GKN develops processes for integrated composite wings

The company is also evolving its plans for drag-efficient natural laminar flow wings as part of the recently extended Clean Sky 2 EU research consortium.

Both wing concepts should be ready for test flights in either 2014 or 2015 according to the company, which plans to be ‘a major wing component supplier’ for the next generation of aircraft.

‘Up to now aircraft such as the [Airbus] A350, A400M and [Boeing] 787 have been largely based around a traditional “metallic” design philosophy, but using composite materials,’ Rich Oldfield, technical director at GKN Aerospace, told The Engineer. ‘We’re now moving towards a philosophy optimised for high-rate composite production.’

The company is aiming to achieve weight savings of five per cent relative to existing composite wings, while reducing overall cost by 25 per cent and maintaining a production rate of around 50 wings per month, or two per working day.

‘At the moment you’ve got automated technologies producing single-piece components that are then fabricated, bolted and assembled together; what we’re looking at for the next generation is to integrate those composite products and create them in a highly automated, very high-rate fashion,’ said Oldfield.