Whether it's the Engineer or the person that pours the glue, there have been so many failures of composites in 'high end' racing yachts that are all due to being unable to properly inspect the finished product.
Pete Goss and 'Philips'. 600mm by several Metres of doubler on each hull - no bond.
Many carbon keels - not completely cured.
Can't remember which, but an Aus or Kiwi AC boat snapped in two.
De-lam from foam cores, so many.
None of which are the fault of the Carbon/Aramid fibre, but most certainly the fault of the manufacturing and inspection process. Which was designed by somebody.
R&D on those was very much limited by budget. Formula One is another big user, and we hear a lot less about their failures, perhaps because we expect the cars to break from time to time, and that a wheel falling off seems a lot less frightening than a keel. (To the spectator). Budget is less of a problem, but we just don't hear about the failures, of which there must be many.
Others please chip in - I don't go much further than the Beeb for F1, and am not aware of any pprune-type motor racing sites.
Carbon (or even Graphene) composites are quite obviously the future, but I'd really like to have more confidence than I do currently.
This a reply to a 787 thread, but, A380, alloy spar in the horizontal stab, with a Carbon skin? Alloy contracts with reducing temps, Carbon expands. Hmm.
Last edited by boguing; 9th Feb 2012 at 20:21.