IRKUT reported today that the right composite wing panel of the MC-21 was delivered to its plant (IRKUT is a member of UAC ). In a world first, aviation specialists from AeroComposite used innovative vacuum infusion technology and the automatic carbon filler layup in the wing box manufacturing (the power base of the wing). Currently, Irkutsk Aviation Plant is conducting installation of systems on the assembled fuselage of the first MC-21 aircraft.
JSC AeroComposite is busy completing the left wing panel manufacturing.
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it’s not a wing panel, it’s a r/h wingbox assembly.
IRKUT’s email to us specified “right composite wing panel”
I understand but pictures show a wingbox assembly, which mean the wing panel has already been delivered a couple of weeks ago.
I think is is simply a “right composite wing”, the wingbox being more the part where the wings are attached
What it the difference between Irkut’s “vacuum infusion technology” and Bombardier’s “RTI (Resin Transfer infusion) ?
I found this page that talks about The RTI used in the CSeries and Irkut’s technology. Interesting.
http://www.compositesworld.com/articles/fabrication-methods-2015
Pierre
It sounds like Irkut must be using negative pressure on the opposite side of the resin nozzles to pull resin through the fiber. As a result, they can use a single sided hard tool on one side and a sort of vacuum bag on the other side to reduce tooling costs. Bombardier uses positive pressure on the side of the resin nozzles to push the resin through the fibers. This requires hard tools on each side of the part, but as I understand it, gives them a little tighter tolerance control.
Either one is innovative, because while resin transfer infusion has been used for a while in small to medium-sized composite parts, the size of the wing skins of either plane is unprecedented for this technique. I think it was in Composites World magazine I read that Boeing did some experimentation with RTI, but decided it wasn’t feasible and went with robotic pre-impregnated tapelaying instead. Between the smaller structures of the narrow bodies, and the additional brainpower thrown into developing the process in the following years, it looks like the smaller competitors have made it work.
I’ve heard the surface finish that results can very good, minimizing finish work after the part comes out of the autoclave.
I think some of the details got confused in the translation. As noted, that’s definitely a complete wing box, although the text also seems to describe some of their process for forming the skin panels, so they seem to be discussing multiple steps. Also, “power base” is an odd way to describe the wing box. I’d describe it as the structural core of the wing.