It goes without saying that aerospace materials have to achieve the highest levels of integrity and reliability in this safety critical application. Reliable test data is at the heart of materials integrity, at both the product design, acceptance and quality control stages. R-TECH Materials has a UKAS accredited independent testing laboratory for testing of polymer, composite and metallic materials. We have invested in state-of-the-art testing equipment meeting the needs of the aerospace sector, and are currently in the process of gaining Nadcap accreditation. We can conduct a full range of first part approval tests for composite materials, including standard mechanical tests, conditioning of samples for subsequent testing, testing in environmental chambers (-70°C to +250°C), characterisation (microscopy, SEM) and thermal analysis.

We are currently running a postgraduate research programme in novel thin film technology for CFRP composites for the aerospace sector.

Whilst our testing for the aerospace sector is predominantly in composite materials, our metallic materials test laboratory is equally capable of testing for aerospace applications. On the consultancy side of the business, we have looked at a number of materials failures from the aerospace sector, including fasteners and seat supports.

R-Tech Materials plays an active part in the aerospace sector through our membership of the Wales Aerospace Forum.