Manufacture of Rocket Motor Cases Using Advanced Filament Winding Processes

Boeing Canada Technology Ltd., Winnipeg Division (BCTL-W) is involved in the development and production of filament wound composite airplane ducts and higher performance vessels. Through a contract with Bristol Aerospace Ltd. and the Canadian Government, a two stage composite rocket motor case was developed for air launch applications. The manufacture of this motor case required the development of several technologies including net shape soluble mandrels, application of pre-cured insulation material, composite to metal joint incorporation, multi-stage filament winding techniques and nondestructive inspection methods. This paper provides an overview of the methods used to produce prototype hardware.