Technical Diagnostics and NDT

"Automated fiber placement to replace established tape laying/drape forming process for the composite rear spars on the new midsize commercial passenger jet" Headquartered in Redditch, Worcestershire, U.K., GKN Plc’s Aerospace Division continues its strong growth, based to a large extent on its expertise in the production of composite structures. Even the 50 percent of the business that is not focused on composites is based primarily on materials technologies, such as complex titanium aero-engine components and cockpit canopies with vacuum-deposited surfaces to enhance stealth performance. This should not come as a surprise, because GKN’s first use of materials technology to gain market share was in the 1860s, when it dominated the railroad supply business by being the first company in the U.K. to make steel by the cost-effective Bessemer process. The company produced more than 56 million lb (25,400 metric tonnes) of steel per year by 1871. Fig. 1: The inner rear spar demo...

"ITT Corp. reported on Nov. 19 that it delivered its first major composite structural sponson subassemblies for the CH-53K heavy-lift helicopter to Sikorsky Aircraft Corp.; Spirit AeroSystems has completed a mold/cure cycle for one the panels that make up the longest section of the Airbus A350 XWB’s all-carbon fiber fuselage" ITT Corp. (Salt Lake City, Utah) reported on Nov. 19 that it delivered its first major composite structural sponson subassemblies for the CH-53K heavy-lift helicopter to Sikorsky Aircraft Corp. (a subsidiary of United Technologies Corp., Stratford, Conn.). The delivery is the culmination of nearly three years of advanced design, development, testing and manufacturing activities, according to ITT. The CH-53K is the latest iteration of Sikorsky’s legacy helicopters, used by the U.S. Marine Corps since 1963. The K model, also known as Super Stallion, will offer significantly greater payload capacity than its predecessor and is currently the largest mariti...