Impact Resistance of Spar-Shell Composite Fan Blades.

Abstract

Five composite spar-shell fan blades for a l.83 meter (6 feet) diameter fan stage were fabricated and tested in a whirling arm facility to evaluate foreign object damage (FOD) resistance. The blades were made by adhesively bonding boron-epoxy shells on titanium spars and then adhesively bonding an Inconel 625 sheath on the leading edge. The rotating blades were individually tested at a tip speed of 800 feet per second. Impacting media used were gravel, rivets, bolt, nut, ice balls, simulated birds, and a real bird. Incidence angles were typical of those which might be experienced by STOL aircraft. The tests showed that blades of the design tested in this program have satisfactory impact resistance to small objects such as gravel, rivets, nuts, bolts, and two inch diameter ice balls. The blades suffered nominal damage when impacted with one-pound birds (9 to 10 ounce slice size). However, the shell was removed from the spar for a larger slice size.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Jul 01, 1973
Accession Number
ADA306948

Entities

People

  • E. M. Varholak
  • J. Graff
  • L. Stoltze

Organizations

  • United Technologies Corporation

Tags

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Birds
  • Cameras
  • Composite Materials
  • Fan Blades
  • Flexural Strength
  • Foreign Object Damage
  • Frequency
  • Impact Tests
  • Leading Edges
  • Materials
  • Mechanical Properties
  • Photographs
  • Photography
  • Propellers
  • Short Takeoff Aircraft
  • Specific Gravity
  • Structural Integrity

Readers

  • Aerospace Engineering
  • Electrical Engineering
  • Structural Health Monitoring of Composite Structures.