At the end of June, CATEC took part in the European Composites Congress (ECCM22), which was held in Oslo (Norway), where a team of colleagues from the Advanced Testing and Processes Unit were able to share some of our latest developments aimed at improving the sustainability of composite materials and advanced manufacturing solutions in the aeronautical sector.
José Luis Morillo delivered a presentation entitled ‘Optimisation of mechanical properties in fibre-reinforced composite materials made with reused uncured prepreg offcuts from the aeronautical sector’, in which he introduced the DIRECTOR-A project (Innovative Development of Waste Reuse in the Fabric Cutting Process for the Aeronautical Sector), in which CATEC is participating. The aim of this project is to research and develop a new generation of sustainable aeronautical tooling, manufactured entirely from the waste generated during the cutting of prepregs—typical of the hand lay-up process—which also incorporates integrated sensor technology for in situ monitoring of the tool’s condition during use, thereby enhancing its traceability, reliability and service life.
During the presentation, our colleague explained the process for optimising the mechanical properties of CFRP laminates produced from prepreg waste. This work has been funded by the DIRECTOR-A project, as part of the cutting-edge aerospace and health PERTES programmes, funded by the European Union’s “NEXT GENERATION EU” programme (IDI-20240463).
For his part, Jorge Sogorb presented a poster entitled “Development of a leading-edge rib based on short carbon fibre-reinforced thermoplastic using additive manufacturing”, as part of the RIBAM Project: Research into Innovative and Breakthrough Additive-Manufactured Leading-Edge Concepts.
The aim of this initiative is to develop new manufacturing technologies for large components that form part of the primary structure of aircraft. Notable among this set of manufacturing techniques are automated fibre placement (AFP) using thermoplastic resins, the innovative additive manufacturing process using short-fibre-reinforced thermoplastics, and the new methodology for joining components based on inductive welding technology. This research has been funded by the European Commission under the Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme, as part of the RIB-AM project, grant agreement No 821233.
In addition to all this, the ECCM22 conference provided an opportunity to share the latest scientific and technological advances in the field of composite materials with other researchers, technology centres, universities and companies from around the world. It was a highly enriching experience that will help drive further progress in this field.
