Structural Integrity and Aging-Related Issues of Helicopters

Abstract

The issues of structural integrity for rotary-wing aircraft are somewhat different from those of fixed-wing aircraft. In helicopters, the dynamic rotor components are safe-life designs and are replaced at the end of their service lives Thus airworthiness concerns of structural integrity for helicopters are limited but still pose great challenges in adjusting to changing missions. Structural integrity issues for helicopters are in the airframe, equipment and avionics, and retention hardware for non-airframe related structures. Most of the rotary-wing aircraft in the U.S. Army's inventory are several decades old, and are required to continue in service even longer, Table 1 (Ref. 1). They were designed for missions that have changed and with equipment that have been overtaken by technological advances. Thus, the primary issues for aging military helicopters have been to assure structural integrity while enhancing performance with more capable dynamic components and technically advanced equipment.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Oct 01, 2000
Accession Number
ADP010436

Entities

People

  • Joyanto K. Sen
  • Richard A. Everett

Organizations

  • Boeing

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Air Platforms

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Air Force
  • Aircraft Equipment
  • Aircraft Industry
  • Aircrafts
  • Airframes
  • Composite Materials
  • Failure Mode And Effect Analysis
  • Fatigue Tests (Mechanics)
  • Fixed Wing Aircraft
  • Fuselages
  • Manufacturing
  • Materials
  • Mechanics
  • Reinforced Plastics
  • Rotary Wing Aircraft
  • Test And Evaluation
  • Transport Aircraft

Fields of Study

  • Physics

Readers

  • Aerospace Engineering
  • Strategic Security Studies
  • Structural Health Monitoring of Composite Structures.