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Material Qualification and Equivalency for Polymer Matrix Composite Material Systems

This document presents a qualification plan that will provide the detailed background
information and engineering practices to help ensure the control of repeatable base material
properties and processes, which are applied to both primary and secondary structures for aircraft
products using composite materials. This qualification plan includes recommendations for the
original qualification as well as procedures to statistically establish equivalence to the original
data set. The plan describes in detail the procedures to generate statistically based design
allowables for both A- and B-basis applications. Specific test matrices are presented which
produce lamina level composite material properties for various loading modes and environmental
conditions for aircraft applications not exceeding 200°F. This plan only covers the initial
material qualification at the lamina level and does not include procedures for laminate or higher-
level building block tests. The general methodology, however, is applicable to a broader usage.

This document presents a qualification plan that will provide the detailed background
information and engineering practices to help ensure the control of repeatable base composite
material properties and processes for use in aircraft products. These engineering procedures
apply to the original material qualification and provide a benchmark for subsequent material and
process control. Over time, changes to the material, process, tooling, and/or facility require a
review, and it may be required that some (or all) of these tests be repeated.

This qualification plan includes recommendations for the original qualification as well as
procedures to statistically establish equivalence to the original data set. The plan describes in
detail the procedures to generate statistically-based, design allowables for both A and B basis
applications. Specific test matrices are presented which produce lamina level composite material
properties for various loading modes and environmental conditions. This plan only covers the
initial material qualification at the lamina level and does not include procedures for laminate or
higher level building block tests. Specifically, this plan covers qualification methodology for no-
bleed prepreg systems manufactured using vacuum bagging techniques (autoclave or oven cure)
only. However, the methodology described is this plan is applicable to broader usage.