[SUSTAINABILITY ??]

RECYCLABLE THERMOPLASTIC PANEL FOR AIRCRAFT INTERIORS 

A recyclable thermoplastic panel developed by Diab provides a sustainable solution for cabin interiors, where panels combining phenolic resin, glass fibre skins and a honeycomb core have been used for decades. It can be used in cabin interior applications such as sidewall and ceiling panels, overhead bins, and galleys.  

Advantages   

Thermoplastic skins offer many advantages for cabin interior applications, Diab reports, such as very good FST properties, no REACH issues, and no porosity generated during assembly. This eliminates the hours generally spent sanding the surface of typical phenolic interior panels before the finishing can be applied.  

The thermoplastic skins used for this development were made of a polycarbonate (PC) or polyetherimide (PEI) matrix. Combined with typical cabin interior glass fibre fabrics, the thermoplastic skins are 7-10% lighter than phenolic resin alternatives. Such skins used with a Diab Divinycell F (PES) foam core are said to be a perfect match since the closed cells of this foam eliminate the need for an edge fill to protect the panel against moisture absorption.  

The panel also benefits from the foam’s higher thermal and acoustic insulation properties compared to honeycomb. The skin-to-core assembly step is significantly faster than with phenolic skins since no curing is needed. The skins are welded directly onto the core without using an adhesive film. Most manufacturing processes can be used to assemble the panel, but press moulding is the best solution since it provides the greatest cycle time savings and allows more complex shapes.  

Single-step process  

One of the benefits of this solution lies in the ability to manufacture 3D-shaped decorated thermoplastic panels in a single-step process. During the same press moulding process, it is possible to thermoform the foam core and the thermoplastic skins and to weld the skins onto the core and the decorative laminate onto the skins. 

This was shown by the various demonstrators at Diab’s stand at JEC World 2022, produced in collaboration with AviaComp. This process leads to far lower production costs, eliminating many manual operations. The manufacturing cycle time can be reduced by 70-95%.  

Fully recyclable  

The thermoplastic panel provides a solution for the aerospace market to upcycle interiors parts at the end of the cabin’s life. Diab also demonstrated the recyclability of the whole panel.  

The panel won a 2022 JEC Innovation Award. The next step is to support industrial partners in transferring the technology to serial production. Another aspect will be to duplicate the development using natural fibres and bio-based recyclable polymers.  

Find out more in the article Recyclable Thermoplastic Panel for Cabin Interiors in the November/December issue of JEC Composites Magazine: https://www.nxtbook.fr/newpress/jeccomposites/jcm2211_148/index.php#/p/34