Design, Manufacture and Testing of a 1.5m diameter inter-stage skirt demonstrator.

The aim of the project is to manufacture the demonstrator from thermoplastic composite and without the use of autoclaves. The cylinder was manufactured from Suprem CF/PEEK using Automated Tape Placement (ATP) with in situ consolidation.

Stiffening elements were also manufactured from CF/PEEK using press forming and will be attached using Induction Welding. The final assembly will be tested in NUI Galway’s Heavy Structures Lab to confirm the stiffness and buckling performance. The project also included an extensive coupon and breadboard level test programme to inform the design of the final demonstrator