Fibre metal laminates (FMLs) are attractive construction materials, especially for use in aerospace and transport facilities. Throughout their service life, thin-walled structures made of FMLs are exposed to static and dynamic loads, as well as corrosion and the unfavourable influence of environmental conditions. The paper presents an experimental analysis of the combined mechanical and environmental long-term behaviour of carbon-based fibre metal laminates and their variants with protective glass layers. The Al alloy/CFRP and Al alloy/GFRP/CFRP laminates in a 3/2 configuration were used. The tested laminates were subjected to 1500 thermal cycles with a temperature range of 130°C. The static and fatigue interlaminar shear strengths were tested before and after thermal conditioning. It was shown that the stable stiffness reduction in the tested laminates was observed with increasing fatigue cycles, due to the progressive fatigue damage accumulation. The thermally cycled laminates feature slightly smoother stiffness loss, while a more rapid decrease was observed in thermally untreated laminates. Moreover, the fatigue life of the tested laminates subjected to thermal cycling revealed nine times fewer fatigue cycles of laminates with glass protectors after thermal cycles in comparison to the laminates not subjected to thermal cycling.
The paper presents the authors’ method and test rig for performing the deformation analysis of unmanned aircraft fuselages. To conduct the analysis, the DIC system was used, as well as a test rig designed and constructed by the authors, equipped with a dedicated control and load control system. The article presents a description of the research capabilities of the test rig developed for testing the deformation of unmanned aircraft fuselages. Due to the specific operating conditions of the designed fuselage,the test rig developed allows the simulation of loads corresponding to different flight conditions. In addition, it is possible to change the forces acting on the fuselage simultaneously for all servos or each of them separately. Finally, results showing the displacement of component control points for the considered fuselage versions are presented. The tests carried out using the developed test rig allowed the verification of the maximum deformations. The two versions of the composite fuselage of an aerial vehicle have been compared in the paper. The created measurement system and performed analyzes have enabled us to identify and quantitatively analyze the weaknesses of the construction. The results have enabled us to geometrically modify the constructionso the mass of the fuselage reduced by 19% and a coefficient of construction balance increased by 22%.
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