MAI engineers are working to increase the safety of aircraft with the composite wing

The employees of the № 2 Laboratory of the MAI 101 research department "Aircraft design and certification" are elaborating the project that will allow to increase the safety of the wing. MAI experts in cooperation with COMAC (China) are developing modeling methodology for aircraft structures made of composite materials, taking into account the shock effects.

The abovementioned methodology will allow calculate the value of the strength of the wing that will be sufficient to avoid its stratification and possible fatal consequences in case an aircraft tire (pneumatics) explodes. That is why the wing box and the wing stub box of any civil or military aircraft should be calculated taking such occurrences into consideration.

The work of MAI experts is unique because it takes into account not only the explosion of the pneumatic itself and the impact on the wing skin, but also the air shock wave, as well as the hydraulic impact of fuel in the tank. As part of the project, six finite element models were developed and four of the seven tasks were calculated. The remaining tasks are planned to be completed by December 2020, and the final result is expected to be achieved by March 2021.

The project is important for our Chinese colleagues, as they yet have no experience of independent calculations of this kind. The result can be used in the development of the CR929 wing and in the modernization of the C919 in case of implementation of a wing made of composite materials. The application of the methodology will allow to achieve sufficient wing strength and avoid damage to the structure of prototypes and experimental boxes during static and resource strength tests, which will significantly save money invested in the development, given that the cost of a wing box is approximately $10 million.