Todos
← Back to Squawk list
Revolutionary new Boeing Dreamliner takes off Wednesday
On Wednesday, the world's first jet to be made mostly of carbon fiber, instead of traditional aluminum and steel, will carry passengers for the first time when Japanese carrier All Nippon Airways (ANA) flies from Tokyo to Hong Kong with 264 travelers on board. (travel.usatoday.com) Más...Sort type: [Top] [Newest]
Its got to be safe.
Please don't use that guy to narrate again, can't stand the voice.
Have been using carbon fiber in racing sailboats for many years strength to weight ration is about 10 to one. Weighs 60% less than most metals and is much stronger. Expense is the major reason for limited use.
Same for the automotive racing community. Talk to John Force or any F1 engineer about Carbon Composites vs Aluminum Alloys or even Titanium. Go down to the Chevy store and check out the newest Corvette. NASCAR's been using Carbon/Carbon brakes for almost 20 years now. The term "plastic" gets thrown around much too loosely, this ain't a happy meal toy.
The composites have no record over 20 years use in a commercial airliner that will see a temperature variation between plus 60 to minus 60 degrees C over many hours and cycles of use. Whilst we have a good knowledge of metals thus far in technology, we DO NOT HAVE a similar set in the new composites. For those who believe we can "model" the material with computer math I would suggest that nature and man can combine in so man ways the software writers have yet to realise. To cite the race car and sail boat as "proven" examples of composite material use is irrelavent in aerospace contexts.
In everyday language this material is too "brittle" for many applications in egineering. Does not handle sudden loading too well....snaps.