Tods Aerospace, a Unitech Aerospace company, has completed an 18 month project to develop lightweight damage resistant composite fuel pipe assemblies for composite aircraft fuel tanks.
The project was part funded by the UK National Aerospace Technology Exploitation Programme (NATEP) and supported by Airbus Operations Ltd.
The materials and techniques developed for manufacturing the pipe assemblies have been chosen to enable automation of the process to allow efficient mass production, the company said. A static and fatigue test program has demonstrated that thin wall composite pipes with conductive injection moulded end-fittings can withstand internal and external pressure load cases and are resistant to impact damage and fatigue cycles.
NATEP is a £40 million technology development program derived from a bid by the Aerospace Growth Partnership to the Government’s Advanced Manufacturing Supply Chain Initiative. The goal of the program is to mature undeveloped aerospace technologies and increase manufacturing jobs in the UK.
This story is reprinted from material from Tods Aerospace, with editorial changes made by Materials Today. The views expressed in this article do not necessarily represent those of Elsevier.
