High-pressure resin transfer molding (HP-RTM) for the aircraft industry

Greenhouse gas emissions and fuel costs can be reduced by decreasing the aircraft weight. One key way to do this is the use of composite structures for the wings and fuselage. However, current manufacturing methods within the aircraft industry are labour intensive and costly. To satisfy the growing and competitive market, new process solutions are needed.
High-pressure resin transfer molding (HP-RTM) enhances the processing efficiency for structural aircraft components with regard to costs and cycle time. Initiated by the strategic cooperation between Hengrui Corporation and Fraunhofer ICT, an industrial consortium demonstrated the feasability of the HP-RTM process for the manufacturing of structural aircraft components.
The developed process chain consists of a fabric-based preforming concept with sequential stamp draping, followed by a high-pressure resin transfer molding step, completed by the final trimming of the component.

Key partners along the entire process chain were involved: ACTC (http://www.grouphrc.com/research/), Fraunhofer ICT (www.ict.fraunhofer.de), sgl carbon (https://www.sglcarbon.com/), Alpex (https://www.alpex-tec.com), Huntsman (https://www.huntsman.com/), Hufschmied (https://www.hufschmied-tools.com)
The HP-RTM process chain was built up and validated at Fraunhofer ICT’s facilities.