JEC COMPOSITES MAGAZINE - Issue #106 - July 2016 - 24

aerostructures

JEAN-CHRISTIAN BEUCHER,
HEAD OF R&T DEPARTMEENT
STELIA AEROSPACE

future aircraft at a high rate, similar
to the single-aisle rate for example.
Thermoplastic composite technology,
large-scale infusion technology and
FML (fibre metal laminate) composites
will be developed for this. These com-posite solutions offer high integration
possibilities (very large panels), making
this technology more competitive than
metal designs. The main challenge with
these developments will be to deploy
composite processes capable of re
sponding to high rates.
- Diversifying the composite offerings in
new fields such as helicopters or wings,
by building on the company's extensive
engineering experience in composites
thanks to the development of the A350,
the resources and know-how of
Stelia Aerospace Composites subsid-iaries and Stelia North America, and
dedicated composite R&T projects.
Composite technology for primary aircraft
structures is currently being developed
in line with different research projects
during which TRL 2 to TRL 6 (technology
readiness level) reviews are conducted. The
targeted applications range from elementary
parts (frames, panels, floor beams, etc.) to
fuselage sub-assemblies.
The main technologies being developed are:
- AFP prepregs for complex shapes such
as double-curvature panels. The
research approach consists in imple-menting new tools and methods for
computation, design and industrial
manufacturing.
- OoA (out-of-autoclave) processes such
as infusion and RTM (Resin Transfer

"The development of composite technology lies
at the heart of Stelia Aerospace's research strategy. Indeed, the success of the A350 program
and our ability to manage its ramp-up are
essential for both our company and our customers. Our Research and Technology department
must therefore be able to offer even more competitive technical and industrial solutions.
Moreover, I'm convinced that new composite
technology will be a major part of the compeMoulding) on thermosets.
- Different thermoplastic (TP) tech-nologies: welding, local overmoulding
and automatic lay-up, which will be
the composite technology challenges of
tomorrow.
To be more responsive, Stelia Aerospace
acquired a specific R&T development
platform. This platform represents an
investment of 4.5 million euros and enables
the company to conduct its research independently and to have its own composite
resources: AFP machine, autoclave, infusion
machine, lay-up room, etc.

Fig. 1: Lay-up study for a double-curvature panel

Fig. 2: Composite box demonstrator

24 jec composites magazine / No106 July 2016

tition that will probably arise in the development of future aerostructure platforms. We're
not going to miss on the development of new
thermoplastic technology. Stelia Aerospace is
positioned as a natural leader in this sector, at
the heart of the dynamics driven by the French
thermoplastic network of GIFAS (Groupement des Industries Françaises Aéronautiques
et Spatiales), for the benefit of our future
customers."

Double-curvature composite panels
Stelia Aerospace developed and produced
the first composite nose fuselage structure
for the Airbus A350-900. These fuselage
panels are manufactured in the Meaulte
plant using the automatic fibre placement
process. Many development loops between
CAD (Catia CPD), CAE (Nastran) and
AFP CAM were required to take into
account the engineering, manufacturing and
tooling constraints. This specific double-curvature structure integrating many assembly
interfaces involves accurate management of

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of JEC COMPOSITES MAGAZINE - Issue #106 - July 2016