The National Institute for Aviation Research (NIAR) at Wichita State University recently completed fabrication and delivery of a full-scale fuselage structural test panel to the FAA’s William J. Hughes Technical Center in Atlantic City, NJ.

In partnership with Arconic, Embraer and NIAR, the FAA is assessing emerging metallic structures technologies (EMST) through test and analysis using the FAA’s Full-Scale Aircraft Structural Test Evaluation and Research and Structures and Materials Lab. Several technologies will be considered including advanced aluminum–lithium alloys and hybrid construction. Altogether, five fuselage panels with various EMST will be designed, fabricated, and tested in this multi-year effort.

This panel is the fourth panel evaluating the fatigue and damage tolerance capabilities of fuselage structure using hybrid Fiber Metal Laminate (FML) as reinforcement between skin and substructures. The upcoming fifth panel will be optimized version of panel 4 considering weight saving and reducing manufacturing cost.

NIAR engineers collaborated with industry partners to design and fabricate the test panel – with analytical support from Embraer and advanced aluminum sheets and extrusions provided by Arconic. The program also included various test coupon configurations to characterize materials and key design features.

Engineers from the FAA’s technical center are evaluating analytical and inspection methods to ensure accurate design and assessment of these new structures. Full-scale testing is essential for generating data to assess the EMST fuselage concepts on structural performance compared to current baseline aluminum fuselage structures

NIAR’s Advanced Machining and Prototyping (AMP) and Advanced Technologies Lab for Aerospace Systems (ATLAS) played crucial roles, developing detailed part and assembly drawings, creating manufacturing process specifications, fabricating necessary tooling, autoclaves and assembling test articles.

Support was also provided by NIAR’s Advanced Materials Lab, where technicians meticulously planned, cut, and laid the aluminum and fiberglass plies onto the skin, resulting in a uniformly co-cured FML-reinforced skin. Industry partners Textron Aviation, CAPPS Manufacturing, and Weatherford Aerospace provided key manufacturing process capabilities needed to accomplish the NIAR team’s fabrication process requirements.

“In support of the FAA’s critical needs and its industry partners, NIAR provides cost-effective and timely design, fabrication, and assembly services based on a solid engineering foundation,” said Paul Jonas, program lead. “By bringing together industry experts, graduate and undergraduate engineers, and state-of-the-art manufacturing and assembly capabilities, NIAR plays a key role in advancing the materials and manufacturing of future aircraft while developing the next generation of aerospace talent in the United States.”