AIRCRAFT STRUCTURE

THE OBJECTIVE OF THIS EFFORT IS TO DEMONSTRATE THE FEASIBILITY OF USING A "HYBRID YARN" CONSISTING OF A MIXTURE OF GRAPHITE AND THERMOPLASTIC FILAMENTS TO FABRICATE A PRIMARY STRUCTURAL COMPONENT TYPICAL OF CURRENT AND FUTURE ARMY COMPOSITE AIRFRAME STRUCTURES. THE RESULTING THERMOPLASTIC MATRIX COMPOSITE MATERIAL IS ANTICIPATED TO HAVE THE SAME IMPROVEMENTS IN TOUGHNESS AND REPAIRABILITY THAT CHARACTERIZE EXISTING THERMOPLASTIC COMPOSITE MATERIALS, BUT ALSO TO ENABLE FAR QUICKER AND LESS COSTLY FABRICATION METHODS. AFTER A SURVEY AND SELECTION OF AN APPROPRIATE HELICOPTER AIRFRAME COMPONENT, A THERMOPLASTIC COMPOSITE DESIGN SHALL BE CREATED USING PRELIMINARY MECHANICAL PROPERTY DATA GENERATED UNDER THIS EFFORT. A PROTOTYPE PART IS TO BE FABRICATED AND STATICALLY TESTED FOR DESIGN AND PROPERTY VERIFICATION.