Application and Development of High-Performance Composites in Aerospace

Abstract

Introduction

With the development of aerospace equipment toward larger scale, lightweight, high reliability and reusability, traditional metallic materials can no longer meet the increasingly demanding performance requirements. Benefiting from strong designability, excellent comprehensive performance and structural integrated forming advantages, high-performance composites have gradually replaced metallic materials and become key core materials in aerospace. They play an irreplaceable role in the research and manufacturing of aircraft, satellites, rockets and other equipment, driving a revolutionary transformation from “single performance improvement” to “integrated functional integration” in the aerospace industry.

1 Types and Characteristics of High-Performance Composites

1.1 Carbon Fiber Reinforced Polymer Composites (CFRP)

• Specific strength reaches 1.5–2.0×10⁶ m (1500–2000 kN·m/kg), specific modulus up to 10.3×10⁶ m.

• Density is only 1/4 that of steel and 2/3 that of aluminum alloy, enabling significant lightweighting while ensuring structural strength.

• Excellent fatigue resistance, corrosion resistance and dimensional stability, maintaining stable mechanical properties under extreme temperature and humidity at high altitude, avoiding corrosion and fatigue failure of metals, thus greatly extending service life.

• Prepreg molding is the most common, allowing precise control of fiber orientation and thickness, widely used in fuselage, wings and other primary load-bearing components.

• Autoclave molding achieves high compactness and consistent mechanical properties under high temperature and pressure.

• AFP/ATL improves precision and efficiency for large integrated components, reducing manual errors and supporting large-scale production.

1.2 Aramid Composites

Aramid composites use aramid 1414 and aramid 1313 fibers as reinforcement, combined with resin, metal or other matrices. They excel in high-temperature resistance, flame retardancy and impact resistance, making them ideal for extreme-environment protection components.

• Intrinsically flame retardant, with limiting oxygen index (LOI) ≥ 28%.

• Long-term service temperature around 180 °C, resistant to short-term high temperature up to 500 °C without melting or dripping.

• Specific strength of aramid 1414 is 5–8 times that of steel, with elongation at break of 2.8%–3.5%, about 1.5–2 times that of general carbon fiber, showing excellent impact toughness. It dissipates impact energy through inter-fiber sliding and friction, providing effective protection against micrometeoroids and aerodynamic shocks.

2 Application Examples of High-Performance Composites in Aerospace

2.1 Lightweight Design of Aircraft Fuselage and Wings

• Boeing 787 and Airbus A350 use more than 50% and 53% composites respectively, achieving 20–30% weight reduction and 15% improvement in fuel efficiency.

• Boeing 787 adopts one-piece CFRP fuselage, integrating about 1,500 parts into a few integrated components, reducing safety risks and cutting maintenance costs by 30%.

In domestic civil aviation:

• C919 uses 12% composites, with vertical tail made of domestic T800 CFRP, reducing weight by 1.2 tons.

• The in-development CR929 wide-body airliner plans to exceed 50% composite usage, with domestic T700 applied in primary structures, achieving 25% weight reduction.

2.2 Applications in Satellites and Launch Vehicles

• Carbon fiber/polyimide composites withstand 300 °C and radiation doses up to 10⁵ Gy, successfully applied in the main frame of the Tianwen-1 Mars probe, retaining over 95% mechanical properties.

• Carbon nanotube reinforced composites are used in thermal control panels, doubling thermal conductivity.

• Aramid composites provide radiation and micrometeoroid protection for satellite electronics.