Aimplas participates in two destined projects to reduce the weight of the aeroplanes

The sector of the transport has in the reduction of the consumption of fuel and of the broadcasts of CO₂ to the environingingment one of his main challenges and also one of the central lines of investigation of his technology centres and departments of R&D of his companies. The reduction of weight is key in this appearance and therefore, in the case of the aeronautical sector component manufacturing sector component manufacturing sector, some manufacturers of aeroplanes already have elevated the percentage of composites present in his aircraft to more than 50%. Up to now, already it was very frequent to find this type of materials in the interiors of the aircraft so much in panels as in other pieces. Still like this, his presence is still in increase in key parts like the seats, in which some providers have attained already reduce 30% his weight thanks to the incorporation of these materials. But definitely the most remarkable is that in the manufacture of the fuselage also are employing increasingly the composites, mainly the fibre of carbon and other substitutes of metals heavier.

At present the materials that find greater development in the aeronautical sector component manufacturing sector component manufacturing sector are the formed from a combination of polymeric matrix (in concrete a resin type epoxi) and a reinforcement formed in base to the disposal in the plane of fibres of carbon. These compound materials, or of high provision, present a big heterogeneity in his final applications derived of the possibility to use raw materials of different composition and nature.

Between the main advantages that present the plastics reinforced in front of other conventional materials stands out his low inflamabilidad, the low cost of production, a lower weight and greater resistance with regard to metals like the aluminium, what allows to achieve operative savings to the companies through a lower consumption of fuel but also thanks to a lower number of operations of maintenance. Besides, the plastic allows a better presurización of the cabin, what derives in greater levels of humidity in cabin and a greater feeling of comfort for the passenger.

The incorporation of biocomposites is another big tendency in the sector to the equal that in many other applications of the plastic. In this line, Aimplas has completed the development of a new biomaterial elaborated from renewable sources and reinforced with fibre of linen. Thanks to the European project Cayley has obtained a new generation of resistant ecological panels to the fire for his incorporation in the manufacture of aeroplanes. For this has developed an innovative material that offers numerous advantages front those that came employing up to now, mainly the fibre of glass. Specifically, the new material is 60% lighter that this, and the resultant panels present a cost of production more adjusted, since it has attained reduce the number of necessary processes for his manufacture and the energetic consumption reduces between a 50 and 70% with regard to the existent in the market to the beginning of the project.

The new material also results easier to recycle that the conventional, and thanks to him expects reduce in more than 100 annual tonnes the waste that generates the aeronautical sector component manufacturing sector component manufacturing industry. Besides, some of the components of the resultant panels are also biodegradable. At the same time, also it is more respectful with the health of the workers, so that it allows to reduce in more than 90 tonnes to the year the use of dangerous substances.

For the researchers of this project the main challenge has been to achieve a material that keep the same physical and mechanical properties that the pertinent of the oil, taking into account the high requests that demand the pieces in a sector like the aeronautical sector component manufacturing sector component manufacturing.

The maximum in aeronautical sector component manufacturing sector component manufacturing is to employ material that fulfil simultaneously the requirements of high mechanical provision and of low weight to obtain energetic savings. Between the compound nanotecnológicos, one of the ones of greater popularity are the nanotubos of carbon. It treats of materials that present a resistance and a very upper rigidity to the one of others, what does them ideals for the aeronautical sector component manufacturing sector component manufacturing engineering. Although really the proposals nanotecnológicas to implement in the half or long term are many more and very upper to which apply nowadays in the commercial aeroplanes.

In the case of the coatings, the innovations go further of the protection of the corrosion and already works in the application of retardadores of fire or to increase the resistance to high temperatures. Besides, Aimplas has begun the development of a new material of coating antiadherente for aeroplanes that would avoid that the ice and the snow adhered to the surface, improving the hygiene and abaratando costs to the aerial companies when allowing do without the systems antihielo.

In the line of reduction of weight of the aircraft, the nanomaterials can contribute of other ways to attain this end. For example, endowing to the plastic of properties of electrical conductivity, so that they could apply in replacement of elements and conductive cables of the usually manufactured aeroplane with metals like copper or of aluminium, and also in the screens of television of the aircraft.

From the technology centres that work for the sector of the transport, the nanotechnology contemplates also like an opportunity to develop new detectors, sensors and other electronic elements that would serve to optimise the flight of the aircraft as well as to increase the hygiene in flight.

Another line of investigation in the aeronautical sector component manufacturing sector component manufacturing sector is the one who carries out to optimise the processes of production. The aim is to reduce the times of manufacture and the costs while it achieves greater homogeneity in the pieces. In this sense, an incipiente technology to improve the processes of manufacture in the sector is the technology microwaves, as the one who employs in the project Wavecom in which it participates Aimplas. The result has been a new system of manufacture of pieces of plastic reinforced with fibre of carbon that results more ecological and economic that the current. This new technology of microwaves substitutes to the traditional manufacture in autoclave, so that it has achieved reduce to the half the time of manufacture and until 70% the consumption of power. Besides, this project avoids also 80% of the broadcasts of volatile organic compounds that up to now produced during the production of the pieces.

In this development have carried out comparisons between the cured conventional and the cured by means of microwaves of susceptible compound materials to be used in the aeronautical sector component manufacturing sector component manufacturing sector. This has allowed to contrast both technicians in terms of cured and final properties. It treats of different innovations and examples that the R&D opens new ways to the aerial industry. Innovative technologies and materials of which has calculated that they could benefit more than 2.400 all over the world allocated companies to the manufacture of aircraft.