Advanced Composite Materials by Resin Transfer Molding for Aerospace Applications

Competitiveness drives the aerospace industries to investigate new technology solutions to address market pressure and high-tech demands. The global objective is to reduce to half the amount of fuel by 2020 and at least 70% less by 2025 with respect to the Boeing 777, one of the most efficient aircraft, which is made entirely of carbon fiber. The weight saving to increase payload and the reductions of the cost/time of the production cycle are imperative targets. For these reasons, aerospace companies, which are traditionally based on the use of metal alloys, have been focusing for past decade on composite materials. The main advantages of composites with respect to metals, that are resistance to corrosion and fatigue and high performance/weight ratios, are a set of qualities for winning the current and future aerospace applications. Obviously, this is possible only through the development of economically competitive technologies. The Resin Transfer Molding (RTM) is one of the most promising technology available today. RTM is capable of making large complex three-dimensional part with high mechanical performance, tight dimensional tolerance and high surface finish. A good design by RTM leads to fabricate three-dimensional near-net-shape complex parts, offering production of cost-effective structural parts in medium-volume quantities using low cost tooling. In addition to these advantages, the problems of the joints, typical of the metal structures, can be eliminated by integration of inserts.