Environmentally friendly and sound-absorbing - these are the new materials that will be used in aircraft cabins in the future. Until now, fibre composites used in the cabin have been characterised by optimisation for economical, ultra-lightweight construction. They are currently based almost exclusively on petrochemical raw materials for resin and fibres - bio-based and recyclable materials are still lacking. Low noise levels as the basis for comfortable travelling with good speech intelligibility are achieved through sound-absorbing glass wool between cabin wall panels with sandwich construction and the aircraft wall as well as through the panel surface, with decreasing success in smaller aircraft.
Bio-based & recyclable materials
Under the leadership of MATERIALS in Niklasdorf, the FFG-project bioCOMP4acoustics is now researching bio-based materials that are easy to recycle and do not require toxic fire retardants.
In the project, MATERIALS will deal with the application of the special fibre coating using atmospheric pressure plasma and ultrasonic spray technology as well as with material testing to obtain data for subsequent acoustic simulation.
Ultimately, an initial integration as a prototype in business aircraft is planned - with a simpler certification process compared to commercial aircraft, but higher customer demand for sound insulation.
