DAMAGE TOLERANT COMPOSITE FUSELAGE SIZING - CHARACTERISATION OF ACCIDENTAL DAMAGE THREAT.pdf

DAMAGE TOLERANT COMPOSITE FUSELAGE SIZING - CHARACTERISATION OF ACCIDENTAL DAMAGE THREAT FA ST 4 8 10 Damage tolerant composite fuselage sizing Characterisation of accidental damage threat The extensive use of composite parts in the design of the new generations of airframe, especially for the A350XWB programme and its full composite fuselage, has required some new studies on the tolerance to damage. Indeed, composite tech - nologies are sensitive to impacts (also called accidental damages). A good knowledge of the impact threat to be considered for the composite sizing is key to ensure a robust design with equivalent maintainability, as for conventional metallic design. Its evaluation is based on an extensive collection and analysis of damages reported by airlines, supported by original impact calibration tests on large specimens representative of real aircraft. Emilie MORTEAU Structure Analysis Airbus Engineering Vincent FAIVRE Head of Structures Test Operations France Airbus Engineering FAST48.qxp:FAST MASTER LAYOUT 08/07/11 11:20 Page 10 DAMAGE TOLERANT COMPOSITE FUSELAGE SIZING - CHARACTERISATION OF ACCIDENTAL DAMAGE THREAT FA ST 4 8 11 Composite structures and Fatigue Damage Tolerance (FDT) Airbus has more than 30 years of experience in the development and manufacturing of Carbon-Fibre- Reinforced Plastic (CFRP) com - ponents such as for the wing movables and the Vertical Tail Plan on A310, the Horizontal Tail Plan on A320, the Keel Beam on A340- 600, the Centre Wing Box on A380 as well as its rear pressure bulk - head and rear fuselage section, and also with wing applications for Falcon 10, ATR 72 and A400M. For the A350XWB programme, the use of CFRP material is much more important compared to previously certified aircraft with its composite wings, empennage and fuselage (see figure 1). Composite and metallic materials behave differently when they are damaged. An impact on metallic structures creates a dent which can be detected. An impact on compo site