High Quality Powder Towpregs and Tapes for Use with Automated Placement Processes

Manufacture of polymer matrix composite (PMC) jet engine parts is expensive due to the high cost of needed high temperature materials and fabrication processes currently in use. To reduce costs and improve quality, automated composite fabrication methods such as filament winding, automated tape placement, and fiber or tow placement coupled with non-autoclave processing offer great promise for use in a variety of applications. This Phase I program focuses on the development of high temperature towpregs and tapes for use in ATP methods, using ATI's high speed powder impregnation process. The materials to be evaluated will include several commercially available polyimide matrix materials on carbon fibers that are suitable for high-temperature applications, such as fan bypass ducts and front and rear augmenting ducts in jet engines. Coupled with on-line tape production, this method should dramatically reduce the costs associated with producing high-quality impregnated tows and tapes. These 100% solids materials better utilize the expensive high tempreature polyimide resins (low resin loss), provide better uniformity of the matrix resin throughout fabricated parts, and should provide improved mechanical properties in the final components. As such, this approach has the potential for reducing costs by a variety of means.