Title: Toward Fully Unitized Stitched Infused Composite Aerospace Structures

Authors: Erin Anderson, Alana Cardona, Jacob Martin

DOI: 10.33599/nasampe/s.25.0005

Abstract: Stitched resin-infused composite structures offer a number of benefits over traditionally manufactured composite aerospace components. Among these benefits are reduced weight and reduced production time, frequently realized as a reduction in number or total elimination of traditional fastening methods (i.e., bolted joints or rivets). However, best practices for the design and manufacture of stitched composite parts are still under development. The proposed paper will discuss the development of the manufacturing process of a stitched infused composite strut that was manufactured as part of a 15-ft structural test article under the Advanced Air Transport Technology (AATT) and Flight Demonstrations and Capabilities (FDC) projects at NASA Langley Research Center. Topics covered in detail will include design for manufacturing of a stitched composite strut, development of tooling, iterative manufacturing demonstrations, and development of stitching and composite-preform manufacturing processes. A discussion of lessons learned and proposed updates to known best practices for the development of stitched infused composite structures will serve as a conclusion to this effort.

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Conference: SAMPE 2025

Publication Date: 2025/05/19

SKU: TP25-0000000005

Pages: 16

Price: $32.00