Airbus

Service: Static structural and fatigue testing

Service area: Testing

Sector: Aeronautical, shipping and defense

Specialist area: Aeronautics

Background:
Through the ALCAS (Advanced Low Cost Aircraft Structures) R&D programme, Airbus is developing the technology needed to build the aircraft of the future – an aircraft that that is lighter and more efficient and made 100% of composite materials.

Within the programme, Airbus devoted a phase of the project to the study of the repair of carbon-fibre components. This phase consisted of conducting a series of mechanical tests on CFRP (carbonfibere reinforced plastic) parts subjected to various types of damage and repairs.

To carry out this test programme Airbus required a specialist partner with extensive know-how and experience in managing and performing mechanical testing of large-size CFRP components.

 Applus+ solutions
Airbus chose to collaborate with Applus+ thanks to our experience as an officially-validated Airbus laboratory for testing structural mechanics down to component level and  our status as a Nadcap-accredited laboratory for the testing of composite materials.

The Applus+ team managed and carried out the testing at its mechanical testing laboratory at Bellaterra (Barcelona), one of the only laboratories in Europe specialised in high-load aeronautical trials.

The workpackage provided by Applus+ consisted of:

• The management and manipulation of carbon fiber components in accordance with Airbus procedures
• The design and construction of equipment for entering a load onto CFRP components
• The design and installation of the data acquisition system (MGC+, ARAMIS, sonic chamber)
• The final RIG assembly at the testing facility
• The mechanisation of fibre components in accordance with aeronautical procedures
• The carrying out of a test in the 15MN (1500 tonne) universal machine, the only one officially validated in Europe for Airbus
• The ultrasonic non-destructive inspection of the damage and repairs to the fibre components
• Post-processing of the acquired data, interpretation of results and preparation of the technical conclusions report

The project lasted 6 months and involved a team of 20 people (project leader, designers, aeronautical engineers, experts in data acquisition, equipment makers and experts in the manipulation of CFRP components).

Key benefits fot the client
The close cooperation between Applus+ and Airbus has enabled the successfull completion of this critical phase of the ALCAS project, with the results required by the R&D programme having been obtained.

The complexity of the project lay in the large size of the parts to be tested (up to 4 metres) under loads of up to 10MN, as well as the fact that these components were manufactured out of CFRP.

With these results, Airbus increases its knowledge of CFRP aircraft components, allowing it to move towards its goal of developing lighter and more efficient aircraft.

For its part, Applus+ further extended its expertise in managing large aeronautical trials.