AIRCRAFT COMPONENTS WHICH UTILIZE THERMOPLASTIC COMPOSITES OFFER SIGNIFICANT ADVANTAGES OVER METALLIC STRUCTURES DUE TO THE COMBINATION OF REDUCED WEIGHT AND INCREASED STRENGTH INHERENT IN COMPOSITE STRUCTURES.

AIRCRAFT COMPONENTS WHICH UTILIZE THERMOPLASTIC COMPOSITES OFFER SIGNIFICANT ADVANTAGES OVER METALLIC STRUCTURES DUE TO THE COMBINATION OF REDUCED WEIGHT AND INCREASED STRENGTH INHERENT IN COMPOSITE STRUCTURES. FABRICATION OF THERMOPLASTIC COMPOSITES IS PLAGUED BY POROSITY OR VOIDS IN THE CONSOLIDATED PART, POOR, INEFFICIENT FIBER WETTING AND DIFFICULT CONTROL OF RESIN FLOW AND CRYSTALLINITY. ULTRASONIC ACTIVATION CAN IMPROVE OR INCREASE RESIN FLOW AT SIGNIFICANTLY LOWER TEMPERATURES AND PRESSURES OVER CURRENT TECHNOLOGY. THE OBJECTIVE OF THE PROPOSED PROJECT IS TO DEMONSTRATE THE TECHNICAL FEASIBILITY OF APPLYING SUCH BENEFICIAL EFFECTS TO IMPROVE THE PROCESSING OF THERMOPLASTIC RESINS SUCH AS PEEK. PHASE I WORK WILL QUANTIFY THE EFFECT OF ULTRASONIC ACTIVATION ON RESIN VISCOSITY, FIBER WETTING AND RESIN CRYSTALLINITY WHILE PHASE II DEVELOPMENT WILL SCALE UP THE TECHNIQUE TO CONTINUOUS PRODUCTION ENVIRONMENTS.