Course description
The course takes participants through the suite of mechanical properties required for design of aircraft using carbon fibre laminates.
In the first half of the course comparisons with metallic material properties are drawn illustrating the areas of superiority and the deficits associated with carbon fibre laminates. Properties considered include static strength and stiffness in tension and compression, response to stress concentrations, property degradation due to elevated temperature and humidity, in-plane fatigue, impact damage and delamination growth under fatigue. Properties are considered in terms of coupon properties together with the behaviour of structural elements. Techniques for stress and strength calculation in laminates complete the treatment of composite material performance and design.
The later part of the course emphasises application issues with lectures from aircraft designers about current developments in composite civil and military aircraft. Aircraft regulatory input concludes the course. The special issues relevant to approval of composite aircraft structure as damage tolerant, together with inspection and maintenance issues are covered in detail.
Upcoming start dates
Suitability - Who should attend?
The course has been developed to meet the needs of aircraft design, regulatory and maintenance engineers who have to meet the challenge of working with new generations of composite aircraft structures. The course is multi disciplinary, bringing together a unique selection of composite technologies relevant to aircraft structure design and service performance prediction. These include composite design and manufacture, service performance, damage tolerance and structural integrity.
Outcome / Qualification etc.
What you will learn
On completion of the course delegates should:
- Appreciate good design practice in composite structures.
- Understand principles and techniques of composite stress analysis, strength and service durability and damage tolerance predictions in composite aircraft structures.
- Have knowledge of the various damage threats to composite aircraft airworthiness, including:
- Impacts, impact damage and delamination.
- Temperature and humidity.
- Compression strength and compression fatigue.
- Damage tolerance in composite aircraft structures.
- Regulatory requirements for interpretation of damage tolerance requirements in polymer composite aircraft structures.
Training Course Content
Core content
- Polymer composite materials- basic description of structure and characteristics; comparison with traditional metals
- Coupon test techniques for basic property measurement
- Mechanics of fibre reinforced laminates- stress analysis; prediction of stiffness and strength- calculation techniques
- Impact damage on polymer composites
- Compression after impact strength
- In plane fatigue strength
- Delamination crack growth in fatigue
- Damage tolerance of composite aircraft structures
- Design issues in composite aircraft structures- Examples from recent large civil and military aircraft
- Composite aircraft structure inspection and repair
- Certification approaches and continued airworthiness in composite aircraft
Course delivery details
Course structure
The course content will be delivered via a mixture of lectures and tutorials with discussion sessions, problem solving and calculations. There will be a course dinner giving delegates an opportunity to socialise with lecturers and further discuss composites in aircraft.
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Cranfield University
Cranfield is a specialist postgraduate university that is a global leader for education and transformational research in technology and management. We have many world-class, large-scale facilities, including our own global research airport, which offers a unique environment for transformational education...