NAL to manufacture composite air-frame components for LCA Tejas
Tata Advanced Materials Limited to be Production Partner
National Aerospace Laboratories (NAL) in Bangalore has received an order of more than Rs 100 crore (Rs 1 billion) to deliver critical composite air-frame components to Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL), for the LCA-Tejas Full Operational Capability (FOC) standard aircraft.
NAL has identified Tata Advanced Materials Limited (TAML), Bangalore, as a production partner for these components.
The Co-curing Process for Carbon-BMI Composites was developed in India by NAL, after over two decades of technology-denial from foreign firms. The autoclaves necessary for processing these composite materials were also developed indigenously by NAL.
While composite structures developed using carbon-epoxy prepregs can withstand temperatures of upto 120⁰C, those developed using carbon-Bismaleimide(BMI) prepregs can withstand temperatures of upto 230⁰C.
NAL has the processing capability to produce highly contoured integral structure or simple components that can resist temperatures up to 200⁰C, using carbon-BMI prepregs. Primary air-frame components of the LCA Tejas like Fin, Rudder, Wing Spars and Fairings, Centre Fuselage and Main Landing Gear components have been developed using this technology.
It produced the engine-bay-door (Middle) of the LCA-TEJAS using Carbon-BMI prepreg. After undergoing qualification-tests and being cleared for flight-trails by certification authorities, LCA-TEJAS LSP7 & PV6 are flying with this engine-bay-door.
NAL has received an order to supply 20 sets of parts for FOC standard aircraft (SP21-SP40) at a cost of over Rs 100 crore. This includes the cost of tooling-development.
“The use of this co-curing technology in LCA has resulted in 40% reduction in the part count, 50% reduction in the number of fasteners, and 30% reduction in the assembly time when compared to a conventional metallic air-frame. The usage of composites has led to an overall weight reduction of about 20% in the air-frame,” said Dr Girish Sahni, Director General, Council of Scientific & Industrial Research (CSIR), India.
“It is a matter of pride for the country that LCA’s percentage deployment of composites is one of the highest among contemporary aircraft of its class anywhere in the world and this order of Rs 100 crore plus value is a major achievement for CSIR,” he added.
“The cutting edge technology is one of the critical technologies that make the LCA a 4th generation fighter aircraft,” said Dr. Harsh Vardhan, Minister, S&T and Vice President, CSIR.
