ADVANTAGES AND LIMITS OF NON-CRIMP-FABRICMATERIAL IN AUTOMATED PREFORMING FACILITIES WITH A NEW ROLL-FORMING PROCESS

摘要

The direct operating costs of aircraft are highly driven by the structural weight. To achieve lowerrnstructural weight the material of selected structures is changed from aluminum to lighter CarbonrnFiber Reinforced Polymers (CFRP). To fulfill the high demand for new aircraft and thus highrnproduction rates, rapid processes for curved CFRP-frames are needed. The Resin TransferrnMoulding (RTM) process has a high potential for fast and cost effective manufacturing of CFRPrnframes. Within the RTM-Process the preforming is one essential step for high qualityrncomponents. A new preforming line developed at DLR using roll-forming techniques and Non-rnCrimp-Fabrics (NCF) provides a highly accurate fiber orientation along the complete length ofrnthe preform. This automated and continuous manufacturing process is characterized by drapingrnNCF material with two roller stands rotating at different speeds. To use the full potential of thernautomation a thorough understanding of the material behavior is essential for an efficient andrnappropriate process. Within this paper the material parameters are further characterized by arnnewly developed draping test emulating the forming process. Parameters of different NCFMaterialsrnwere defined and compared to the automated manufacturing behavior. Thesernparameters allow a higher feed rate thus leading to higher production rates.