Grant: CCI Applied Research and Development Grants

Materials used in the manufacturing of commercial aircraft include a large proportion of composites. For new aircraft designs, composites can sometimes account for up to half of the total weight. The strong growth associated with the use of these lighter materials creates problems during the end of life of aircrafts. Recycling processes for composite materials are not effective enough, causing them to accumulate in landfills. Solutions to the current recycling problem of composite aerostructures are limited and not cost-effective. Actually, there is an urgent need to identify economical and profitable solutions related to the recycling of composite materials in the end-of-life of aircraft. The challenges are high when we consider that these materials are amalgamated with other types of metallic materials in variable structural geometries. The global project's main objective is to develop an innovative recycling framework for aerospace composite structures toward a sustainable design for the next generation composite structures. A pathway for the deconstruction, separation, and reclamation of individual composite components from all A220 composite structures « based on robotics and automation solutions » will be developed. In this project, we will mainly focus on the robotic technique required to automate the dismantling of aircraft structure and put in place a viable process. It is also intended to develop new machining method to reuse composite panels by generating predefined raw material uses in other recycling processes and give second life for larger composite part by integrating them in aircraft interior components that have fewer technical requirements. This project will bridge the gap between the needs of the Canadian aerospace industry in terms of composite aerostructure recycling and the current state-of-the art in aerostructure dismantling, carbon fibre extraction, eco-design, and recycled composites revalorization approaches. It is anticipated that industrial partners will play a critical role in the development of aircraft designed to take greater account of the end-of-life. They will also contribute significantly to the deployment of best practices to promote the recycling of composite materials used in the Canadian aerospace industry.