Overview
The overall, global objective of the LoKosT project was to develop innovative fiber reinforced polymers: With a holistic approach for development and production, it was the aim to reduce production costs up to 30% and the weight of high technology components up to 10%.
The project was divided into several subprojects. Each section contributed- in cooperation with partners and subcontractors- a certain aspect to the global objective. Therefore, several subgoals were formulated:
- Define and solve questions related to the basic technology. This is important to achieve a reliable level of know-how.
- Implementation and validation of interim results. The findings of this process can be used for further optimization of (basic) technology.
To achieve the overall and specific objectives, the LoKosT project was divided into 8 subprojects:
- Subproject A: vertical stabilizer box
- Subproject B: rear section
- Subproject C: NEROBA
- Subproject D: 3D profile
- Subproject E: HPL-Tech
- Subproject F: sandwich structure generic
- Subproject G: Process control
- Subproject H: Smart Tooling
Funding
Results
As the result of the LoKosT project, there are some innovative concepts for the economical industrial production of fiber reinforced polymer components. New materials, techniques and productions methods have been implemented. Airbus focused on the usage of fiber reinforced polymer components with a foam core at the vertical stabilizers. A 10%- reduction of weight and a 30%- reduction of production costs was achieved.
Findings of the study are published by a final report (German only), which is available online via the Technical Information Library (TIB) of the Hannover University: http://edok01.tib.uni-hannover.de/edoks/e01fb11/657121258.pdf
Other results
The findings of the LoKoST project could be used in further fields of application, such as Automotive Engineering and wind turbines.