JEC COMPOSITES MAGAZINE - Issue #72 - April/May 2012 - 54

sustainability
But there are two major factors that helped the company take off: developing an effective quality system and working with competitive clusters. From the very beginning, we caught on that having a lot of test machines would serve no purpose if we didn’t back up these investments with an internationally recognized quality system. So, we made significant efforts for example, contains more than 50% composites by weight, but also about 20% aluminium, 15% titanium, 10% steel and 5% miscellaneous materials. to obtain accreditations like ISO17025 and NADCAP NMMT, and from prime manufacturers like Airbus or Safran. Competitive clusters also played a key role. They allowed us to sit down with the prime manufacturers to get an idea of their needs, share our experiences and launch projects together. An incredible chance. all subcontractors and partners are sound. In this way, process validation and initial parts certification are subject to very precise characterization procedures to ensure control over the curing cycles – specifically through fibre content analysis and through differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) to characterize the curing rate – and over the characteristics of the parts obtained (thermomechanical analyses by dynamic mechanical methods (DMA), and compression, tensile and interlaminar-shear mechanical tests, in particular). Mass manufacturing processes for parts are also subject to strict monitoring, with verification of each batch. For greater accountability and optimum safety, these tests are not done by the parts manufacturers themselves, but by qualified independent laboratories in each country. Rescoll is one of the rare European laboratories to be certified by Airbus to carry out tests on composite materials both for the validation stage and the manufacturing stage.
JCM: Anything to add?

J. A. : Just to mention that, compared
to other European countries, France has a great lack of medium-sized professional technological structures. We are midgets next to the Basque, English, Dutch and German centres. Everything remains to be done, and we are looking ahead. tory that also provides direct on-site services for its customers. As a result, the laboratory has developed significant expertise in the characterization of polymers and composites, and now performs a broad range of mechanical, thermomechanical and physiochemical tests, among others, on this type of materials. The company first set out to obtain ISO 17-025 accreditation for tests on plastics and organic-matrix composites, then reinforced that by obtaining NADCAP’s Non Metallic Materials Testing (NMMT) certification. Once NADCAP had delivered a number of consecutive «zero non-compliance» audits, it granted Rescoll good laboratory performance status. The laboratory is also Safran group qualified for testing composite materials, and Airbus has qualified the company for a very broad range of about twenty tests (see box).

A unique process
Unlike for a metal, which can be machined, folded, etc., a composite part is produced at the same time as the material is being manufactured. The currently used thermoset composites need to be cured in autoclave after the moulding process in order to obtain a cohesive, homogeneous material. Therefore, manufacturing the part in the finished shape has a direct influence on the manufacturing of the material, and vice versa, so it is important that the composite manufacturer have perfect control over the manufacturing chain in order to obtain reproducible parts that meet aircraft manufacturer specifications.

Validation and certification
Aware of how important it is to control these parameters, one thing Airbus did was to set up a rigorous, comprehensive characterization programme for the composites designed for its aircraft, aiming to verify that the manufacturing processes of

Comprehensive services
To provide its customers with a full line of turnkey services, Rescoll endeavours to cover all stages: machining of specimens, conditioning specimens, NDT using ultrasound (one technician is certified for Level 1 COSAC/COFREN), bonding shoulders and strain gauges, testing in leadtime, quality and cost conditions that are compatible with the application. As a result, the company receives business from Airbus’ European, American and Indian subcontractors. n
More information: www.rescoll.fr

Composite testing with the highest of quality standards
Rescoll is a research company that specializes in innovation studies on industrial applications for polymer materials (resins, composites, adhesives, lacquers, etc.) and related fields such as adhesive bonding, surface preparation and coating, and material fire behaviour. To carry out its studies, the company created a characterization labora-

Fig. 2: Mechanical test

54 jec composites magazine / No72 April - May 2012

http://www.rescoll.fr

JEC COMPOSITES MAGAZINE - Issue #72 - April/May 2012

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of JEC COMPOSITES MAGAZINE - Issue #72 - April/May 2012