UAV

    Since the birth of unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), weight reduction has become one of the research focuses of UAV scientists all over the world. Only the structural quality of the body will be brought down. To save more mass space to increase fuel and payload, to extend flight range and endurance.

    As carbon fiber composites are widely used in large civil airliners, they are also considered to be the best choice to solve the mass reduction problem in drones. Compared with traditional metal materials and composite materials, carbon fiber composite materials have the characteristics of light weight, high strength, anti-fatigue and anti-salt spray erosion, which can greatly improve the comprehensive performance of UAV when applied in the structure of UAV. According to statistics, advanced composite materials, mainly carbon fiber composites, are widely used in UAVs around the world, accounting for 60% ~ 80% of the total mass fraction of the structure and reducing the body mass by more than 25%. The application of carbon fiber composite plays an important role in the lightweight, miniaturization and high performance of UAV structure.

Application advantages:

1. Large specific strength and stiffness

    Compared with other composite materials, on the premise of satisfying the same strength and stiffness of UAV body, the characteristics of high specific strength and stiffness of carbon fiber composite material can greatly reduce the lightweight, miniaturization and high performance of UAV structure, which is of great significance to ensure the UAV has a longer flight distance and flight time.

2. It can be integrated and formed
    Uavs often need the overall aerodynamic shape of flying wing with high wing-body fusion, and need to adopt large area integrated molding technology in structure. After simulation and simulation calculation, the carbon fiber composite can be formed by molding, curing outside autoclave or RTM resin transfer molding.

3. Good corrosion resistance and heat resistance
    Carbon fiber composites also have excellent corrosion and heat resistance, and can withstand the corrosion and thermal expansion effects of water and various media in nature, which can meet the special requirements of long storage life of UAVs under various environmental conditions and reduce the life cycle cost of service and maintenance.

4. Implantable chip or alloy conductor
    Carbon fiber composites can also be implanted in chips or alloy conductors to form smart structural integrals that can be used in harsh environments for long periods of time. Without damaging the performance of implanted devices, it can reliably perform special tasks.

Application status
    Due to the advantages of carbon fiber composite materials in UAV application, a large number of advanced UAVs at home and abroad have used carbon fiber composite materials in recent years. Examples include the U.S. Global Hawk reconnaissance drone, X-45 series fighter drone, Helios drone, and China's Thunderbird carbon fiber drone.