Full-Scale Tests of Lightweight Fragment Barriers on Commercial Aircraft
Abstract
Because fragments from inflight engine failures can damage critical aircraft components and produce catastrophic consequences, the Federal Aviation Administration is sponsoring research to mitigate the effects of uncontained engine bursts. SRI International is evaluating the ballistic effectiveness of fabric structures made from advanced polymers and developing a computational ability to design fragment barriers. In this reporting period, SRI performed full scale fabric barrier tests on an aircraft fuselage at the Navy Air Warfare Center in China Lake, CA. The tests examined the effects of polymer material, number of plies, location of the fabric within the fuselage wall, and gripping arrangements. The results were very encouraging. For example, three plies of polybenzoxazole (PBO) Zylon woven fabric glued to the outboard side of the insulation packet and weighing only 0.05 g/sq cm (0.1 lb/sq ft) prevented a 166-g (0.37-lb) sharp edged fan blade fragment impacting edge-on at 230 m/s (756 ft/s) from penetrating into the cabin. The absorbed energy of 4400 joules (3250 ft-lb) is nearly an order of magnitude greater than that absorbed by the unfortified fuselage wall. The results confirmed that high strength polymer fabrics offer an extremely effective, low weight solution for mitigating the effects of uncontained turbine engine fragments on commercial aircraft.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Nov 01, 1999
- Accession Number
- ADA372648
Entities
People
- David C. Erlich
- Donald A. Shockey
- Jeffrey W. Simons
Organizations
- SRI International