Multifunctional fuselage demonstrator: Thermoplastic composite skin manufacturing developments

Abstract

Within Clean Sky 2 the design and manufacturing of the fuselage of new single aisle aircraft is investigated through a large, multi-functional fuselage demonstrator, see Figure 1. The main objectives of this demonstrator are to enable high production rates with a minimum of 60 aircraft per month and to reduce structural weight and recurring cost. The envisaged demonstrator shall validate high potential multi-functional combinations of airframe structures, systems, cargo and cabin technology concepts for the next generation fuselage and cabin, using advanced materials and innovative design principles. One of the key innovations for the multi-functional fuselage demonstrator is the modular assembly of pre-equipped sub-assemblies, see reference [1] and [4]. To make a step in the design and manufacturing of such integrated multi-disciplinary fuselage sub-assemblies, including components of structures, systems, cabin and cargo, advanced materials and manufacturing methods are required. Thermoplastic composites and their highly automated fibre placement production techniques and advanced joining methods, offer the flexibility and efficiency that is needed for the production of much more pre-equipped sub-assemblies to enable the modular assembly process for the future aircraft production supply chain. This paper presents investigations on the development of several innovative manufacturing methods for the full-scale single aisle skin component for the lower fuselage. Because of the complexity of the considered multi-functional structures, the risk for manufacturing of the demonstrator and the level of detail that is required for the high level of manufacturing accuracy, detailed 3D modelling and analyses are necessary for predictions of the manufacturing processes. The results presented in the paper will include the modelling steps for manufacturing of the thermoplastic skin part from the laminate conversion from CAD (composite modeller) to automated fibre placement manufacturing simulation (explicit) and dynamic handling of the thin skin section and draping process (implicit and explicit simulations). The modelling results support the specification of manufacturing tools and processes, which are currently further developed.