GKN Aerospace is a global manufacturer of air- and spacecraft components. In Trollhättan, the main focus is toward engine components which are made more efficient with light and strong materials. Development of composite components are part of the road towards more efficient aircraft engines. New materials and processes are constantly being developed and it’s in the company’s interest to evaluate if they can be utilized to improve engine efficiency. A new material have been developed that is in need of testing and evaluation to decide a manufacturing process fitted to GKN Aerospace. The material is a gapped unidirectional dry fiber fabric from Oxeon.

By processing the new material through different manufacturing methods, data was collected and evaluated. The material was tested in automated cutting, preforming, debulking, permeability and resin transfer molding (RTM), where key process variables (KPV’s) was also indicated. The processes and parameters used for this project are mainly based on previously used methods and values which have been altered to fit this new constituent, although some processes have been developed from scratch to suit this specific application. Through process development and testing, a final manufacturing process have been structured to fit the new material.