New Design Concepts for a CFRP Fuselage

Abstract

The goal for the next generation of aircraft in comparison to today’s structures is to reduce the weight of the fuselage by 30% and manufacturing costs by 40%. This objective makes an advancement in technology necessary, and this is expected to happen with the switch from aluminium alloys to carbon fibre reinforced plastics (CFRP). Within the framework of an HGF (Helmholz-Gesellschaft) project that is being sponsored by BMBF (Federal Ministry of Education and Research), intensive work on a “black” fuselage is being carried out at the German Aerospace Center (DLR) and the Forschungszentrum Karlsruhe (FZK). One goal of this project was the realization of the full-scale demonstration structure of a CFRP fuselage with a new design concept that has been adapted to the material by means of more economical manufacturing technologies. The manufactured section of a typical fuselage structure therefore reflects importantinsights and results of this project.