JEC COMPOSITES MAGAZINE - Issue #61 - November/December 2010 - 46

USERS’ PLATFORM
Successful partners
Damping layer

for certain technical scenarios. It was vital that they find a solution to the main drawback of composite materials: their susceptibility to impact, particularly in the context of the composite rod project for landing gear struts. Hence, in conjunction with Ateca (F82), a shock absorption specialist recognized by the EADS group, the teams have once again pooled their know-how and skills to fill this gap and propose a technical solution not only for their own composite parts, but also for others on the market. For this innovation, the team set themselves some very strict technical and commercial constraints: working with recognized materials, offering users ease of implementation, and offering a range of damping levels and the visualisation of impacts.

New-generation composite fittings
Test of fittings

layer will also enable maintenance with no disassembly of the rod (or of the part concerned), thus significantly lowering downtime costs. Furthermore, Ateca made sure from the outset that it only selected certified materials that were already in use in aerospace programmes. This damping layer could be used for other applications, on account of it being capable of protecting all composite parts of whatever shape or form. One of the objectives of this layer is to eliminate the extra weight and thickness associated with the former solutions.

The pairing of Ateca and C&T achieved a technological feat in coming up with a solution in line with these technical specifications. Thanks to this damping layer, the teams are now capable of managing impacts to parts for energy levels of 10, 35, 70 and 90 J. This layer has been designed to enable rapid maintenance and LRU (line-replaceable unit) operation, either directly on the runway or in a repair station (PART145 or FAR145). This protective damping

jec composites magazine / No61 November - December 2010

Since its initial co-operation with SKF Aerospace France on the first patented composite fittings, back in 2008, C&T has managed to attract market attention. Today, the company has the opportunity to work on the optimization of certain primary airframe structures. That the company was chosen as a partner is due both to the originality of

be optimized to the maximum. The objective is to leverage the performance of carbon as efficiently as possible, and this gives rise to exceptional results: for an equivalent weight, the resistance is three times greater. Fully aware of the importance of innovation in composite materials, the technical teams, under the leadership of Yves Maheo, engineering manager at SKF Aerospace, Philippe Vie, CEO of Ateca and Guy Valembois of Conseil & Technique, continually strive to maintain the competitive edge they acquired with the first of their innovations. It is therefore in order to continue ensuring a strategic positioning on this market that SKF Aerospace France has selected C&T for most of its composite R&D projects. Thanks to their complementary skills, the three companies have succeeded in producing new technical solutions that can really make the difference. Today, the teams are in the final technical phase (TRL4) and have already begun their marketing initiatives.

the technical solution proposed by C&T and to the fact that, together, the two companies had previously succeeded in resolving the “unfolding” phenomenon for this type of part, thanks to the consolidated experience of each of the partners. The process also involves the upstream design of the composite part, which must

This is crucial, since the aviation and space sectors are extremely demanding arenas. Needless to say, the three companies are also looking to make inroads into other sectors, such as the railway and automotive industries. More information: www.conseil-et-technique.com

http://www.conseil-et-technique.com

JEC COMPOSITES MAGAZINE - Issue #61 - November/December 2010

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of JEC COMPOSITES MAGAZINE - Issue #61 - November/December 2010