Small Business Innovation Research/Small Business Tech Transfer
NONA Cure of Prepreg Structures
Project Description
CRG's no-oven, no-autoclave (NONA) cure of OoA or autoclave prepreg materials allows the manufacture of large composite structures without the expensive and energy-intensive capital equipment currently required for fabrication. Qualified autoclave or OoA prepreg tapes can be applied simultaneously with dry unidirectional (UD) tapes in an automated process. The presence of dry fibers throughout the layup before infusion allows improved breathing, removal of volatiles from prepreg, and improved compaction with only atmospheric pressure, mimicking the double vacuum debulk (DVD) process without the equipment. NONA resin is then introduced at ambient temperature to wet out all available contact surfaces and cure itself and the prepreg. The NONA epoxy resin uses its own chemical energy to propel itself through a complete cure with no external heat required. The baseline NONA resin provides good strength, chemical resistance, and thermal performance up to 350F. Pairing NONA resin with a compatible prepreg a cure of both systems is achieved at room temperature. Because the cure occurs at room temperature, the NONA resin locks in its shape near room temperature, thus allowing the use of low-cost tooling materials, typically avoided because of high CTE.
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Anticipated Benefits
Supporting NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center, this project's technologies directly address requirements for new manufacturing processes and advanced materials for creating lightweight structures for heavy lift launch vehicles. This project's technologies offer the benefits of qualified aerospace prepreg systems combined with the low-cost tooling and low-capital curing of NONA manufacturing to reduce overall manufacturing costs and enable larger primary structures.
Government systems that would derive the same benefits would include the Next Generation Air Dominance multirole combat aircraft operated by the US Navy, the Long Range Strike Bomber operated by the US Air Force, the Future Vertical Life helicopter operated by the US Army, and multiple unmanned systems operated by all US Armed Forces Services. This technology's attributes for lower-cost high performance composite structure fabrication should yield a high potential for private sector commercialization for primary and secondary structural aerospace components. Specific customers would include Boeing, Airbus, Bombardier, Embraer, Sikorsky, and Bell Helicopter for fuselage, wing, and secondary interior structures. While new commercial aircraft designs have long cycles, the opportunity for aircraft interior retrofits using composites can have a shorter design and implementation cycle and deliver similar efficiency and durability performance improvements as primary and secondary structures. More »
Government systems that would derive the same benefits would include the Next Generation Air Dominance multirole combat aircraft operated by the US Navy, the Long Range Strike Bomber operated by the US Air Force, the Future Vertical Life helicopter operated by the US Army, and multiple unmanned systems operated by all US Armed Forces Services. This technology's attributes for lower-cost high performance composite structure fabrication should yield a high potential for private sector commercialization for primary and secondary structural aerospace components. Specific customers would include Boeing, Airbus, Bombardier, Embraer, Sikorsky, and Bell Helicopter for fuselage, wing, and secondary interior structures. While new commercial aircraft designs have long cycles, the opportunity for aircraft interior retrofits using composites can have a shorter design and implementation cycle and deliver similar efficiency and durability performance improvements as primary and secondary structures. More »
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Primary U.S. Work Locations and Key Partners
| Organizations Performing Work | Role | Type | Location |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cornerstone Research Group, Inc. | Lead Organization | Industry | Miamisburg, Ohio |
Marshall Space Flight Center
(MSFC)
|
Supporting Organization | NASA Center | Huntsville, Alabama |
Primary U.S. Work Locations
-
Alabama
-
Ohio
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