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Presented by: Dan Ott Web Industries Director, Business Development, Advanced Composites Market With the growth of Fiber Placement technology as a preferred automation technology in aerospace manufacturing and the rapid growth of new production line installations, it is crucial to provide material in a form which meets all necessary specifications and supports the optimum productivity available from this major capital investment made by the producer of the parts. Achieving these goals happnes when the part designer, AFP machine builder, and the slit tape producer design the best process and format which provides smooth, efficient and rapid delivery of the prepreg slit tape to the Fiber Placement laydown head. Tape size (width), slit width tolerance, spool shape and size, density of prepreg on the spool, spool change-over and handling processes all play a factor in productivity, and creating (or inhibiting) the best ROI on a full-scale AFP production line.

At the end of 2006, two MTorres engineers visited the plant of Airbus UK in Filton receiving a new challenge: Find a more efficient way to manufacture Carbon Fiber Spars for the new A350 program. The range of possibilities were wide: manual infusion methods (RTM, RIM, RFI...), Automatic Taping & hot forming, or the new technology proposed, Fiberplacement or AFP. Two (2) options were considered: hot forming+ATL and AFP (both using prepeg technology.) The usage of a flat lay-up + hot forming technology was used in the only Airbus program that used carbon fiber for the wing manufacturing so far, the A400M. The expected greater complexity of A350 spar created doubts on the feasibility of using the above process, while the AFP technology, consisting of laying up directly on the final shape of the spar, also raised questions of technical feasibility, apart from the economic ?business case?, in case the productivity of the cell was not big enough. A ?Spar team?

The foundation of many production aircraft assembly facilities is a more dynamic and unpredictable quantity than we would sometimes care to admit. Any tooling structures constructed on these floors, no matter how thoroughly analyzed or well understood, are at the mercy of settling and shifting concrete, which can cause very lengthy and costly periodic re-certification and adjustment procedures. It is with this in mind, then, that we explore the design possibilities for one such structure to be built in Belfast, North Ireland for the assembly of the Shorts C-Series aircraft wings. We evaluate the peak floor pressure, weight, gravity deflection, drilling deflection, and thermal deflection of four promising structures and discover that carefully designed pivot points and tension members can offer significant benefits in some areas.

Exatec� PC glazing technology team, has developed advanced weathering and abrasion resistant coatings technology that can be applied to protect polycarbonate. It is of particular interest to quantify and understand the factors that determine the surface abrasion performance of coated PC in rear window and backlight applications that have a wiper system. In the present study we describe Exatec's lab scale wiper testing equipment and test protocols. We also describe adaptation of optical imaging system to measure contrast and nano-profiling using nano-indenter, as post wiper surface characterization methods. These methods are more sensitive to fine scratches on glazing surface than standard haze measurement and mechanical profilometry. Three coating systems were investigated; Siloxane wetcoat (A), Siloxane wetcoat (B), and Siloxane wetcoat (B) plus plasma coat (Exatec� E900 coating). The performance comparisons were made using all these surface characterization methods.

This technical paper collection contains 29 papers covering lighting technologies. Topics covered include improving lower beam visibility, LED headlamp design, mirror mounted turn signals, condensation in headlamps, headlight glare exposure and recovery, glare on driving behavior, and more.

This technical paper collection contains 32 papers that cover automotive lighting technologies including product innovation and improvement, engineering analysis modeling and evaluations, advanced lighting technologies LED applications, and human factors in driver vision and lighting, rear and indirect vision.

The 28 papers in this technical paper collection discuss automotive lighting product innovation and improvement; engineering analysis: new light sources evaluations; advanced lighting technologies: LED applications; benefits of the advanced road illumination; and visual aspects of the lighting systems and how drivers are effected by the inputs of these systems.

The 16 papers in this technical paper collection discuss automotive lighting and human factors in driving vision. Topics include: image processing methods; adaptation into automotive of the NASA developed CATS (Cognitive Avionic Tool Set); safety and performance benefits associated with the use of a spotter mirror; automotive legibility; 25W HID headlamp; automotive illumination design with LED modules; and more.

The 9 papers in this technical paper collection focus on fire safety. Topics covered include hot surface ignition, oxidation on steel surfaces, standard tests for assessing the effectiveness of transit vehicle fire extinguishing systems, and more. The 9 papers in this technical paper collection focus on fire safety. Topics covered include hot surface ignition, oxidation on steel surfaces, standard tests for assessing the effectiveness of transit vehicle fire extinguishing systems, and more.

The 14 papers in this technical paper collection cover automotive lighting technology and human factors in driver vision and lighting. Topics discussed include LED design and applications, signal lighting, side view cameras, red light cameras, high dynamic range photography, and more. The 14 papers in this technical paper collection cover automotive lighting technology and human factors in driver vision and lighting. Topics discussed include LED design and applications, signal lighting, side view cameras, red light cameras, high dynamic range photography, and more.

The 6 papers in this technical paper collection are from the body engineering and design session from the SAE World Congress.

The 18 technical papers in this collection cover essential aircraft technology and applications that cover aircraft coatings, metal and composite fabrications and joining, economics of composites and lean manufacturing.

This technical paper collection covers papers with an emphasis on, but not limited to, innovative ideas to enhance automotive safety with improved material constitutive modeling, analysis method developments, simulation and pre/post processing tools, optimization techniques, crash code developments, finite element model updating, model validation and verification techniques, dummies and occupants, restraint systems, passive safety as well as lightweight material applications and designs.

This technical paper collection focuses on current developments in the fields of vehicle fire science, statistics, risks, assessment and mitigation. Papers addressing vehicle design, live-fire tests and fire investigation issues applicable to traditional, electric and alternatively fueled vehicles are included.

Vehicle aerodynamic development, drag reduction and fuel economy, handling and stability, cooling flows, surface soiling and water management, vehicle internal environment, tyre aerodynamics and modelling, aeroacoustics, structural response to aerodynamic loading, simulating the on-road environment, onset flow turbulence, unsteady aerodynamics, fundamental flow structures, new test methods and facilities, new applications of computational fluid dynamics simulation, competition vehicle aerodynamics.

This technical paper collection includes a DOE Vehicle Technologies paper as well as papers specific to the MMLV subsystems, and full vehicle test results including safety, corrosion, durability and NVH. The Life Cycle Analysis results associated with a 23.5% (363kg) full vehicle mass reduction, engine downsizing and lightweight materials, indicates a 21% reduction in fuel usage (6 mpg), 16% reduction in Global Warming Potential (CO2) and 16% reduction in Total Primary Energy vs 2013 Ford Fusion.

This collection of technical papers addresses advanced low cost aircraft structures; advanced robotics applications; aircraft coatings, polymers and sealant technologies; automated composites manufacturing; composites fabrications and joining; lean manufacturing, sig sigma & supply chain; metals, fabrication and processing; dimensional management and metrology systems; product design and manufacturing integration; and trimming, drilling & assembly of composites structures.

This document establishes the minimum criteria for effective training of air carrier and contractor personnel to deice/anti-ice aircraft to ensure the safe operation of aircraft during ground icing conditions. Appendix D specifies guidelines for particular airplane models.

Abstract Based on the characteristics of high strength and modulus of carbon fiber-reinforced composite (CFRP), in this article, the CFRP material was used to replace the steel material of the automobile’s B-pillar inner and outer plates, and the three-stage optimization design of the lamination structure was carried out. Firstly, this article used the principle of equal stiffness replacement to determine the thickness of the carbon fiber B-pillar inner and outer plates, and the structural design of the replaced B-pillar was also carried out. Secondly, on the basis of the vehicle collision model, the B-pillar subsystem model was extracted, and the material replacement and collision simulation were carried out.

Abstract Carbon fiber reinforced plastic (CFRP) has been used in automobiles as well as airplanes. Because of its light weight and high strength, CFRP is a good choice for making vehicle bodies lighter, which would improve fuel economy. Conventional metal bodies provide a convenient body return for electric wiring and offer good shielding against electromagnetic fields. Although CFRP is a conductor, its conductivity is much lower than that of metals. Therefore, CFRP bodies are usually not useful for electric wiring. In thunderstorms, an automotive body is considered to be a Faraday cage that protects the vehicle’s occupants from the potential harms of lightning. Before CFRP becomes widely applied to automotive bodies, its electric and electromagnetic properties need to be investigated in order to determine whether it also works as a Faraday cage against lightning. In this article, CFRP and metal body vehicles were tested under artificial lightning.