Textile composite fuselage structures development

Phase 2 of the NASA ACT Contract (NAS1-18888), Advanced Composite Structural Concepts and Materials Technology for Transport Aircraft Structures, focuses on textile technology, with resin transfer molding or powder coated tows. The use of textiles has the potential for improving damage tolerance, reducing cost and saving weight. This program investigates resin transfer molding (RTM), as a maturing technology for high fiber volume primary structures and powder coated tows as an emerging technology with a high potential for significant cost savings and superior structural properties. Powder coated tow technology has promise for significantly improving the processibility of high temperature resins such as polyimides.