Aircraft Industry Input on FAA Certification Methods for VARTM Process Materials Survey

The following survey is your opportunity to help form new FAA policies and requirements. It will take only 5-10 minutes to complete. Thank you for your time.

Question Title

* 1. Do you currently use or have used any type of resin molding process for building of materials/products?

Yes

Question Title

* 2. Are you aware of the FAA document DOT/FAA/AR-06/25 that describes guidelines for development and use of resin molded materials?

Yes

Question Title

* 3. For varying resin chemistries, which additional verification methods are used to ensure the appropriate mixing or to analyze the ingredients present?

HPLC

FTIR

Thermal Testing (i.e. DMA, DSC, etc.)

Viscosity

Question Title

* 4. What tests performed at the resin level are provided by your supplier's process specifications or receiving information?

HPLC

FTIR

Thermal Testing (i.e. DMA, DSC, etc.)

Viscosity

Color

Gel

Flow

Question Title

* 5. If blending resin batches, what chemical analysis tests are used to determine the nature and type of the blending?

HPLC

FTIR

Thermal Testing (i.e. DMA, DSC, etc.)

Viscosity

Color

Gel

Flow

Question Title

* 6. How useful do you find the color of the resin at different stages in the process in providing information about the quality of a batch? (pg 16)

Very helpful

Somewhat helpful

Not helpful

If used, list the appropriate methods:

Question Title

* 7. Does the tracking policy implemented by your material suppliers of resin provide documentation of the following? (Select all provided).

Temperature logs of freezers

Out times of materials

Regulations for freezing

Question Title

* 8. Which of the following describe how qualified employees of varied levels are to produce composites using your process specifications?

Tech 1 qualified at all methods

Tech 1 qualified at several methods

Tech 1 qualified at limited methods

Tech 2 qualified at all methods

Tech 2 qualified at several methods

Tech 3 qualified at all methods

Tech 3 qualified at advanced methods

Question Title

* 9. When testing resin samples from the mixed batch, do you test for ultimate Tg?

Yes

Question Title

* 10. If so, what test method is used?

DMA

DSC

TMA

Modulated DSC

No test for ultimate Tg

Question Title

* 11. When carrying out resin infusion, which factors do you take into consideration to determine the number of thermocouples necessary for adequate measurements for a large panel?

Thickness

Resin viscosity

Total area

Ramp rate

Heat survey

Question Title

* 12. When inspecting a panel after cure, do you use any of the following to determine whether the resin is sufficiently cured? (select all tests used)

Chemical tests

Thermal tests

Physical tests

NDI

Visual tests

If yes, please specify which methods:

Question Title

* 13. When testing the physical properties of your cured composites, do you test for thermal induced microcracking from scenarios like temperature cycles or heat -up spikes?

Yes

If so, please specify which method and list why you choose to do so:

Question Title

* 14. How long do you keep records of your raw batch ingredients?

1 year

3 years

5 years

7 years

10 years

Question Title

* 15. What are your guidelines for mixing of resin and fiber batches?

Any batch of resin mixed with another

Any batch of fiber mixed with another

Mix only three lots of resin

Mix only three lots of fiber

Mix only consecutive batches of resin

Mix only consecutive batches of fiber

No mixing of resin batches

No mixing of fiber batches

Question Title

* 16. When dealing with qualification baseline enhancement after an initial material qualification testing, how many batches do you include for developing specification limits and control limits?

Every batch

Every other batch

20 batches

Aircraft Industry Input on FAA Certification Methods for VARTM Process Materials

Question Title

* 1. Do you currently use or have used any type of resin molding process for building of materials/products?

Question Title

* 2. Are you aware of the FAA document DOT/FAA/AR-06/25 that describes guidelines for development and use of resin molded materials?

Question Title

* 3. For varying resin chemistries, which additional verification methods are used to ensure the appropriate mixing or to analyze the ingredients present?

Question Title

* 4. What tests performed at the resin level are provided by your supplier's process specifications or receiving information?

Question Title

* 5. If blending resin batches, what chemical analysis tests are used to determine the nature and type of the blending?

Question Title

* 6. How useful do you find the color of the resin at different stages in the process in providing information about the quality of a batch? (pg 16)

Question Title

* 7. Does the tracking policy implemented by your material suppliers of resin provide documentation of the following? (Select all provided).

Question Title

* 8. Which of the following describe how qualified employees of varied levels are to produce composites using your process specifications?

Question Title

* 9. When testing resin samples from the mixed batch, do you test for ultimate Tg?

Question Title

* 10. If so, what test method is used?

Question Title

* 11. When carrying out resin infusion, which factors do you take into consideration to determine the number of thermocouples necessary for adequate measurements for a large panel?

Question Title

* 12. When inspecting a panel after cure, do you use any of the following to determine whether the resin is sufficiently cured? (select all tests used)

Question Title

* 13. When testing the physical properties of your cured composites, do you test for thermal induced microcracking from scenarios like temperature cycles or heat -up spikes?

Question Title

* 14. How long do you keep records of your raw batch ingredients?

Question Title

* 15. What are your guidelines for mixing of resin and fiber batches?

Question Title

* 16. When dealing with qualification baseline enhancement after an initial material qualification testing, how many batches do you include for developing specification limits and control limits?

Question Title

* 17. Please describe your experience with dry spot formation during the VARTM process:

Question Title

* 18. If encountered, please list any thoughts on what causes this problem or how to reduce this problem: