Composite Airframes-Opportunities, Options and Issues

Abstract

Worldwide, both in the Civil and Military Aircraft Industry, there is an increasing usage ofcomposites due to the inherent advantages they offer. However, even today, the total potentialof composites has not been realized as the designers are still conservative. Also, cost hasbecome a very important factor especially for civil aircraft. In order to realize the full potentialof these materials, extensive research is being conducted in several areas that include design,newer, faster and cost effective approaches to manufacturing, better understanding of damagetolerance and associated failure theories, crashworthiness behavior and the like. StructuralHealth monitoring has progressed significantly and could play a major role in the reductionof maintenance costs and prevention of catastrophic failures. This paper makes an effort toaddress the options, challenges and issues that are confronting the composite industry today.