Fibre Metal Laminates - Its history and perspective

In 1981 Fiber Metal Laminates (FML) was presented at conference in Cannes (France) by its inventor¹⁾.

A year later this material concept was presented for the first time in the United States at a conference in Bellevue, Washington²⁾.

These 35 years of research and development and applications will be discussed, ranging from bonded structures to ARALL Laminates to GLARE and new structural details and concepts.

Application of these materials will be discussed, a.o. the Fokker lower wing and the Boeing C-17 Globemaster aft cargo door in ARALL and the Lear 45 bulk head and the A380 fuselage in GLARE.

Lessons learned and new concepts will be discussed, whereby pros and cons with respect to aluminium alloys and composite materials will be addressed.

Finally it will be discussed that extensive application of CFRP on primary structures of the new twin aisle aircraft is assisting FMLs to have a bright future for aircraft structures.

¹⁾                L.B. Vogelesang and R. Marissen, “Development of a New Hybrid Material: ARALL”, Intercon. SAMPE Mtg., Cannes, 1981

²⁾                J. W. Gunnink, L. B. Vogelesang, J. Schijve, “Application of a New Hybrid Material (ARALL) in Aircraft Structures”, ICAS Conference, Seattle WA, 1982