Composite Fuselage Structure Research Articles

Crash Analysis of UAV Hybrid Composite Fuselage Structure under Different Impact Conditions

Due to the rapid scientific and technological developments in the aerospace industry, the requirement for safety and energy absorption efficiency is increasing, and in order to achieve that target, the analyzing of the sudden crash is required to know how to reduce it. Therefore, the main objective of the present work is to analyze the crashing response of the hybrid composite fuselage structure during different impact landing conditions. Moreover, extract the maximum acceleration at the most important locations in the UAV fuselage where most of the critical system is installed. The explicit non-linear finite element software LS-DYNA/WORKBENCH ANSYS is chosen to simulate the crushing of the referenced and the proposed UAV fuselage and investigate the maximum crushing accelerations responses on the payload under different landing conditions. The numerical results show that strengthen the fuselage structure using hybrid composite material has a notable effect on the energy absorption, and transferred acceleration on the payload. Moreover, the hybrid composite fuselage structure can reduce the transferred acceleration on the payload up to 39.65% in comparison with the metal fuselage. In addition, to study the crash analysis during sudden accidents is very important, in order to find the way to reduce it, but can’t avoid it. Hence, the UAV payload should be arranged to avoid the maximum acceleration.

Real world application of angular scan pulse-echo ultrasonic propagation imager for damage tolerance evaluation of full-scale composite fuselage

Composite structures are assertively used for new airframe designs and manufacturing in military aircrafts because of superior strength-to-weight ratios and fatigue resistance. Because the composites have different fatigue failure characteristics compared with metals, it is necessary to develop different approaches for the composite fatigue design and testing. In this study, we propose an in situ damage evaluation technology with high spatial resolution during full-scale fatigue testing of composite aircraft structures. For real composite structure development considering composite fatigue characteristics, full-scale fatigue and damage tolerance tests of the composite fuselage structure were conducted to evaluate the structural characteristics. In the meantime, the laser ultrasonic nondestructive inspection method, called an angular scan pulse-echo ultrasonic propagation imager, which is fully noncontact, real-time, and portable to position it in between the complex test rigs, is used to observe in situ damage growth of the composite. Finally, the verification procedure assisted by the angular scan pulse-echo ultrasonic propagation imager assures no growth of the initial impact damages after lifetime operation and proves the damage tolerance capability of the developed composite fuselage structure.

Implementation of Discrete Capability into the Enhanced Multipoint Approximation Method for Solving Mixed Integer-Continuous Optimization Problems

Multipoint approximation method (MAM) focuses on the development of metamodels for the objective and constraint functions in solving a mid-range optimization problem within a trust region. To develop an optimization technique applicable to mixed integer-continuous design optimization problems in which the objective and constraint functions are computationally expensive and could be impossible to evaluate at some combinations of design variables, a simple and efficient algorithm, coordinate search, is implemented in the MAM. This discrete optimization capability is examined by the well established benchmark problem and its effectiveness is also evaluated as the discreteness interval for discrete design variables is increased from 0.2 to 1. Furthermore, an application to the optimization of a lattice composite fuselage structure where one of design variables (number of helical ribs) is integer is also presented to demonstrate the efficiency of this capability.

Detailed design of a lattice composite fuselage structure by a mixed optimization method

In this article, a procedure for designing a lattice fuselage barrel is developed. It comprises three stages: first, topology optimization of an aircraft fuselage barrel is performed with respect to weight and structural performance to obtain the conceptual design. The interpretation of the optimal result is given to demonstrate the development of this new lattice airframe concept for the fuselage barrel. Subsequently, parametric optimization of the lattice aircraft fuselage barrel is carried out using genetic algorithms on metamodels generated with genetic programming from a 101-point optimal Latin hypercube design of experiments. The optimal design is achieved in terms of weight savings subject to stability, global stiffness and strain requirements, and then verified by the fine mesh finite element simulation of the lattice fuselage barrel. Finally, a practical design of the composite skin complying with the aircraft industry lay-up rules is presented. It is concluded that the mixed optimization method, combining topology optimization with the global metamodel-based approach, allows the problem to be solved with sufficient accuracy and provides the designers with a wealth of information on the structural behaviour of the novel anisogrid composite fuselage design.

Experimental approach in studying temperature effects on composite material structures realized with viscoelastic damping treatments

This paper presents a study aimed at evaluating how viscoelastic materials embedded in composite plates affect structural damping during the flight of a civil aircraft. The vibro-acoustic responses of composite fuselage structures realized with embedded viscoelastic damping treatments have been experimentally characterized at different temperature conditions. The real influence of viscoelastic materials on composite structures has been investigated, focusing the investigations on aspects still unknown, related mostly to temperature effects. In order to simulate the temperature level of commercial transport aircraft in cruise flight conditions, tests were performed using a climatic room where temperature and humidity were controlled. Vibrational tests were performed on two composite fuselage skin coupons: one treated with embedded viscoelastic damping treatments and the other one untreated. The tests were performed at temperatures of for the untreated composite fuselage structure, and and for the treated composite fuselage structure. The damping values were carried out by the impulse response decay method and the loss factor was obtained as an average of many repeated acquisitions. In order to maximize the damping effect, the best temperature interval for the treated composite fuselage skin coupon was evaluated, and the behavior for both composite fuselage structures (treated and untreated) was characterized. Thanks to the high number of tests, a statistical analysis was performed in order to validate the approach used.

Development of Geodesic Composite Fuselage Structure

The paper is concerned with development of geodesic composite fuselage structure whose stiffness and strength are provided by a system of ribs made of unidirectional carbon-epoxy composite materials by continuous wet filament winding. Design and weight efficiency of the geodesic structures are discussed along with the efficiency of traditional composite stringer structures. Results of design, analysis and fabrication of a full-scale 4m diameter fuselage section are presented.

Cost-weight trades for modular composite structures

A design approach for airframe structures is formulated based on the concept of modularity allowing trade-offs and optimization between cost and weight. A modular structure can be created by replacing a collection of parts which all have a unique design by a collection of parts where the same design repeats multiple times. Structures with high levels of modularity have higher weight since it is harder to design a weight-efficient structure when the amount of design options is limited, but this weight increase might be worth the associated decrease in manufacturing cost. In modular design, cost reductions are achieved through learning curve effects and through reduction of the non-recurring cost, for example, due to lower tooling costs. Based on dynamic programming, an approach to determine the optimum number of repeating designs was determined and applied to a composite fuselage structure. Two examples are given where the cost-weight efficiency at different modularity levels is assessed for a composite airframe: the stringers and the frames in a fuselage. The corresponding cost-weight diagrams indicated that the modularity concept provides a useful methodology for designing more cost- weight efficient structures. In both cases it was possible to replace a large amount of designs and increase the level of modularity of the structure, yielding significant reductions in recurring and non-recurring manufacturing costs while keeping the associated weight increase of the structure to a minimum.

Finite element validation on adhesive joint for composite fuselage model

A novel fabrication miniature composite fuselage structure consisted of a woven composite laminated with an adhesively bonded butt joint under axial compression loading is numerically simulated in this research. A Finite Element Analysis (FEA) via ABAQUS/Explicit was utilized to capture the complete compressive response that predicts the crushing behaviour and its mechanical strength from initial compression loading until its final failure mode. A woven C-glass fibre/epoxy 200 g/m

Finite element analysis (FEA) modeling on adhesive joint for composite fuselage model

n this paper, a finite element modeling via ABAQUS/Explicit simulation on a novel fabrication miniature composite fuselage structure is presented. The fuselage structure is modeled as a continuum composite layup that consisted of a woven C-glass fiber/epoxy 200 g/m2 composite laminated [908] with the orthotropic elastic material properties andadhesively bonded butt joint. The adhesively bonded joint progression is modeled usingcohesive elements technology. For the purpose of FEA modeling, an experiment of double cantilever beam (DCB) according to ASTM standard D5528 is performed to determine the adhesive mode-I critical toughness. The mode-I interlaminar fracture toughness data (GI) are calculated and compared by four different methods according to the ASTM standard: BT, beam theory, MBT, modified beam theory, CC, compliance calibration method and MCC, modified compliance calibration method. The results indicate that ABAQUS/Explicit is able to reproduce satisfactory adhesive joint behavior using cohesive elements and collapse modes under crushing process. Key words: Adhesively bonded joint, composite, fuselage structure, fracture toughness, finite element analysis (FEA).

Global behaviour of a composite stiffened panel in buckling. Part 2: Experimental investigation

The present study analyses an aircraft composite fuselage structure manufactured by the Liquid Resin Infusion (LRI) process and subjected to a compressive load. LRI is based on the moulding of high performance composite parts by infusing liquid resin on dry fibres instead of prepreg fabrics or Resin Transfer Moulding (RTM). Actual industrial projects face composite integrated structure issues as a number of structures (stiffeners, …) are more and more integrated onto the skins of aircraft fuselage. A post-buckling test of a composite fuselage representative panel is set up, from numerical results available in previous works. Two stereo Digital Image Correlation (DIC) systems are positioned on each side of the panel, that are aimed at correlating numerical and experimental out-of-plane displacements (corresponding to the skin local buckling displacements of the panel). First, the experimental approach and the test facility are presented. A post-mortem failure analysis is then performed with the help of Non-Destructive Techniques (NDT). X-ray Computed Tomography (CT) measurements and ultrasonic testing (US) techniques are able to explain the failure mechanisms that occured during this post-buckling test. Numerical results are validated by the experimental results.

Numerical Modelling of a Composite Fuselage Manufactured by Liquid Resin Infusion

FUSCOMP (FUSelage COMPosite) is a Research & Development program which has received the label from the Aerospace Valley competitiveness cluster. It will lead to a test of a composite fuselage demonstrator manufactured by the Liquid Resin Infusion (LRI) process. LRI is based on the moulding of high performance composite parts by infusing liquid resin on dry fibers instead of prepreg fabrics. The study of this proof of concept is based on the TBM 850 airframe, a pressurized business turboprop aircraft currently produced by DAHER-SOCATA. Technical achievements will concern numerical methods and finite elements analysis to be used for the modelling of this aircraft composite fuselage structure. Actual industrial projects face composite integrated structure issues as a number of structures (stiffeners,...) are more and more integrated onto the skins of aircraft fuselage. Indeed the main benefit of LRI is to reduce assembly steps which lead to cycle time gain and thus cost reduction. In particular, infusing components and sub-components at the same time avoids riveting parts altogether. However it is necessary to validate the dimensioning of the studied composite structure.

Global behaviour of a composite stiffened panel in buckling. Part 1: Numerical modelling

The present study analyses an aircraft composite fuselage structure manufactured by the Liquid Resin Infusion (LRI) process and subjected to a compressive load. LRI is based on the moulding of high performance composite parts by infusing liquid resin on dry fibres instead of prepreg fabrics or Resin Transfer Moulding (RTM). Actual industrial projects face composite integrated structure issues as a number of structures (stiffeners, …) are more and more integrated onto the skins of aircraft fuselage. A representative panel of a composite fuselage to be tested in buckling is studied numerically. This paper studies which of the real behaviours of the integrated structures are to be observed during this test. Numerical models are studied at a global scale of the composite stiffened panel. Linear and non linear analyses are conducted. The Tsai–Wu criterion with a progressive failure analysis is implemented, to describe the global behaviour of the panel up to collapse. Also, three stiffener connection methods are compared at the intersection between two types of integrated structures. Load shortening curves permit to estimate the expected load and displacements.

Parametric Study on Cohesive Element for Composite Fuselage Model

In this paper, a numerical simulation on a new fabrication miniature composite fuselage structure- a woven composite laminated with an adhesively bonded butt joint under the axial compression loading is presented. A FEA via Abaqus/Explicit was utilized to capture the complete compressive responses to predict the crushing behaviour and its mechanical strength from the initial compression loading till its final failure mode. A woven C-glass fiber/epoxy 200 g/m2 composite laminated [908] with the orthotropic elastic material properties is modeled as a continuum composite layup in the proposed numerical model. The adhesively bonded joint progression was modeled using the cohesive element technique. The proposed model was used to observe the crushing load and collapse modes under the axial compression impact. The finite element results showed a good agreement with the experimental results under the actual quasi-static tests. The validation code was extended to further undergo parametric studies in order to visualise the effect of angle orientations and special laminate cases as to attain the optimum design criteria for the proposed composite structure.

Vibration testing of a carbon composite fuselage

This paper describes the details of an experimental investigation focusing on the vibration characteristics of a composite fuselage structure of an ultralight unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV). The UAV has a total empty weight of 70.3 kg and 6.3 m in length. The fuselage structure consists of the fuselage body with an integrated vertical stabiliser. All structural components are fabricated from oven-cured laminated carbon composite materials using uniaxial and biaxial prepreg fabric. The modal characteristics of the fuselage structure are determined for a free-free configuration which is simulated by suspending the structure from its wing attachment points through the use of springs. A centrally located shaker system is used to induce vertical oscillations in the structure, which is instrumented with nineteen dual axis accelerometers. Dynamic properties such as the frequency, damping and associated mode shapes are obtained for aeroelastic analysis. The design and implementation of the vibration tests along with the experimental results are presented.

Finite element methodologies development to simulate the behaviour of composite fuselage structure and correlation with drop test

Abstract Within the frame work of Brite-Euram programme CRASURV ‘Commercial Aircraft — Design for Crash Survivability’, technology is being developed for the design of composite air frames with respect to crashworthiness. A significant part of the project consists of the design, fabrication and drop-testing of two representative composite fuselage sections, to generate the experimental data needed for the validation of new energy absorbing structural concepts, validation of simulation tools to model and analyse these structures subjected to crash loads.

Composite fuselage crash FE modelling dedicated to enhance the design in correlation with full scale drop test

This paper deals with the technical achievements done by Aerospatiale Matra Airbus inside the European framework 4 CRASURV study linked to the corresponding tests performed by CEAT. The major technical achievements are regarding the design and the sizing of an aircraft composite fuselage structure, with the objective to include specific parts dedicated to energy absorption, in order to obtain a satisfactory behavior in a typical crash scenario. This paper first deals with the design orientations defined at the beginning of the study, explaining the basic ideas justifying the chosen concept. Then the sizing approach is presented, starting with the material law calibration and next with the FE modeling of the composite absorbers. The third step is dealing with the airliner sub-cargo-floor structure sizing and the exploitation of the drop test results. At the end, the design and sizing of the airliner fuselage section are presented based on pre-test simulations before dealing with the final drop test results and the corresponding post-test simulations. The conclusion is dealing with recommendations for composite fuselage design and sizing under crash scenarios, considering specific test aspects.