The reduction of the environmental footprint of aviation relies on the development and fast deployment of lighter and more efficient polymer composite structures; however, the current configurations of composite aerospace structures result in a highly constrained design space. Additionally, the limitations of the state-of-the-art analysis methods result in overly conservative designs and in time-consuming certification methodologies. As a result, composite laminates have only contributed to modest weight savings in aircraft structures. Based on these observations, the main objective of the project is to unleash the full potential of composite systems to yield more efficient aerospace composite structures. The premise is that polymer composite laminates are far from being used to their full potential, and that significant performance improvements of composite aerospace structures can be obtained by developing a new systems-thinking methodology that will link the different scales of a composite system. The methodology relies on the combination of new experimental studies, conducted at the micro-scale of the composite material, that will guide the development of analysis methods at different spatial scales. The theoretical developments, guided by experiments and computations, will create the building blocks of a neural network that will unravel the currently hidden relations between manufacturing conditions, micro- and meso-structures of a composite material, and the performance of a composite structure. Overcoming this knowledge gap will enable the development of new, non-conventional micro-structures using different types of reinforcing fibres, and of new laminate configurations that will not be restrained by a limited set of fibre orientation angles. It is expected that, for the first time, the discontinuity between material design and structural design will be removed, opening new avenues for concurrent optimization of composite materials and structures.

The DeMAnD project has been set up to plan and execute an efficient mechanical material characterization program to deliver within the time duration set out by the JU a dynamic material property data base for typical aircraft materials, with a special focus on seat and crash absorbing structures of small aircraft. This dynamic material characterization will be carried out over a wide range of strain rates, ranging from quasi-static loading up to high strain rates of 500 s-1. The project brings together renowned experts in the areas of test method development, static and dynamic testing of aircraft materials and structures, simulation and design of aeronautical crashworthiness structures and data reduction and preparation for dynamic finite element codes and material models. For the various strain rate regimes, the best suitable test equipment has been identified and is available within the consortium. This will ensure the determination of high quality material data and complete stress-strain curves from static up to high strain rate loading, allowing the derivation of the strain rate dependent material behavior for all material properties needed for predictive crashworthiness simulations.

INSCAPE (In situ manufactured carbon-thermoplast curved stiffened panel) main objective is to enhance the automated thermoplastic fiber placement process and machine to manufacture an in situ consolidated double-curved structure including in situ joining of stiffener and skin laminate. Taking the state-of-the-art into consideration, the proposed project will focus on using and enhancing the possibilities and advantages of automated thermoplastic Automated Fiber Placement (TP AFP) to create an efficient process to manufacture complex carbon fiber reinforced thermoplastic aerospace structures. The sensitivity of the process leads to a mandatory 100% automation for reproducible, industrial production.