Composite-Integrated Electrical Networks for Endurance-Optimized Airframes

By integrating conductors into composite structures, data and power networks can become part of the vehicle’s airframe, allowing for size, weight, and assembly savings and improved mission endurance.  During the proposed effort, project team members Nautilus Defense, The University of Rhode Island, and Goetz Composites seeks to validate the structural and electrical performance of these composite-integrated electrical networks for use in next-generation eVTOL vehicles.  Nautilus has successfully demonstrated the utility of integrating fine conductors into the fiber reinforcement of textile and composite structures for the formation of data and power networks and seeks to develop meaningful variants for use in eVTOL airframes.