Over the past few years, the Commercial Aircraft Industry has faced rising aviation turbine fuel (ATF) prices. In 2003, ATF prices accounted for only 13 percent of operating expenses of a commercial airline. As of 2012, ATF costs are five times greater than in 2003, accounting for 33 percent of operating costs. In order to offset this expenses, many commercial airlines are looking into more fuel-efficient aircrafts.
Enter Aerospace Composites.
Aerospace composite materials are used in fuselage, wings, elevators, rudders, ailerons, landing gear doors, and engine nacelles. The benefits of composites in aircraft design are:
- High strength-to-weight ratio
- Excellent fatigue endurance
- Corrosion resistance
- Wear resistance
- Malleability
- Reduced use of fasteners and sub-assemblies
Aerospace composites aid in keeping aircraft lighter and more fuel-efficient, which is increasingly leading to a shift from traditional materials such as aluminum, titanium and steel to the use of aerospace composites. This shift is helping to drive Aerospace Composites Market growth at a CAGR of 14.37 percent for the 2013-2018 period.
The Global Aerospace Composite market is witnessing increasing demand for strong and lightweight materials such as prepregs and resin infusion systems that use advanced composites. Vendors in the market are expanding their capabilities in order to benefit from the upcoming market growth. For instance, Shanghai Aerospace Composite Structure Manufacturing (SAMC) collaborated with GKN Aerospace Service to manufacture and assemble the composite horizontal tail plane for the C919.
The carbon fiber horizontal tail plane (HTP) is made using current advanced composite processes. It consists of two major torque-box assemblies joined together at a center rib and includes elevator assemblies. Working with SAMC, GKN Aerospace will carry out HTP development activities and, on completion of this phase, will move into a manufacturing joint venture. This joint venture will be called Shanghai GKN-SAMC Aerospace Composite Structure Manufacturing Co. Ltd.
In addition, carbon fiber-reinforced composites (for example, composites containing carbon fibers and epoxy resin) have become an attractive alternative to metal for many aircraft components in the Aerospace industry. Carbon fiber-reinforced composite materials offer improved properties such as lower weight, improved fatigue/damage resistance, corrosion resistance, and negligible thermal expansion.
Aircrafts like the A380, A350 and B787 use large amounts of composite materials, and about 50 percent of the B787 and A350 aircraft are made of composites materials.
For more information about what’s happening in the world of aerospace composites, view our 2014-2018 Global Aerospace Composites Market report.
