Aircraft Structural Testing Techniques at Elevated Temperatures

Abstract

Abstract The object of this paper is to review some of the test-system requirements and problems associated with structural testing of aircraft at elevated temperatures. A brief description of loading methods used for the past generation of aircraft is presented. The requirements of an elevated-temperature test facility are established on the basis of the need for simultaneous heating and loading of an aircraft structure. Heating devices such as heating blankets, strip heaters, film heaters, induction coils, radiant heating coils, and infrared lamps which are being investigated by the Wright Air Development Center are discussed in relation to methods of attaching loads. Complications caused by simultaneous heating and loading are illustrated by a discussion of two structural tests performed at the Wright Air Development Center. A description is also given of an electronic computer developed to program the aerodynamic heating of a structure.