JEC COMPOSITES MAGAZINE - Issue #46 - January/February 2009 - 12

COMPANIES COMPANIES AN INTERVIEW WITH MARC-ANDRÉ OCTEAU, RESEARCH OFFICER, NRC AEROSPACE JEC Composites Magazine: Do you intend to invest more heavily in the composite sector? MARC-ANDRÉ OCTEAU: NRC Aerospace invests more than $25 million each year in aerospace R&TD, and in maintaining its research infrastructure. This funding is more than matched by our fee-forservice revenue and income from collaborative projects. This money is divided up among the five labs forming the NRC Institute for Aerospace Research, as well as the other institutes associated with NRC Aerospace. Although NRC Aerospace pursues many research areas within this greater structure, we are becoming increasingly more involved in composite research to keep pace with the aerospace industry’s shift to composite materials. Our areas of interest include aircraft assembly, testing and non-destructive inspection technologies for composite materials. Recently, we also made a major investment in a one-of-a-kind VIPER 4000 automated fibre placement machine from MAG Cincinnati. JCM: How important are composites in relation to the rest of your activities? M-A. O.: NRC Aerospace is involved in all aspects of R&TD related to the design, manufacture, performance, use, and safety of air and space vehicles. Because of its importance in the aerospace industry, composite research is one of our major research areas, along with gas turbine engines, flight tests, aircraft structures, material performance, and aerodynamics. JCM: What technology are you currently focusing your research efforts on? M-A. O.: Concerning composites and other technologies related to aerospace manufacturing, NRC Aerospace’s goal is to develop and demonstrate modern technologies that have the potential for significant cost savings in the aerospace industry, while also maintaining high levels of quality, reliability and performance. Automated fibre placement (AFP) and liquid composite moulding are at the centre of our research activities because they represent the future in both civilian and military aircraft manufacturing techniques. These areas also complement the expertise we have developed in autoclave curing and monitoring, assembly bonding techniques, and resistance welding. JCM: Do you think you’ll expand your research efforts beyond the aerospace sector? M-A. O.: Even though NRC Aerospace specializes in aerospace R&TD, we are always interested in working with other sectors that have applications for the technologies we are developing. For example, the Aerodynamics Laboratory associated with the NRC Institute for Aerospace Research (NRC-IAR) is actively involved in aerodynamic R&TD for cars and trucks. Similarly, NRC-IAR’s Gas Turbine Laboratory is actively looking at alternative fuels that could have applications outside the aerospace sector. In addition, NRC as a whole recently moved into a key sector strategy that focuses its nationwide capabilities on nine leading industrial sectors to ensure that Canada’s most promising industries gain access to NRC expertise. These sectors include aerospace, automotive, construction, and manufacturing and materials, among others. JCM: Do you have any plans for investment in the medium-term? M-A. O.: In the mid to long term, NRC Aerospace is actively looking for new manufacturing and joining processes for composite materials. We are also pursuing R&TD and demonstration programmes for our new fibre placement facilities and activities. composite structures with enhanced performance characteristics and dimensional tolerance. The technology offers cost reductions thanks to the consolidation of parts and elimination of fasteners. However, improved process control is required to satisfy the quality requirements of the aerospace sector. NRC Aerospace is working hard to improve its output and its cost-effectiveness ratio thanks to its cross-linking and process monitoring technologies and its cheaper tooling solutions. Resistance welding NRC Aerospace is also interested in assembly technologies for thermoplastic matrix composites that can be used in the manufacturing of primary or secondary aircraft structures. Even though these materials offer many benefits, they also have certain disadvantages associated with their forming requirements, in particular the Autoclave processing The autoclave is the main piece of equipment used for the production of high-quality parts in the aerospace sector. It can handle thermoplastic and thermosetting materials for the production of diverse parts and complex shapes. need for high temperatures and pressures, along with the high cost of the materials and equipment. The work in progress aims at developing new assembly techniques for thermoplastic matrix composites that are fast, reliable and more cost-effective. These techniques could then replace the traditional joining and assembly methods, including adhesive bonding, mechanical fastening, and co-consolidation bonding. The focus of current research is on developing resistance welding, a technology for joining large parts in a continuous/progressive manner. The process involves placing a layer of 12 jec composites magazine / No46 January-February 2009

JEC COMPOSITES MAGAZINE - Issue #46 - January/February 2009

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of JEC COMPOSITES MAGAZINE - Issue #46 - January/February 2009