Thermoplastic composites in aerosructure industries : An evaluation report

Abstract: There has been a high development of advanced composites with matrix systems of thermoset polymers in the aerostructure industry, but these thermosets can cause problems. Therefore, the aim of this project is to evaluate matrix systems made of thermoplastics, which has been done by theoretical studies. Thermoplastic composites have been developed lately because of a potential reduced costs and weight of the aircraft. Three thermoplastic polymers were chosen to be further investigated, based on process temperature requirements with a range of 200°C, 300°C and 400°C, from Saab Aerostructures.   Thermoplastic composites have a higher price range because of their advanced properties. It is difficult to reduce the price of raw materials and therefore it is considered easier to lower the costs in manufacturing processes. The result of the chosen thermoplastics was that Polyether-ether-ketone (PEEK) is a suitable material in composite matrices within the range of 400°C, because of their unusual high melt temperature and low glass transition temperature. For the temperature range of 300°C, Polyetherimide (PEI) was considered as a suitable polymer because of excellent properties similar to PEEK, but with a lower compressive strength. Polycarbonate (PC) was chosen for the temperature range of 200°C because of advantages like great impact strength and thermal stability.