DESIGN, MANUFACTURE AND TESTING OF A REGIONAL JET COMPOSITE AUXILIARY FUEL TANK

摘要

A composite auxiliary fuel tank has been qualified for a modified regional aircraft. This paper outlines the activities involved in the new product introduction. System constraints such as mass, space envelope and fuel volume requirements dictated that existing approaches to tank production could not be adopted. Moreover, the geometry and build philosophy necessitated detailed stress modelling techniques to be conducted. In particular, these analyses addressed induced stresses in laminate corner radii which in turn highlighted the need for out-of-plane material properties and strength allowables that are not traditionally determined for composite laminates. Several manufacturing approaches were considered including monolithic skins, foam sandwich and hybrid structure. The initial testing and modelling suggested a carbon skin-metallic honeycomb sandwich construction throughout provided the most weight efficient solution. The design intent, including the influence of barely visible impact damage, and manufacturing integrity were verified through pressure testing, dimensional assessment and non-destructive testing.