Introduction.- Requirements, development and certification process.- Material technology.- Manufacturing technology.- Testing.- Repair.- Flap design studies.- Tailored wing design.- New developments.
Ulf Breuer has studied mechanical engineering at the
universities of Darmstadt, Manchester und Kaiserslautern, where he graduated in
1993. After his military service he worked as scientific assistant at the
Institute of Composite Materials in Kaiserslautern. After he received his
doctorate degree from the University of Kaiserslautern in 1997, he accepted a
position at the German Aerospace Center (DLR), where he worked on the
development of advanced composite wing structures. In 1999 he joined Airbus and
worked as a project leader of new high lift devices structure technology. In
2002 he accepted the position as head of composite technology Airbus Germany,
in which he was responsible for material and process development and
qualification. From 2006 to 2010 he was leading the fuselage structure
development for future aircraft at the Airbus headquarters in Toulouse. In 2010
he received a call from the Technical University of Kaiserslautern for a full
professorship on composite technology as well as for the management of the
Institute of Composite Materials. Ulf Breuer holds various airframe patents and
has published textbooks and scientific papers on composite technology. He is an active member of the DGM
(Deutsche Gesellschaft für Materialkunde), the DGLR (Deutsche Gesellschaft für
Luft-und Raumfahrt-Lilienthal-Oberth e.V.) and the VDI (Verein Deutscher
Ingenieure).
This book is based on lectures held at the faculty of mechanical engineering at the Technical University of Kaiserslautern. The focus is on the central theme of societies overall aircraft requirements to specific material requirements and highlights the most important advantages and challenges of carbon fiber reinforced plastics (CFRP) compared to conventional materials. As it is fundamental to decide on the right material at the right place early on the main activities and milestones of the development and certification process and the systematic of defining clear requirements are discussed. The process of material qualification - verifying material requirements is explained in detail. All state-of-the-art composite manufacturing technologies are described, including changes and complemented by examples, and their improvement potential for future applications is discussed. Tangible case studies of high lift and wing structures emphasize the specific advantages and challenges of composite technology. Finally, latest R&D results are discussed, providing possible future solutions for key challenges such as low cost high performance materials, electrical function integration and morphing structures.