A recently announced £3.8 million industrial research collaboration is set to have a significant impact on the worldwide aerospace industry by speeding up the production of composite materials.
Composite materials are used increasingly in aircraft with the demand increasing on a global scale but the rate of production is hampered by the speed at which the composites can be inspected during the manufacturing process.
A four-year research project led by TWI Wales is designed to speed up the inspection process by 400% using advanced non-destructive testing technologies.
Improving the Inspectibility of Aerospace Composite Materials (IntACoM), which has had funding from the Welsh Assembly Government, involves an industrial collaboration with Rolls Royce, GKN Aerospace and Bombardier Aerospace, with academic support from Swansea University, Swansea Metropolitan University and the University of Wales.
Philip Wallace, regional manager of TWI Wales, which is based in ECM², Port Talbot, explained that the advancement in composites had not been equally matched by an advancement of inspection capability: “Composites inspection is a difficult and highly complex area but is not yet sufficiently developed to meet industry needs. The time it takes to carry out inspections at different stages of the manufacturing process is actually hampering and slowing down the entire process.
“Our aim is to increase the process by 400% without losing reliability or sensitivity and once we have developed the inspection technology at the manufacturing level we will further develop testing and inspection capabilities for in service maintenance and repair.”
www.twi.co.uk
