
Advanced Composite Techniques
by Zeke Smith
This book will teach the non-engineer aircraft technician and homebuilder how to make very light weight, high performance composite structures using simple techniques and widely available materials. Simple vacuum-bagging techniques using flat tools are described in detail. Then a 17 step self teaching course allows the reader to progress from the simplest flat open layup to a full-scale, closed wing section.
The basic technique taught is the cored skin, where thin glass skins are bonded to thick but light weight cores; thus producing very stiff, efficient, light weight panels. Several different techniques for forming and bonding these panels are also described.
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TABLE OF CONTENTS:
- Basic Principles of Composites
- Panels
- Environmental factors
- basic materials
- Overview of Technique
- handling and cutting glass cloth
- measuring and mixing resin
- wetting out
- handling core materials
- basic vacuum bagging components
- Material Handling
- shop safety
- measuring epoxy
- glass cloth
- tinting resin
- thixotropic fumed silica
- working temperatures
- Handling And Cutting Foam
- cutting sheets
- carving foam
- attaching foam to forms
- hot wire cutting
- curved shapes
- attaching foam to foam
- bending unskinned foam sheets
- bending thick flat panels
- bending slotted sheets
- Basic Lay-up Techniques
- wetting-out techniques
- the prepreg sandwich
- wet glass tape
- bonding fiber skins to foam
- Flat Tool Vacuum Bagging
- flat tool technique
- basic vacuum bag process
- Joints And Adhesives
- trimmed cured skins
- nature of adhesives
- practical adhesives
- bonded joints
- alignment, clamping, and inspection
- Taping and Basic Corners
- tape making
- corner bonding
- Formed Curves and Corners
- bending single skinned foam
- folded corners
- bending slotted sheets
- short radius folded joints
- the Vision Aircraft example
- Flanges and Closing
- the closing problem
- Attachments
- load transitions
- Single Curved Molds
- sheet molds
- shaping the mold sheets
- using a single curved mold
- very shapely curved molds
- Molding Techniques
- small shop commercial practice
- general principles
- producing a part from a mold
- Exercises
- 1] basic open flat layup
- 2] basic transfer layup
- 3] basic vacuum bagging
- 4] accurate prepregs
- 5] flat sandwich laminate
- 6] cored skin sandwich
- 7] bonding panels
- 8] vacuum release film experiment
- 9] flat cored panels
- 10] forming and joining
- 11] mailbox door and finishing
- 12] flat sided fuselage simulation
- 13] single curved wing skin mold
- 14] single curved wing skin
- 15] wing skin ribs and webs
- 16] bottom wing skin
- 17] wing closing flanges
- Appendix
- common tools
- temperature control
- standard composite tools
- measuring epoxy
- foam tools
- elementary beam theory
- fibers, weaves, and matrices
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