Advanced Production Technologies for High Performance FML Parts

Abstract

Due to the low density and almost unrestricted design possibilities of a laminate, the use of glass-fiber-reinforced aluminum allows a significant weight reduction compared to a conventional fuselage made of monolithic aluminum materials. The innovation to be expected consists the development of a construction for very thin metal laminates, that have on the one hand a skin thickness which is about 50% lower than that of the prior art used in A380, and which has at the same time a significantly greater performance in terms of fatigue, damage tolerance and impact behavior compared to conventional aluminum components. On this basis, the aim in various research projects is to develop and validate a fuselage concept based on the FML technology with the objectives of a significant weight reduction of the aircraft structure (approx. 400 kg) and constant manufacturing costs (RC) compared to the state of the art. The German Aerospace Center (DLR) develops a new process chain for the production of fuselage shells at three different institutes and four locations. In addition to the advanced automation technologies of the production of metal-lamina, the research activities contain also the continuous process-accompanying quality assurance as well as a broad understanding of the material behavior. While the DLR site in Stade is processing the glass layup using AFP / ATP (ideally wrinkle-free, highly accurate and with low-waste) and the topic of the one-shot bonding, the DLR site in Augsburg is developing cooperating robots for the efficient deposition of aluminum sheets bases on the pick-and-place technology. At the DLR site in Cologne, material stresses are examined with the aim of establishing design rules under biaxial cyclic loading. The paper will include the detailed discussion of the above mentioned topics.