Long Fiber Injection for Aerospace Applications

Long Fiber Injection (LFI) is a technology that combines automated spray application of a polymer matrix composite slurry with the low cost and rapid fabrication opportunities provided by compression molding. Under Air Force Research Laboratory sponsorship, Lockheed Martin, teamed with Krauss-Maffei and the University of Dayton Research Institute (UDRI), is adapting the commercial LFI process to provide for low cost composite structures for next generation unmanned aircraft systems. This presentation provides a description of the current technology, LFI equipment upDate:s needed for aircraft application, setup of a new LFI manufacturing cell at UDRI, and plans for material screening and manufacturing demonstrations going forward. Initial aerospace application is focused on the USAF Low Cost Autonomous Collaborative Platform program, but opportunities for application to a broad range of airframe applications will be enabled by successful implementation of higher performance materials.