Lab Collaborates With NCAMP on Material Properties Database

  • Published
  • By Heyward Burnette
  • Materials and Manufacturing
WRIGHT-PATTERSON AIR FORCE BASE, Ohio --  Air Force Research Laboratory materials engineers are collaborating with researchers from the National Center for Advanced Materials Performance to generate a material properties and allowables database as part of an effort to qualify a high-temperature composite material for use in engine and airframe applications. The database addresses the growing demand for affordable, lightweight, and more environmentally friendly MVK-14 FreeForm™ high-temperature polyimide composite material. It also provides a synergistic tool that appeals to military and commercial customers interested in using the material for airframe structure or propulsion applications.

Both AFRL and NCAMP materials experts believe that polyimide composite materials offer a desirable alternative to the current titanium and bismaleimide composite materials found in many high-temperature aerospace parts. Polyimide composites, which can operate in temperatures up to 700°F, provide significant weight, cost, and environmental advantages. They may also eliminate the need for heavy thermal insulation or protective coatings and, further, will reduce maintenance costs in some applications. Aircraft manufacturers will be able to use the NCAMP database, which contains primarily carbon-fiber-reinforced epoxy and bismaleimide composites, to design parts and then subcontract parts fabrication to any of the 13 companies that have participated in the qualification process and/or have shown process equivalency.

Many aerospace manufacturers have expressed interest in using polyimide composites to replace titanium, steel, or INCONEL® parts in order to reduce cost and weight in aerospace structural applications. However, designers need a polyimide material properties database to perform trade-study comparisons of various materials. The material property data acquisition and qualification program defined by representatives from the Air Force, Naval Air Systems Command, National Aeronautics and Space Administration, Federal Aviation Administration, and NCAMP Manufacturers Advisory Board generates the basic material information needed both for the comparison process and for establishing material property control. Eighteen aerospace companies and NAVAIR assisted the AF in determining the best polyimide composite candidate available, and MVK-14 FreeForm™ emerged as an aerospace industry favorite. The product family is based on Maverick Corporation's MVK-14, a safe, noncarcinogenic polyimide resin system formulated and patented in 2000 and features enhanced performance attributes enabled by GE Aviation's FreeForm™ technology.

This program marks the first time government funding has been offered to create a collection of databases intended for both the Department of Defense and commercial aerospace applications. It also marks NCAMP's first experience in working with polyimide composites. Accordingly, NCAMP materials engineers plan to publish the results of this initiative in the Composite Materials Handbook before releasing the database in October 2011. They also intend to distribute the MVK-14 FreeForm™ properties database, processing instructions, and prepreg products in compliance with US government regulations.