ECOSHAPE - Economic Advanced Shaping Processes for Integral Structures
Overview
Background & policy context:
A higher degree of integration during aircraft structure build-up needs to be developed, which will save weight and reduce manufacturing costs, for example a reduction in assembly cost (riveting process) by laser welding (for instance fuselage) or integral machining (for example, wing structures).
For such new concepts, the current manufacturing chain has to be altered, unifying the forming steps and shifting this new step further towards the end of production. This enables more processing, such as machining, pocketing, welding, to be done in a flat condition to achieve the full cost reduction potential.
Objectives:
The main project target was the development of new laser based forming process for integral fuselage and wing structures. Thus relevant laser parameters with respect to minimum material degradation on one side and maximum formable sheet thickness on the other side could be evaluated. A simulation tool for the forming process was built up and integrated into a control system. Key to the control of the process was the development of a predictive model to provide laser scan strategies based on a required geometry. This system included online 3D shape measurement to enable straight-line laser forming to the required final geometry.
The measurable objectives envisaged were:
- Forming stiffened structures to single curvature of 1 250 to 3 000 mm radii along stiffeners;
- Forming bi-axially curved structures with additional 10 000 mm radius across stiffeners;
- Verification of estimated shell manufacturing cost reduction of 10 % by more processing in a flat condition and a further 10 % by avoidance of heavy and complex tooling;
- Shell weight reduction of 10 % with new alloys, less useful with conventional forming.
Methodology:
The LBF (Laser Beam Forming) process uses the power provided by a laser beam to inject heat within a sheet. The heat flows into the sheet and modifies the temperature distribution. The temperature has two effects in the hot areas:
- an expansion;
- a decrease of the mechanical properties (and in particular of the yield stress).
Because of the temperature gradient in sheet thickness, mechanical incompatibilities develop themselves and create compressive stresses in the hottest and tensile stresses in the coldest layers. Since the yield stress in the hottest layers is lower, a compressive plastic strain field is created, which modifies the dimensions of the concerned layers. Cooled down to room temperature, the resolution of these incompatibilities leads to a residual stress field and distortions. Considering the motion of the laser, the summation of the distortions creates a line of bending, which can be described with a bending angle.
The project was structured into the following work packages (WPs):
- WP1: Processes and materials basics - consisted of three tasks with the objective to analyse basic laser forming influence for all selected materials on a specimen level.
- WP2: Process development and characterisation - consisted of four tasks with the objective to develop and up-scale the laser forming process for single curvature (two-dimensional (2D)) using laser geometry analysis, simulation and self learning path generation.
- WP3: Biaxial curvature capability enhancement - had the objective to develop further and enhance the forming process to cope with stiffened, biaxial (3D) curved generic shapes.
- WP4: Simulation and verification - consisted originally of four tasks with the objective to develop a thermo-mechanical and a benchmark model to simulate the laser beam forming, using a local-global approach.
- WP5: Economical evaluation, exploitation and dissemination - consisted originally of three tasks with the objective to prepare an economical evaluation of laser-based forming processes developed during the project to create an exploitation and dissemination plan based on all partners inputs.
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