NCAMP advances collaboration with South Korean aviation/testing institutes

The National Center for Advanced Materials Performance (NCAMP), part of Wichita State University’s (WSU) National Institute for Aviation Research (NIAR), has announced a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the Korea Institute of Aviation Safety Technology (KIAST, Incheon) and Korea Testing Laboratory (KTL) aimed at strengthening the relationship between the two entities to enhance the use of advanced materials in aircraft.

The cooperation content of the MOU includes:

• Technology and information exchange related to aircraft composite material certification;
• Training and mutual exchange of expertise in composite materials certification; and
• Work on mutual recognition of aircraft composite materials certified in both organizations

NCAMP works with the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and industry partners to qualify material systems and populate a shared materials database that can be viewed publicly (read “Material equivalence testing in shared composites databases”). NCAMP-qualified materials systems include additive manufactured, thermoset and thermoplastics, adhesives and core materials. Manufacturers using NCAMP-qualified materials can shorten the certification process, resulting in cost savings. Most recent examples include:

• Victrex LMPAEK thermoplastic material system
• Teijin carbon fiber-reinforced thermoplastics

A full list of NCAMP-approved materials and systems is available here.

NCAMP was established in 2005 as a FAA-funded program within WSU-NIAR and stemmed from NASA's 1995 Advanced General Aviation Transport Experiment (AGATE).