Destructive Loads on Aircraft in Flight
Abstract
The primary purpose of Project 5.1 of Operation TEAPOT was to determine the structural responses and progression of failure in the post- buckling range of aircraft structures when subjected to destructive gust loads produced by a nuclear explosion. Three QF-80 drones, chosen as the test vehicles, participated in full-scale field tests conducted at the Nevada Test Site during Shot 12. From theoretical calculations and structural test data, it was estimated that the overpressure necessary to produce lethal damage due to gust loading was approximately 3.8 psi. Based on this, three aircraft were to be positioned to receive 2.8, 3.8, and 4.8 psi in an attempt to bracket the lethal volume contour. The drones were instrumented in anticipation of a bending moment failure of the horizontal stabilizer. Additional instrumentation covered aircraft flight characteristics, structural temperatures, elevator positions, nuclear and thermal radiation, and wing, fuselage, and vertical stabilizer bending moments.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Jan 31, 1958
- Accession Number
- AD0357980
Entities
People
- Glen F. Purkey
- W. R. Lounsbery