Innovative Structural Concepts for Deep-Winged Large Transports (PVSC08-068)

The next generation tactical transport must achieve greater performance than its predecessors, with even more demanding missions and operational requirements, at an affordable price. New mobility concepts have emerged with more radical configurations for potential operational performance benefits. The challenge of this proposed SBIR program is to combine advanced materials and process technologies with advanced innovative design concepts, to achieve a more affordable and lightweight deep section wing for next generation transport aircraft applications. An innovative structural wing design will be developed using HyPerVARTM®/AFI™ manufacturing technology for integrated resin infused structures. Several innovative structural concepts have been evaluated that leverage 3-D performing technology and advancements in design and manufacturing of these structures to achieve lower costs with greater structural efficiency. The Phase I program demonstrated the feasibility of this technology approach through engineering trade studies, development of a wing box design with 25% weight reduction and 35% cost reduction, and virtual and physical manufacturing process demonstration on a subcomponent. This Phase II program will build on Phase I concepts with the design, fabrication and testing of prototype wing box section that will verify analysis predictions, and evaluate resin infused integrated structure capability for primary structural applications. BENEFIT: The use of HyperVARTM®/AFI™ process technology and 3-D preforms will provide a low cost manufacturing process for building complex deep section wing skin and substructure elements, and an approach for integrating and assembling deep-wing components with robust and durable joining methods. Additional detailed benefits of this SBIR program include: • Design requirements mapped out for next generation transport wing and baseline design for comparison. • Conceptual designs of large deep-section wings that use HyPerVARTM®/AFI™ technology and have reduced weight, improved producibility and affordability than existing advanced wing design concepts • Definition of the preferred composites manufacturing processes for components and assembly based on trade studies, virtual manufacturing demonstrations, and subcomponent demonstration • Full-scale wingbox design and analysis of preferred structural concept, fabricated and validated through full-scale structural testing of a representative wing box section. In summary, the end payoff will be a deep-section transport wing that can achieve reduction in weight and cost relative to existing advanced transport design, with ease of manufacturing due to advanced material product forms and reduced fabrication and assembly tooling requirements. The Phase II program will focus on the ACCA wing as baseline, leverage ongoing advanced transport concept development programs to focus and direct this development of innovative wing design and manufacturing concepts developed in Phase I, and more rapidly demonstrate technologies on prototype hardware through subcomponent testing in Phase II. This approach will enable more rapid insertion into the next-generation transport program and potential multi-platform application through the future commercialization phase.