Innovative Approaches to the Fabrication of Composite Helicopter Tail Booms

Light weight, low cost structures is the direction that many aerospace companies are working toward. Our objective in this Phase I program is to demonstrate our low cost effective manufacturing methods with thermoplastic composites while maintaining structural integrity. A continuous graphite fiber reinforced thermoplastic prepreg tape will be used in conjunction with our automated in-situ fiber placement technology to demonstrate repeatable, accurate and low labor methods to produce high quality composite helicopter tail booms. Our use of continuous fiber reinforced prepreg tape allows us to tailor the lay-up to suit the design criteria at hand. Our technology offers the ability to integrate stiffening components into the skin structure without the use of conventional mechanical fasteners. Instead we will demonstrate the melt bonding attachment techniques that result in totally integrated structure without the use complicated, high cost tooling or fasteners. These techniques offer the ability to produce a finished part of almost any geometry in a single set-up step. There is not the need for labor intensive post processing that is inherent with many other composite manufacturing methods. This technology is both versatile and robust enough to produce a variety of different part configurations in a low cost fashion while still maintaining the high quality demanded by the aerospace world.