Innovative manufacturing and qualification program for foam core composites

Many composite structures do not take full advantage of the unique design possibilities that these materials allow. The use of traditional configurations of skins fastened to ribs and stringers, or complicated assemblies using many pieces of machined corehave a high part count and may require a number of unique manufacturing steps to complete the part.A highly integrated structure is one possible solution to the problem. These structures would replace the large number of individual parts used in 'traditional' aircraft manufacturing with a single component that satisfies the requirements. Componentprice and lead times are further reduced by the use of a common set of commercial off the shelf materials. Foam Matrix has developed a unique process for net molding lofted composite structures such as wings or control surfaces. The molded cores mayincorporate mechanical and electrical components directly into the structure without additional tools or parts.The objective of the research is to take the innovative manufacturing method developed by Foam Matrix and develop a methodology to show that parts manufactured using this process are reliable without the time and cost involved in a traditional materialqualification program