A New HP-RTM Material Technology for Aerospace Composite Parts: Will it Fly?

Used widely across applications within industries such as aerospace, automotive and alternative energy, carbon-fiber reinforced polymer composites offer excellent mechanical properties, especially strength-to-weight and stiffness-to-weight ratios. While light-weighting is a notable advantage of composite parts, the production costs have historically been higher per kilogram than components designed using metals/alloys. This cost differential is, among other factors, due to long processing times and the complex, expensive autoclave curing equipment required for conventional prepreg technology, particularly for primary, and secondary structures, as well as future Urban Air Mobility applications in which high-rate composite manufacturing technology will be critical ...