Design and Life Cycle Analyses of a CFRP Tubular Component for Commercial Passenger Aircraft

In the present paper, the design and the evaluation of the environmental and economic impacts of a CFRP tubular structural component, employed for supporting passenger seats of commercial aircraft, realized with the innovative FW process, were performed. At first, a simulation of the winding process was conducted to realize the component layers, and then a FEM analysis was performed to identify the optimal layering of the tubular structure to support the defined loads. Then, Life Cycle Assessment and Life Cycle Costing methodologies were employed to assess the environmental and economic impacts, with a “from cradle to grave” approach: all life cycle phases of the analysed component were included (from raw materials extraction to the disposal phase). A comparison between the CFRP tubular structure and traditional aluminium alternative was investigated to identify the most sustainable solution. From the analysis emerged that the CFRP tubular beam resulted in lower environmental impacts than the traditional alternative, mainly due to the reduced weight. However, the cost evaluation identified the CFRP beam alternative as the most expensive solution.