THE EVOLUTION OF THE AIRCRAFT INDUSTRY HAS BEEN CHARACTERIZED BY A STEADY PROGRESSION TOWARD THE USE OF LIGHTWEIGHT MATERIALS STRONG ENOUGH TO WITHSTAND THE INCREASING DEMANDS PLACED ON TODAY'S HIGH PERFORMANCE AIRCRAFT.

THE EVOLUTION OF THE AIRCRAFT INDUSTRY HAS BEEN CHARACTERIZED BY A STEADY PROGRESSION TOWARD THE USE OF LIGHTWEIGHT MATERIALS STRONG ENOUGH TO WITHSTAND THE INCREASING DEMANDS PLACED ON TODAY'S HIGH PERFORMANCE AIRCRAFT. HOWEVER, CONVENTIONAL COMPOSITE FABRICATION TECHNIQUES ARE VERY LABOR INTENSIVE AND COSTLY. INNOVATIVE TEXTILE WEAVING TECHNIQUES OFFER GREAT POTENTIAL TO REDUCE COMPOSITE FABRICATION COSTS OF NEXT GENERATION AIRCRAFT. THIS PROGRAM IS DESIGNED TO ADDRESS STATE-OF-THE-ART WEAVING TECHNIQUES TO PROVIDE LOW-COST COMPOSITE REINFORCEMENT FOR STRUCTURAL COMPONENTS. AN INTEGRALLY WOVEN MULTIPLE STIFFENED COMPOSITE PANEL, WILL BE DESIGNED, FABRICATED AND TESTED AND COMPARED TO A CONVENTIONAL COMPOSITE PANEL TO DEMONSTRATE THE FEASIBILITY OF THE WEAVING (PREFORMING) TECHNIQUE. THE PANEL DESIGN WILL BE REPRESENTATIVE OF A STIFFENED STRUCTURAL COMPONENT FOR THE TAIL CONE OF A TYPICAL HELICOPTER AIRFRAME. A FINAL REPORT WILL BE PROVIDED TO SUMMARIZE DETAILED DESIGN OF THE WOVEN PREFORMS, WEAVING COSTS, PREFORM PROCESSING COSTS, PROCESS SPECIFICATIONS AND TEST RESULTS, ALONG WITH GUIDELINES FOR FURTHER PHASE II DEVELOPMENT.