MATERIAL AND PROCESS DEVELOPMENT OF NOVEL GRAPHITE/THERMOPLASTIC YARN AND RELATED FORMS

THE OBJECTIVE OF THIS EFFORT IS TO DEVELOP BOTH TEXTILE FORMS AND ASSOCIATED PROCESSING METHODS FOR A NEW THERMOPLASTIC COMPOSITE MATERIAL FORM KNOWN AS "HYBRID YARN". THIS MATERIAL, CONSISTING OF A FINE MIXTURE OF GRAPHITE AND THERMOPLASTIC FILAMENTS, ALLOWS FOR A FLEXIBLE AND CONFORMAL RAW MATERIAL FORM WHICH HAS THE POTENTIAL TO BE BROADLY USED IN AIRCRAFT STRUCTURAL COMPONENTS. IT OFFERS DRAMATICALLY REDUCED PART FABRICATION LABOR, TOUGHNESS, AND REPAIRABILITY. A CAREFULLY CONTROLLED PROCESS STUDY IS TO BE PERFORMED WITH THREE TEXTILE FORMS OF INTEREST FOR BOTH CONSOLIDATION AND FORMING BY TWO DIFFERENT METHODS. MECHANICAL AND PHYSICAL PROPERTIES SHALL BE CHARACTERIZED. IT IS ANTICIPATED THAT AT THE CONCLUSION OF PHASE I, A SPECIFIC HYBRID THERMOPLASTIC MATERIAL FORM AND RELATED MANUFACTURING METHOD SHALL HAVE BEEN DEVELOPED WITH GENERIC APPLICABILITY TO AIRCRAFT STRUCTURAL PARTS.