Environmental requirements and monetary aspects keep aircraft manufacturers busy in weight saving efforts in aircraft structures. There are typical strategies to save weight. Structural optimization e.g. varying skin thickness. Constructive optimization e.g. using a cylindrical shape instead of a flat or square shape because it is more resistant against inside pressure. Material optimization e.g. using lighter, tougher or stronger materials. Recent studies at Airbus Deutschland GmbH combine carbon reinforced materials with new structural sandwich concepts. New constructions combine interior functions and load carrying or safety functions in one single part. First weight analysis calculations predict a weight reduction range from 4.5% up to 28% (depending on the chosen concept) compared to a reference metal fuselage. One of the missing links was a suitable core material that fits the requirements for a sandwich fuselage. Sandwich parts in today's aircrafts showed that moisture absorption has to be taken into account. Folded core structures are one solution for exactly that situation. They combine honeycomb like mechanical properties with the ability to drain moisture. Methods to produce these structures are successfully tested at the Institute of Aircraft Design (IFB) of the University of Stuttgart. Preliminary methods to predict the mechanical behavior and tools to design ail the structures are being developed. Today the IFB provides Airbus with prototyped core material for test components.
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