Blog 23 – Exit Interview

~Composites were probably the most important part of my research throughout the year; I have learned how different materials are used and why.

1. What is your essential question, and what are your answers?  What is your best answer and why?
1. Essential Question: How can aircraft manufacturers utilize today’s technology in order to be cost efficient?
2. Best Answer: Additive Manufacturing(AM)
1. I found additive manufacturing to be my best answer because additive manufacturing increases opportunity to develop advanced designs previously unattainable. For example, the integration of lattice structures that AM technologies make possible provides potential to increase strength and stiffness per given weight or mass (S&TR, Materials by Design). Moreover, Additive manufacturing techniques are also constantly being improved in time. With each year, more and more aircraft manufacturers are using additive manufacturing techniques to create complex aircraft components.A common problem with new technologies in the manufacturing industry is the lack of its use within the field. This hinders the developments that may improve the technology; however, with the amount of AM users consistently growing, improvements on additive manufacturing will continue to occur (Eric Fodran, Personal Interview).Moreover, I believe that additive manufacturing carry a significantly greater advantage over traditional manufacturing as it can fabricate the same structural designs as subtractive and formative shaping, and can also implement more sophisticated geometrical designs in its end product––designs that carry great potential in aircraft and spacecraft weight reduction and strength/stiffness enhancement.
2. In comparison to my other two answers–use of efficient designs through complex geometric structures and implementation of advanced aircraft engine designs–additive manufacturing holds a much better chance of being technologically and economically significant to the aerospace industry.
2. What process did you take to arrive at this answer?
1. Arriving at this answer was actually pretty easy for me. At the beginning of the year, most of my research was on the aerospace industry as a whole; looking at the different branches of aeronautics, I started to look into how aircraft engines can reduce fuel consumption through the use of an efficient propulsion system(aircraft engines). It wasn’t until my first interview with my mentor, Eric Fodran, when I was introduced to the idea of additive manufacturing; however, after that, most of my research was focused on aircraft materials and weight reduction. Eventually, I started to look into additive manufacturing when I felt that I had enough background information knowledge. My 1st and 2nd Independent Component also helped strengthen my best answer(as well as my 2nd best answer).
3. What problems did you face?  How did you resolve them?
1. The biggest problem I faced was probably the length of the sources I had; most of them were just too long (50-600+ pages) that I was not able to read through/take thorough notes. There were times when I had difficulty looking for the “significant” sections to take notes on; however, my mentor was always there to help me with finding sections and even sources to use for research. Aside from my mentor, time was really the biggest help; by the time I finished IC#1, I was already used to the terminology used in the my sources. I also knew what I needed to look for.
4. What are the two most significant sources you used to answer your essential question and why?
1. The two most significant sources I used to answer my essential question would probably be the “Aviation Technician Handbook” by the Federal Aviation Administration, and the “Composite Materials Handbook” by the United States Department of Defense. The FAA handbook was a source that I had been using even before meeting my mentor; it was very easy to understand and usually had whatever I needed. The DoD handbook was also very useful as it gave detailed explanations on composite materials and processes. Most of the research I have conducted throughout the year has been on factors that utilize composite materials and manufacturing processes; the composites handbook was extremely helpful in finding explanations on specific materials and AM processes.
1. Federal Aviation Administration, U.S. Department of Transportation. "Aviation Technician Handbook - Airframe Volume 2 Chapter 7: Advanced Composite Materials." DOT, FAA, 2012. PDF File. <http://www.faa.gov/regulations_policies/handbooks_manuals/aircraft/amt_airframe_handbook/media/amt_airframe_vol2.pdf>.
2. “Composite Materials Handbook Volume 3. Polymer Matrix Composites Materials Usage, Design, and Analysis 2.4.1.1 Carbon and Graphite Fibers.” United States Department of Defense, 17 June 2002. PDF File.