Improvement of Battle Damage Tolerance for Composite Structures,
Abstract
The impact of ballistic penetrators in fuel filled tanks generates high dynamic pressure loading. This damage process is generally referred to as hydraulic ram. Hydraulic ram in aircraft fuel tanks results in large damage of structural components, which in turn can lead to fuel loss of ingestion into engines, fire and explosion. To determine the effect of hydraulic ram to an integral fuselage fuel tank with carbon/epoxy skin, a firing programme was established. Plane carbon/epoxy plates, bolted to an impact box, were impacted with single cuboid fragments. Different shock-absorbing materials to reduce hydraulic ram pressures on the impact plates, respectively to prevent Multiple fragment impact on a fuel tank can result in extensive structural damage by the combined damage effects of fragments and the superposition of hydraulic ram pressures. Multiple fragments were projected against simulated fuel tank sections with carbon/epoxy skins of the cocured frame and sandwich design at a hit density of 25 fragments/sq. m.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Feb 01, 1986
- Accession Number
- ADP005046
Entities
People
- Daniel W. Weisgerber
- G. Kagerbauer
- O. Sensburg