Two-year collaboration on moulding and bonding process
An all-composite wing box for a future tiltrotor aircraft has been produced by Canada's National Research Council Institute for Aerospace Research (NRC Aerospace) and Bell Helicopter Textron Canada (BHTCL).
NRC Aerospace's Montreal-based aerospace manufacturing technology centre produced the box's composite ribs using resin transfer moulding, and its structures and materials performance laboratory, located in Ottawa, developed a way of bonding the chords to wing skins. Work to develop both processes, which enabled the production of the wing box, began in April 2004.
"This proven technical capabilitybodes well for future collaborative programmes," says BHTCL research director Robert Fews.
NRC Aerospace claims the rib-skin bonding process has advantages because it uses cure monitoring along the entire rib and the process can be halted and corrected at any time during its 20min duration. The national aerospace laboratory also claims its rib manufacturing process, with modular removable mould inserts, decreased costs and avoided the need to use an autoclave.
Grand-Mere, Quebec-based composites and plastics specialist Delastek was given the process technology to commercialise by NRC Aerospace. It has subsequently won a contract from BHTCL.
Source: Flight International
