear Fan 2100, of the Italian Rinaldo Piaggio P.180 Avanti is
which had an airframe made from CFRP with carbon/epoxy; the Avanti was granted full
some AFFW secondary ~tructure'~. The Lear certification in 1990, but only 20 aircraft had
Fan program was terminated in 1985 because been sold by the end of 1993. Piaggio was
of certification problems and costs. planning to build 10 aircraft in 1994.
The Beech Starship 2000, which is almost Most of the airframe of the Avtek 400A is
entirely made from carbon/epoxy-faced hon- Kevlar/epoxy with carbon/epoxy reinforce-
eycomb sandwich construction, received full ment. Avtek was initiating the FAA
FAA certification in 198837.By December 1993, certification program in 199338.
Beech had produced 50 Starships and produc- Some European all-composite (primarily
tion was put on hold because of slow sales. GFRP with carbon/epoxy reinforcement)
1040 Aircraft applications
Fig.48.16 (a) Beech starship 2100; (b) starship wing
upper cover. (Courtesyof Raytheon Aircraft Co.)
aircraft include the British Slingsby T67 Firefly
trainer (USAF T-3A), the German Grob G115
and FFT Eurotrainer. The Russian Sukhoi Su-
26 and Su-31 aerobatic competition aircraft
have carbon/epoxy wings and tails.
CFRP and GFRP materials have been used
for many experimental and home-built and kit
aircraft. These include the Voyager, designed
by Burt Rutan and built by Scaled Composites,
which made the first unrefuelled non-stop
flight around the world in December 1986.
48.6.4 HELICOPTER APPLICATIONS
Glass/epoxy main helicopter rotor blades
were initially developed in the late 1960s by
Messerschmitt-Elkow-Blom(MBB) in Germany,
Sud-Aviation (later Aerospatiale) in France
and Kaman in the United States. The MBB
80.105, which has GFRP blades, was first pro-
duced in 1967.
With the exception of Sikorsky, almost all of
the helicopters currently in production world-
wide have composite blades.
Aerospatiale (now part of Eurocopter
International, which was formed in 1991 with
the merger of the helicopter divisions of
Aerospatiale and DASA/MBB) began GFRP
composites in the mid-1950s for cowls and
fairings. About 25% of the structure weight of
the AS 365 is made from composites26.
Sikorsky used GFRP for the canopy frame
of the S-61 helicopter in 1959, and by 1967
composites use had been extended to the rear
fuselage skins, doors, the horizontal stabilizer
and the engine cowlings of the Sikorsky S-76.
Sikorsky and Bell produced composite compo-
nents for the ACEE program and complete
fuselages for US Army Advanced Composite
Aircraft Program (ACAP).
Composites are used extensively for the
rotor blades and much of the airframes of the
new Boeing/Sikorsky RAH-66 Comanche.
Compared to the UH-60 Black Hawk, compos-
ite usage in the airframe has grown from 9% to
51%; has shifted from 50% titanium to 67%
composites for the rotor system; and has
shifted from 22% magnesium to 28% compos-
ites for the drive system. Carbon/epoxy
accounts for 44% of the airframe weight; the
rotor blades are made from carbon/epoxy-
glass/epoxy broadgoods; the main gear box
housings are made from carbon/bismaleimide
using resin transfer molding (RTM);and the
tail drive shaft is filament-wound
carbon/ epoxf9.
Composites are being used extensively for
rotor blades and airframes many other new
American, Western European and Russian heli-
copters including the McDonnell Douglas
Explorer, Eurocopter BO 108 and the Kamov
Ka-62 g.
 Structural components 1041

48.6.5 PROPULSION SYSTEM APPLICATIONS

In addition to engine cowlings, cowl doors
and nacelles, advanced composites are being
utilized for engine casings, thrust reversers,
translating cowls, fan blades and propeller
blades.
A Grumman-developed carbon/bis-
maleimide aft cowl assembly and thrust
reverser for the Fokker 100 is shown in Fig.
48.17(a). This is 25% lighter and far less
expensive than the current titanium cowl
assembly. A production CFRP transcowl for
the General Electric CF6-80C2 engine is
shown in Fig. 48.17(b). The transcowl assem-
bly weighs 86 kg (180 Ib). Grumman has been
contracted to build 600 units for the CF6-
80C2, which are used on the Boeing 747 and
767, the MD-11 and the A320.

48.6.6 CONCLUSIONS
The weights of composite structures pro-
duced annually for airliners and military
aircraft, based on five-year averages, are listed
in Table 48.2.
Twenty years ago, advanced composite
structures were only being produced for com-
ponents of military aircraft. This situation has
changed dramatically during the intervening
years: the total annual production weight has
increased by two orders of magnitude and
most of the composite structure (66%)is being
produced for European airliners (Airbus, ATR, ~ assembly; (b) transcowl.
Fig. 48.17 (a) C F cowl
Dornier). (Courtesy of Grumman Corporation.)

Table 48.2 Composite structure production (five-year averages)

Period 1975-1979 1980-1 984 1985-2989 1990-1994

Total fly weight: 27 180 905 2620
metric tonnes/vear
Distribution:
US military aircraft 21 (78%) 56 (31%) 158 (18%) 172 (7%)
US airliners 3 (llY0) 97 (54%) 334 (37%) 582 (22%)
Other military aircraft 3 (11Yo) 21 (12%) 93 (loo/,) 126 (5%)
Other airliners - 6 (3%) 320 (35%) 1740 (66%)
1042 Aircraft applications
During the past 20 years, advanced corn-
posite structures have become light-weight,
reliable, low-risk alternatives to conventional
aluminum and titanium structures. Their use
will continue to grow.
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