Introduction to Aerospace Materials

14

Manufacturing of fibre–polymer composite materials

14.1 Introduction

The rapid growth in the use of fibre–polymer composites in aircraft and helicopters since the mid-1990s has led to it now sitting side-by-side with aluminium as the most commonly used structural materials. A critical factor underpinning the growth in composites has been the development of improved, cheaper manufacturing processes. Similarly to the casting and forming processes used to manufacture metal structures, the processes used to produce composite components have a major impact on the cost, quality and material properties. The choice of manufacturing process impinges on the design of the composite component; some processes are suited to flat or slightly curved structures ...