Collins Aerospace’s Advanced Structures business unit is showcasing the latest innovations in lightweight, durable, and fuel-efficient materials for aircraft components at the Paris Air Show.
Inside the chalet of Collins Aerospace’s parent company, RTX, visitors can see examples of composite materials that the Advanced Structures group is developing to optimize manufacturing processes while making aircraft more durable, sustainable, and lightweight. The Collins display includes a thermoplastic nacelle fan cowl demonstrator as well as an NP2000 thermoset composite propeller system.
The RTX subsidiary's Advanced Structures division covers product lines including aerostructures (such as engine nacelles), landing systems (wheels and brakes), and propeller systems. The types of novel materials that are the focus of the unit’s research and development efforts boil down to two broad categories: structural composites and carbon matrix composites, Ajay Mahajan, president of Advanced Structures at Collins, told AIN.
Carbon matrix composites, formulated to perform in higher temperatures than traditional composite and metallic materials, can be found in Collins’ braking systems.
Structural composites include thermoset materials, which have been used to replace metallic structures for about 30 years, as well as thermoplastic materials, a new technology that Collins is currently rolling out in phases. Thermoplastic materials have a faster and simpler manufacturing process that requires less capital investment up front, and they are easier to repair, Mahajan explained.
The company already has some small secondary components made of thermoplastics, like clips and brackets, flying on aircraft today, including the Airbus A350 and Boeing 787. In the next 12 to 18 months, Collins aims to have thermoplastic nacelle components flying on commercial aircraft, followed by entire nacelle fan cowls in two to three years, according to Mahajan.
Collins Aerospace created the Advanced Structures unit in 2022 as a strategic initiative to address the aerospace industry’s growing need for lighter and more resilient materials. The unit merged Collins’ Mechanical Systems and Aerostructures businesses, as well as the Dutch Thermoplastic Components business it acquired in 2021.