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The Composite Materials Handbook |
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AGATE Material Qualification and Equivalency for Polymer Matrix Composite Material Systems
J. Tomblin, Y. Ng, S. Raju, April 2001
The AGATE Material Qualification Methodology for Epoxy-Based Prepreg Composite Material Systems has no official recognition from the CMH-HDBK-17 Coordination Group.
The Advanced General Aviation Transport Experiments (AGATE) Consortium is a cost-sharing industry-university-government partnership initiated by NASA to create the technological basis for revitalization of the U.S. general aviation industry. It was founded in 1994 to develop affordable new technology as well as the industry standards and certification methods for airframe, cockpit, flight training systems, and airspace infrastructure for next generation single pilot, 4-6 place, near all-weather light airplanes. The AGATE consortium has more than 70 members from industry, universities, the FAA, and other government agencies.
The purpose of the AGATE Material Qualification Methodology for Epoxy-Based Prepreg Composite Material Systems is to describe an acceptable program to substantiate that the materials and processes employed meet appropriate Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) requirements. These requirements apply to the original material qualification. Once certified, changes to the material, process tooling, and/or facility require a review and repetition of some (or all) of these tests may be required. The plan gives specific information about the qualification program for epoxy-based pre-impregnated carbon or fiberglass unidirectional tape and pre-impregnated carbon or fiberglass woven fabric cured and processed at or above 240 degrees Fahrenheit. Specifically, this plan covers qualification methodology for no-bleed prepreg systems manufactured using vacuum bag molding.
Point of Contact:
Dr. John S. TomblinWichita State University/NIAR
316.978.5234 phone
316.978.3307 fax
The qualification plan is documented in PDF format. The statistical analysis that is part of the qualification plan is available as a Microsoft Excel spreadsheet file. This has been placed in a compresses ZIP file so that browsers do not mangle the spreadsheet.
©2000, MSC