Airbus shows the way in composites

Citation

(2005), "Airbus shows the way in composites", Aircraft Engineering and Aerospace Technology, Vol. 77 No. 1. https://doi.org/10.1108/aeat.2005.12777aad.004

Airbus shows the way in composites

Airbus shows the way in composites

Keywords: Airbus, Aircraft, Composite materials

For more than 30 years, Airbus has been successfully using composites in its aircraft, and the company is continuing to innovate in the field of new materials.

The history of aircraft development has seen an ever-increasing application of composite materials in aircraft, and Airbus is committed to continuing this trend by further developing composite technology.

Having pioneered the use of carbon fibre reinforced plastic (CFRP) as an alternative to metal, and demonstrating an evolutionary use of the material since its early days with the A300, Airbus is now applying composite technology to major components of its aircraft.

With the A380, Airbus has applied composites to fuselage areas, which 20 years ago was not thought possible. The aircraft incorporates the world's largest-ever composite rear fuselage section for a civil aircraft, as well as a centre wing box produced largely from the material (centre wing box panel of 7 x 4 m). In fact, over the years, Airbus has gone from 5 percent of composites in terms of structural weight on the initial A300 to almost 25 percent in the A380.

Composite materials have certain advantages such as strength, low weight, no corrosion and more durability than conventional aircraft materials. For the airline operator, this means a high performance aircraft that weighs less and is less expensive to maintain and operate. However, composites are not necessarily the best solution for all parts of the aircraft, the advantages depend on the type of loads and stresses that the parts are subjected to. As such, Airbus continues to research and develop advanced ultra light alloys as well as composites, believing that both material technologies may offer advantages.