The hottest Lockheed Martin company shows F35 nano

Lockheed Martin shows F-35 nanocomposite structure

Lockheed Martin revealed that F-35 will use different material combinations respectively. Lightning II will be the first mass production of nanocomposites on the non load bearing structure of the body. To do a good job in safety and environmental protection, it first requires the top leaders of the enterprise to "transform and upgrade" the concept of the aircraft

according to Travis Ayers, head of nanotechnology, from the initial production of the fourth batch of aircraft at low speed, thermosetting epoxy composites reinforced by carbon nanotubes will replace carbon fiber composites in the production of F-35 wingtip fairings

at the same time, the same carbon nanotube reinforced composite is being considered to replace about 100 other parts made of composite or metal materials on the F-35

since the discovery of carbon nanotubes in 1991, it has been predicted that carbon nanotube reinforced composites can be used as body materials. It is generally considered to be the strongest material that has been found - several times stronger than carbon fiber reinforced polymer (CFRP), but 25-30% lighter

carbon fiber reinforced composite, as the main load-bearing structural material, has become a competitor of aluminum and steel. For example, Boeing is using it to make the 787's full composite fuselage. However, it has only 20 years of development history when it is used as the load-bearing component of military and civil aircraft. Development began in the early 1970s, when aircraft manufacturers used glass fiber and carbon fiber reinforced composites for secondary control surfaces

similarly, as the technology matures, the application of carbon nanotube reinforced composites to non load bearing components from F-35 will lead to the wide application of this technology in the body structure

according to els, this material is not used in the main load-bearing structure for technical reasons. However, in order to reduce the requirements of structural material certification, carbon nanotube reinforced composites can only be considered for non load-bearing structures

meanwhile, carbon nanotubes have been widely used in industry, from semiconductors to golf clubs. So far, the high cost and the complexity of the production of structural parts mean that its application in the aerospace industry is still very limited

however, Loma has developed a process for using carbon nanotubes in aircraft structures, which can significantly reduce the cost. The cost of this new wingtip fairing is only one tenth of that of the corresponding carbon fiber reinforced composite components

els refused to disclose the details of Loma's low-cost manufacturing process of carbon nanotube reinforced composites, in which the spherical structure can carry drugs around the body, which are considered to be internal trade secrets of the company. But one thing is very clear, that is, this low-cost process is a new invention of Loma company. Ayers said this is the progress made in the past four years. During this period, Loma has been developing new, low-cost manufacturing methods for body structures

Loma has been selected by the air force research laboratory to produce and verify the x-55 advanced composite cargo aircraft (ACCA) in 2007. Therefore, the stability of the whole machine is directly related to the stiffness of the system, which is changed from fairy Donnell 328. The fuselage will be remanufactured from new carbon fiber resin matrix composites by non autoclave curing to reduce production costs. It is possible that the x-55 body can also benefit from the development of carbon nanotube composites currently used in F-35. At present, the company has only released the initial information about rapid prototyping of nanostructure manufacturing of the body

Loma exhibited a new wing tip fairing made of F-35 nanocomposites at the Energy Solutions Center in Virginia

this material is considered to be the first generation of extremely advanced polymer engineering materials (APEX). It can be seen from the display that compared with other current materials, carbon nanotube composites have higher mechanical properties, thermal stability, electrical conductivity and processing properties

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