Material performance, manufacturing methods, and engineering applications in aviation of carbon fiber reinforced polymers: A comprehensive review

Carbon fiber reinforced polymers (CFRP) is becoming the predominant material in the aviation industry due to its excellent performance including light weight, high specific strength, high specific modulus, excellent fatigue fracture resistance, corrosion resistance, strong design flexibility, and suitability for the overall molding of large components. The application parts of CFRP are almost all over the aircrafts, such as wings, tails, fuselages, landing gears, engines and other parts. The proportion of fiber reinforced polymer matrix composites (PMCs) has become an essential indicator of aircrafts in practical engineering applications. This paper provides an overview of the background and evolution of CFRPs followed by an introduction to the material properties of carbon fibers (CFs) and different resin matrices. Subsequently, the principle and characteristics of the commonly used manufacturing methods of CFRP are presented. Next, the material performance of both thermosetting and thermoplastic CFRP are provided. Finally, the applications in aviation and the developing trends of CFRP are described. This review aims to offer researchers a comprehensive reference on the material performance and applications of CFRP within the aviation field while providing valuable insights for future PMC advancements.