The research project : ARCHES 4.2

STELIA Aerospace has invested several million euros to successfully deliver the Research project « ARCHES BOX TP (2015-2017) within the CORAC platform. This project on deploying high-performance thermoplastic resin composites is both a technological challenge, because maturity is much lower than for thermoset composites, and an economic one, since it will be necessary to demonstrate a more competitive Low Cost High Volume overall application cost compared with aluminium metal technologies for the fuselage of a future medium-range aircraft.

By developing a generic thermoplastic structure demonstrator incorporating all the typical characteristics of a primary fuselage airframe (thin skin, lightning protection, stringers and frames), STELIA Aerospace wanted to carry out an initial internal evaluation of these technologies in a true industrial context.

Both architect and project lead, STELIA Aerospace carried out skins using automated fiber placement (AFP: carbon and lightning-strike protection deposition) with OOA consolidation (Out of Autoclave) on its own R&T resources at STELIALAB (Meaulte), as well as final integration of the elementary parts.

STELIA Aerospace selected and brought together leading French partners to provide additional technology building blocks: induction welding, rapid stamping of frames and stringers, and manufacture of hybrid short/long fibre parts by overmoulding.