Manufacturing Technology of Lightweight Fiber-Reinforced Composite Structures in Aerospace: Current Situation and toward Intellectualization

Lightweight fiber-reinforced composite structures have been applied in aerospace for decades. Their mechanical properties are crucial for the safety of aircraft and mainly depend on manufacturing technologies such as autoclave, resin transfer molding and automated layup technology. In recent years, the rapid development of intelligent technology such as big data, deep learning, and machine learning has encouraged the development of manufacturing technologies to become low-cost, automatic, and intelligent. However, the current situation and intellectualization of manufacturing technologies is not well summarized. This paper reviews the advances in manufacturing technologies for fiber-reinforced composite structures, including autoclave, out of autoclave, resin transfer molding technologies, automated layup technology and additive manufacturing technology. Then, these technologies are compared in advantages and disadvantages, and their intellectualization development and challenges are also discussed. Finally, the development trend of intelligent manufacturing technologies and intelligent composite structures are discussed. This work can provide a reference for researchers in the related filed.