21st Congress of International Council of the Aeronautical Sciences, Melbourne, Australia, 13-18 September, 1998
Paper ICAS-98-0.1 (Daniel and Florence Guggenheim Memorial Lecture)

FUTURE DIRECTIONS IN AERONAUTICAL COMPOSITES

Long G.
CRC-ACS, Australia

Keywords: future, aeronautical, composites

The use of carbon-fibre polymer matrix composites in civil and military aircraft has been significantly less than originally predicted. despite their excellent attributes. This paper discusses, from an Australian perspective, that of a supplier of many composite parts to the world airframe industry, some of the key issues that could lead to more successful and extensive use of these materials. These include improvements in design, materials, manufacture and supportability. High costs of procurement and certification of composite components are considered to be the current major inhibitors to more widespread composites use, particularly in civil applications. Thus the major focus of this paper is on improved manufacturing, which is the most significant factor influencing procurement cost. The paper then goes on to discuss two important advanced applications of composites -"Smart" Structures and the High-Speed Civil Transport.

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