Advanced Organic Composite Materials for Aircraft Structures: Future Program (1987)

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REFERENCE COPY FOR UDR/'.sr UCE c;.i.r Advanced Organic Composite Materials for Aircraft Structures- Future Program Committee on the Status and Viability of Composite Materials for Aircraft Structures Aeronautics and Space Engineering Board Commission on Engineering and Technical Systems National Research Council n NATIONAL ACADEMY PRESS Washington, B.C. 1987

7Z NOTICE: The project that is the subject of this report was approved by the Governing Board f& \) 7 of the National Research Council, whose members are drawn from the councils of the National Academy of Sciences, the National Academy of Engineering, and the Institute of Medicine. The C1 / members of the committee responsible for the report were chosen for their special competences and with regard for appropriate balance. This report has been reviewed by a group other than the authors according to procedures approved by a Report Review Committee consisting of members of the National Academy of Sciences, the National Academy of Engineering, and the Institute of Medicine. The National Academy of Sciences is a private, nonprofit, self-perpetuating society of dis- tinguished scholars engaged in scientific and engineering research, dedicated to the furtherance of science and technology and to their use for the general welfare. Upon the authority of the charter granted to it by the Congress in 1863, the Academy has a mandate that requires it to advise the federal government on scientific and technical matters. Dr. Frank Press is president of the National Academy of Sciences. The National Academy of Engineering was established in 1964, under the charter of the National Academy of Sciences, as a parallel organization of outstanding engineers. It is autonomous in its administration and in the selection of its members, sharing with the National Academy of Sciences the responsibility for advising the federal government. The National Academy of Engineering also sponsors engineering programs aimed at meeting national needs, encourages education and research, and recognizes the superior achievements of engineers. Dr. Robert M. White is president of the National Academy of Engineering. The Institute of Medicine was established in 1970 by the National Academy of Sciences to secure the services of eminent members of appropriate professions in the examination of policy matters pertaining to the health of the public. The Institute acts under the responsibility given to the National Academy of Sciences by its congressional charter to be an adviser to the federal government and, upon its own initiative, to identify issues of medical care, research, and education. Dr. Samuel O. Thier is president of the Institute of Medicine. The National Research Council was organized by the National Academy of Sciences in 1916 to associate the broad community of science and technology with the Academy's purposes of furthering knowledge and advising the federal government. Functioning in accordance with general policies determined by the Academy, the Council has become the principal operating agency of both the National Academy of Sciences and the National Academy of Engineering in providing services to the government, the public, and the scientific and engineering communities. The Council is administered jointly by both Academies and the Institute of Medicine. Dr. Frank Press and Dr. Robert M. White are chairman and vice-chairman, respectively, of the National Research Council. This report and the study on which it is based were supported by Contract No. NASW- 4003 between the National Aeronautics and Space Administration and the National Academy of Sciences. Copies of this publication are available from: Aeronautics and Space Engineering Board National Research Council 2101 Constitution Avenue, NW Washington, DC 20418 Printed in the United States of America

COMMITTEE ON THE STATUS AND VIABILITY OF COMPOSITE MATERIALS FOR AIRCRAFT STRUCTURES JAMES W. MAR (Chairman), Jerome C. Hunsaker Professor of Aerospace Education, Department of Aerospace and Astronautics, Massachusetts Institute of Technology RICHARD ABBOTT, Principal Staff Engineer, R&D Division, Beech Aircraft Corporation E. DWIGHT BOUCHARD, Director, Engineering Technology, Structures, McDonnell Aircraft Company JON B. DEVAULT, Vice-President and General Maj^fcr, Graphite Materials and Composite Structures, Hercules Aerospace Div'1 STANLEY MARTIN, JR., Vice-President, V-2j^^^^^ Bell Helicopter Textron R. BYRON PIPES, Dean of Engineering, U GEORGE S. SPRINGER, Professor of \ X V X X X Department of Aeronautics and Astronautics^^ MORRIS A. STEINBERG, Consuj Corporation (Retired) CHARLES F. TIFFANY, Vij Airplane Company BERNARD MAGGI RICHARD Dep KEIT JAMES Base1 DANIEL MUC Command JOSEPH R. SODER Materials, Federal SAMUEL L. VENNERI, Aeronautics and Space Space Administration LOUIS VOSTEEN, Chief, Materiky^ivision, Langley Research Center, National Aeronautics and Space Administration is Division, 'orce1 atterson Air Force Naval Air Systems ecialist, Advanced Nonmetallic d Structures Division, Office of quarters, National Aeronautics and 1 James Mattice replaced Keith I. Collier during the study. iii

AERONAUTICS AND SPACE ENGINEERING BOARD JAMES J. KRAMER (Chairman), Manager, Advanced Technology Programs, General Electric Company JOSEPH F. SHEA (Past Chairman), Senior Vice-President, Engineering, Raytheon Company MAX E. BLECK, Vice-President and Assistant to the President, Beech Aircraft Corporation BERNARD BUDIANSKY, Professor of Structural Mechanics, Harvard University W. BOWMAN CUTTER III, Coopers and Lybrand R. RICHARD HEPPE, President, Lockheed-California Company RICHARD W. HESSELBACHER, Manager, Advanced Development and Information Systems, Space Systems Division, General Electric Company KENNETH F. HOLTBY, Senior Vice-President, The Boeing Company DONALD J. LLOYD-JONES, President and Chief Operating Officer, Western Airlines STEPHEN F. LUNDSTROM, Vice-President and Program Director, Parallel Processing Program, MCC ARTUR MAGER, Consultant STANLEY MARTIN, JR., Vice-President, V-22 Engineering, Bell Helicopter Textron JOHN L. McLUCAS, Executive Vice-President and Chief Strategic Officer, Comsat (Retired) FRANKLIN K. MOORE, Joseph C. Ford Professor of Mechanical Engineering, Cornell University GEORGE W. MORGENTHALER, Director, Engineering Research Center, Associate Dean, College of Engineering and Applied Science, The University of Colorado JAN ROSKAM, Ackers Distinguished Professor of Aerospace Engineering, University of Kansas ROGER D. SCHAUFELE, Vice-President, Engineering, Douglas Aircraft Company, McDonnell Douglas Corporation RICHARD S. SHEVELL, Professor, Department of Aeronautics and Astronautics, Stanford University ROBERT E. SKELTON, Professor of Aeronautics Engineering, Purdue University ALTON D. SLAY, Slay Enterprises, Inc. MORRIS A. STEINBERG, Consultant; Vice-President-Science, Lockheed Corporation (Retired) LAURENCE R. YOUNG, Professor of Aeronautics and Astronautics, Massachusetts Institute of Technology Executive Staff Robert H. Korkegi, Director Anna L. Farrar, Administrative Assistant JoAnn Clayton, Senior Program Officer Jennifer T. Estep, Administrative Secretary Bernard Maggin, Senior Program Officer Regina F. Miller, Senior Secretary

Acknowledgments The committee is deeply indebted to the individuals who provided valuable assistance in this study. They are noted here with their affiliations. Carl Albrecht, Boeing-Vertol Company James N. Burns, Hercules Aerospace Richard L. Circle, Lockheed-Georgia Company Thomas E. Condon, U.S. Army Jon B. DeVault, Hercules Aerospace David Forest, Ferro Corporation Richard N. Hadcock, Grumman Aircraft Systems Division John B. Hammond, Lockheed-California Company John V. Harrington, U.S. Air Force Philip Haselbauer, U.S. Army Charles F. Herndon, General Dynamics Corporation Joseph Janis, Trans World Airlines Bruce F. Kay, Sikorsky Aircraft Leslie M. Lackman, Rockwell Corporation Joseph K. Lees, E. I. DuPont de Nemours and Company Thomas W. Longmire, Union Carbide John E. McCarty, Boeing Military Airplane Company Jay Meyers, U.S. Navy/Marine Corps John T. Quinlivan, Boeing Commercial Airplane Company Theodore Reinhart, U.S. Air Force David Roselius, U.S. Air Force Hassel C. Schjelderup, Douglas Aircraft Company James H. Starnes, Langley Research Center, National Aeronautics and Space Administration Keith Stevenson, Bell Helicopter Textron

Conrad Trulson, Union Carbide Ralph M. Verette, McDonnell Douglas Helicopter Company Curtis Walker, Delta Airlines James Waller, U.S. Army Herbert Wardell, Gulfstream American Robin S. Whitehead, Northrop Aircraft Division Havard A. Wood, Headquarters, National Aeronautics and Space Administration In addition, special thanks are due A. J. Evans, past executive director of the Aeronautics and Space Engineering Board, for his preparatory work leading to the definition of this study and the organization of the committee, and to Julie Ferguson for her dedication and support in the early stages of this study. VI

Preface At the request of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration's Office of Aeronautics and Space Technology, the National Research Council's Aeronautics and Space Engineering Board established a committee to undertake an examination of the status of advanced organic composite material for aircraft structures. The committee's tasks were to assess the state of this technology and to identify the research and technology development actions that would assist in the acceleration of the application of this material in production aircraft. The tasks of the committee were accomplished through deliberations following a series of reviews of government and industry experience and activity, and committee discussions of benefits, inhibiting factors, technology development needs, and possi- ble government action. The work of the committee is summarized in the body of the report, which provides background related to the field of organic composites and of this study, including the approach used by the committee to exercise its task. These chapters of the report are followed by brief discussions of the committee's findings and recommendations. The report itself is supplemented by summaries of the work of the committee related to their views on benefits and technology needs, govern- ment agency dialogue on issues, questions and technology needs, and a synopsis of the presentations made to the committee. These materials were used to develop the findings and recommendations presented in the report. Vll

Contents 1. INTRODUCTION 1 2. STUDY CHARTER AND METHODOLOGY 3 3. DISCUSSION AND FINDINGS 5 4. RECOMMENDATIONS 12 BIBLIOGRAPHY 15 SUPPLEMENT: SUMMARY OF COMMITTEE STUDY 17 Section I—Program Assessment 19 Aircraft Applications, 19 Material Manufacturers, 26 Government Agencies, 29 Summary of Key Observations, 34 Section II—Response to Government Issues and Questions 36 Future R&T Program, 36 Programmatic Matters, 37 Government Programs, 41 APPENDIXES A. Synopsis of Presentations to the Committee 43 Committee Meeting of December 17-18, 1985, 43 Application and Operating Experience, 43 Application and Flight Experience, 45 Certification and Operational Experience, 46 Research and Technology Programs, 47 Industry Forum of February 10-11, 1986, 52 Large Transports, 52 ix

Rotorcraft, 57 High-Performance Aircraft, 61 Business Aircraft, 72 Airlines, 76 Material Suppliers, 76 Committee Meeting of March 26, 1986, 83 Technology Needs and Budget, 83 Committee Summary of RT&D Needs and Budgets, 91 Materials Manufacturing—Tailoring and Related Costs, 91 Logistic Support, 95 Airline Perspective, 96 B. Correspondence—Air Transport Association of America 99

List of Tables and Figures TABLES S-I-1 Potential Advantages 20 S-I-2 Inhibiting Factors 22 S-I-3 Needs 24 S-I-4 Possible Government Action 27 S-I-5 Summary Observations—Materials 28 S-I-6 Individual Government Agency Views on Advanced Organic Composite Technology Development Needs 30 S-I-7 Summary of Government Agency Views on Advanced Organic Composite Technology Development Factors 31 S-I-8 Government Agency Summary—Technology Program Considerations, All Aircraft Classes 33 S-II-1 Representative Costs of Composites for Transport and Fighter Aircraft 38 A-1 Performance Comparisons of Metal and Composite Rotor Blades 58 A-2 Critical Material Properties Proposed for High-Temperature Composites 71 A-3 Composite Material Business Projection 77 A-4 Advanced Organic Composite Research, Technology, and Development Needs—Government View 84 A-5 Government Advanced Organic Composite Research and Technology Programs 86 A-6 FAA Program Plans—Desired and Actual 89 A-7 Integrated Advanced Organic Composite Research, Technology, and Development Needs—Government View 92 XI