Creative Composites, a UK’s advanced composites manufacturer focused on the new processes and the latest material developments aiming to deliver the best solutions to the composite market, announced that it has achieved great advancements in carbon fibre SMC (CF-SMC) processing which has led to engaging in projects within the aerospace industry.
"We are delighted - says the company in a press release - to be lead partner of a NATEP project, focusing on the development of a new simulation tool to validate SMC materials for aerospace applications. The project manager Stephen Hewitt will be collaborating with Engenuity, University of Warwick, Simutence and Spirit AeroSystems’ Belfast facility to optimise the design and manufacture of a structural aircraft component. This will be used to validate the new software and demonstrate how it can enable CF-SMC to compete with conventional aerospace materials.
The project will help develop a new software solution to predict the structural performance of the reinforced materials for aerospace applications. This new material and process offers lower cost solutions at higher volumes, in comparison to traditional continuous carbon fibre reinforced polymers (CFRP). The overall aim is to bridge the gap in predictive analysis and open up the aerospace industry to more applications that can benefit from this technology. The SMC material used in this project is a discontinuous fibre material and is commonly used for performance-automotive applications. Its carbon fibre reinforced variants can offer higher specific strength and stiffness than metal combined with enhanced design flexibility. The software will accurately predict the variable behaviour of this discontinuous material, considering the effect of flow during the moulding process.
This NATEP project is part funded by BEIS via the Aerospace Technology Institute (ATI). The objective of this programme is to accelerate innovation aligned with the UK aerospace technology strategy, Destination Zero".
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16 December 2022
