Aerospace & Defence
Airbus and Boeing and it uses a range of standardised test equipment or designs and manufactures tailor-made test rigs, with operations certified to ISO 9001 and AS/EN 9100. Aside from structural testing, the department for
structural and environmental testing at Saab contains resources for mechanical and electrical (EMC) environmental testing, and employs about 30 people of which about 20 work with structural testing. At its Linköping office it has two facilities for full-scale testing and two for component testing. The environmental testing is spread over three other facilities, one for vibration and climate testing, one for rain erosion and one for EMC. Jan-Åke Bjärkmar, manager for structural and
environmental testing at Saab, told European Design Engineer: “Our experience is primarily in testing of aircraft body materials. We have resources for static and fatigue testing of aircraft structure, from Catia software design and manufacturing of the test rigs to strain gauge installation, data acquisition, control system management, test management, inspections, non- destructive testing and reporting. “There is dedicated equipment for full-scale and component testing such as control systems, data acquisition systems and hydraulic supply at four test sites, two with strong floors. Most of the testing is verification testing, verifying the stress analyses on products designed by Saab as a part of the verification and certification processes. The feedback relates to areas such as internal stresses, static strength, fatigue sensitive areas and crack propagation rates. Sometimes we do development testing of new design solutions. “In the past we have done all structural testing for Saab aircrafts such as Viggen, Gripen, Saab 340 and
Fig. 2. Aero Vodochody supplies a fuselage section for the Airbus A321.
Saab 2000. We are also doing verification testing on structural parts that Saab develop and manufacture for Airbus and Boeing. When we have capacity we also offer testing directly to external customers.” Most of the testing is on metallic or carbon fibre composites. On composites, testing is sometimes made under ‘hot & wet’ conditions at the component level. Test stations monitor up to 94 control channels on servo-hydraulic actuators ranging from 1-900kN, load- cells ranging from 0.5-500kN, capacity hydraulic load frame to 1,000kN, equipment for air pressurisation and position and strain measuring equipment.
Fuselage section
Though the materials and composites market is dominated by large players like Saab, smaller players can also get a look in from time to time. In
Composites withstand high temperature and cut weight
B
oeing 777 demonstrates Henkel’s curing epoxy-based composite surface film, Hysol EA 9845 SF,
which enables a 30 per cent weight saving, while a high temperature modified epoxy film adhesive, Hysol EA 9658, provides long term thermal durability. Hysol EA 9845 is applied to the outer
surface of a control panel surface for composite structures including wings, fuselage, control surfaces, engine cowling and fairings. EA 9845 is a composite surfacing film that contains a non-woven fabric designed to improve the surface quality of honeycomb stiffened composite
parts. It reduces surface imperfections, provides a 30 per cent weight saving compared to current surfacing films and minimises pre-paint preparation. In addition, lightning strike formulations are available. Henkel claims aircraft manufacturers
can save up to 30 per cent weight with Hysol EA 9845 SF. Through its low weight, the surfacing film is said to minimise core crush and reduces core mark-through. The increased resistance to UV radiation
before painting eliminates the need for sanding and rework prior to painting. Even without sanding, Henkel maintains that EA 9845 SF guarantees good paint adhesion which
increases the durability of the finished surface of the composite part. It can be cured from 120-176 degrees centigrade. The innovative Hysol EA 9845 SF can be applied to fuselage, wings, engine cowlings and control surfaces among others. Hysol EA 9658 is a nacelle film adhesive
that combines high temperature controlled flow to minimise hole blockage and flash/ flow clean up, which Henkel asserts is three times as tough as industry-standard high temperature film adhesives and is suitable for metal, composite and honeycomb bonding where continuous exposure to temperature up to 177°C is possible. ●
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