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Alan G. Miller, director of technology requirements & incorporation for Boeing Commercial Airlines – Product Development.
Alan G. Miller is the director of technology requirements & incorporation for Boeing Commercial Airlines – Product Development. Miller oversees the development of multi-platform airplane and services requirements, which focuses on the technology investments for Boeing across all technical disciplines. Prior to joining the Product Development team, he was the director of technology integration for the 787 Dreamliner.
What prompted Boeing’s use of composites on a larger scale?
In early 2000 we went to our airline customers and talked about a new airplane called the sonic cruiser. It could travel near Mach 1, allowing higher equipment utilization because they could use it, then turn around and fly back. But that’s not same as fuel efficiency, which they preferred. Things that improve fuel burn and lower emissions are things they can translate quickly into a financial statement.
In the airplane business, you always have to look ahead and see what’s around the corner. The material system has been ready for a long time but has not been cost-effective for large structure applications until recently due to advances in manufacturing technologies and design for use of those manufacturing methods. As a result, Boeing and its partners developed manufacturing techniques and tools that have made it economically feasible to create large composite structures in an efficient manner.
Are there specific technologies that have allowed composites to come into greater use within aerospace?
I would actually turn the question around a little bit and say composites have allowed us to do things much better. In the 787 for example, when we build metallic airplanes, they are relatively sensitive to the thermal environment. So, they become larger or smaller depending on the temperature, whereas composites are more stable. The actual physics of composites is not something we developed but are able to take advantage of regardless. It allowed us to come up with manufacturing systems that don’t rely on compensation tooling, so we are able to develop lean manufacturing systems. As a result, parts are going together much faster than we would have traditionally seen, and much of that is from composites.
Why composites over other materials?
Basic physics. Composites usage started in airplanes in 1947 with glass reinforced composites–carbon wasn’t around at that time. We are always looking for ways to make the aircrafts more lightweight and improve the ability to integrate structures. Composites tend to take smaller parts and make them more integrative. In terms of material performance, it is lighter weight and more durable.
Not only did we talk about performance, light weight and integrating of parts, but things we could do in aerodynamics that were hard to do with monolithic materials. On the cost side, we’ve come down on the learning curve with assembly issues. We have some dramatic data showing significant improvements.
What role do you see composites playing in Boeing’s future?
At a recent conference I gave the message that every next airplane is based on a previous plane. When we look at what drives us on this and the next airplane, questions are still the same. We are in a customer value creation business, and while composites was a fabulous answer for the new 787, that level of performance is what our other airplane has to improve on. We aren’t beholden to composites or metals. It could go either way.
What are factors in that decision?
There are some inherent issues in composites that make them very appealing. For example they enable us to design larger, more integrated pieces and in terms of the environment, it results in less waste and the use of fewer hazardous materials. But we aren’t about choosing one path over other for the value it could create for customers. We could very well go back to metals. I’d say we will make that decision based upon requests of the design. We don’t want people to think we are dogmatic about it. It’s an integration question; people paint the image too much of a one-sided perspective and we try to be very balanced.
What performance properties would you like to see improved in composites materials?
Performance properties are the same basic drivers for aluminum, titanium or any other aerospace materials: continued balanced improvements across all the major design properties of tension, compression, shear, crack resistance, etc. Also, there need to be continued advances in manufacturing cost reduction associated with fabrication and assembly.
In the future, where do you see potentially for composites?
Looking ahead at 3-D reinforcement strategies that allow load transfer around corners, the density for composites is less, so weight performance could be improved if we can design a part to do that. That’s a part of the pie that could shift from metal to composites. Having said that, the metal guys aren’t standing still – we’ve given them the same challenge. Can they improve their properties/capabilities? From our point of view, it’s an even horse race between composites, titanium, aluminum and steel.
Are there other areas you’d like to see improved?
Composites have a lot of legs and reach into other parts of society. The same things it’s doing in aerospace, it is or could do in energy, electronics and infrastructure. The composites story is not just about an airplane (which is an interesting story in itself), but is a first step in increased design capability. Usually, you have a material and you say, “This is what it is, now let’s go design an airplane or a car out of it.” Instead, composites can be tailored to a specific use. That’s a different view of the future than people have thought in past.
Tune in next week for more Q&A’s with Boeing’s Alan Miller.
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