Innovative Applications of Structural Power Composites in Aircraft
Dr. Peter Linde
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Innovative Applications of Structural Power Composites in Aircraft
Peter Linde
German Aerospace Center, DLR, Bonn, Germany
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Structural power composites, a class of multifunctional materials, may facilitate lightweighting and accelerate widespread electrification of sustainable transportation. In the example considered in this paper, structural power composite fuselage components could provide power to open aircraft doors in an emergency and thus reduce or eliminate the mass and volume needed for supercapacitors currently mounted on the doors. To demonstrate this concept, an 80 cm long multifunctional composite C-section beam was designed and manufactured, which powered the opening and closing of a desktop-scale composite aircraft door. Twelve structural supercapacitor cells were made, each 30 cm × 15 cm × 0.5 mm, and two stacks of four cells were integrated into the web of the beam by interleaving and encasing them with low-temperature-cure woven carbon fibre/epoxy prepreg. This article culminates by considering the engineering challenges that need to be addressed to realise structural power composite components, particularly in an aerospace context.
Structural Power Composites store electrical energy whereas at the same time they form a part of a structure. In this manner it is possible to save weight and space, compared to separated electrical energy source and structure. The continuous development of aircraft opens opportunities to apply Structural Power Composites. The presentation will give an overview of recent innovations in German aeronautics industry in which Structural Power Composites are potentially applied within: aircraft systems, aircraft cabin as well as aircraft manufacturing engineering and other areas. A summary and outlook will be provided.
References
- 1.Structural power composites, a class of multifunctional materials, may facilitate lightweighting and accelerate widespread electrification of sustainable transportation. In the example considered in this paper, structural power composite fuselage components could provide power to open aircraft doors in an emergency and thus reduce or eliminate the mass and volume needed for supercapacitors currently mounted on the doors. To demonstrate this concept, an 80 cm long multifunctional composite C-section beam was designed and manufactured, which powered the opening and closing of a desktop-scale composite aircraft door. Twelve structural supercapacitor cells were made, each 30 cm × 15 cm × 0.5 mm, and two stacks of four cells were integrated into the web of the beam by interleaving and encasing them with low-temperature-cure woven carbon fibre/epoxy prepreg. This article culminates by considering the engineering challenges that need to be addressed to realise structural power composite components, particularly in an aerospace context.
- 3.European patent. EP000004051579B1. In lightweight aircraft and drones it is important to store energy on board in an as efficient manner as possible. Structural batteries may be integrated in the wing ribs manufactured of composite. The multitude of ribs lend themselves to repeated application of structural battery cells, that form part of e.g. the ribs' web. In this manner a large number of cells can be connected in series and in parallel. Thus large voltage can be obtained as a result. The patent provides examples to the structural integration and the circuitry.
- 4.U.S. Patent. US020230029285A1. The side wall in a commercial aircraft may have to be thin due to interior space requirements. In this case cold air will radiate from the wall towards the passengers, despite thermal insulation. A solution may be to obtain energy from solar cells placed between the outer and inner window, and connect these to heating spirals in the side wall. During night operation energy from the solar cells may be stored in thin structural batteries forming a part of the sandwich side wall lining. .
Grants
- H2020 European Research CouncilH2020-EU.3.4.5.1. #738085
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P. Linde (2025, April 7), Innovative Applications of Structural Power Composites in Aircraft
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