ENGG409 Structural Integrity

Testing

Dr Will Christian
w.j.r.christian@liverpool.ac.uk
Harrison Hughes, Room 110
 This week

• Need for testing

• Validation
• Full scale testing
• Inspection activity
 Motivation for Week
• Students often don’t realise how important it is to test materials, structures and
systems

• In previous years as part of an assignment I asked students to:

Describe a test capable of determining Paris law constants for a material

Using what material
properties
 Create a finite element model of the specimen
 Use computational fluid dynamics Look at the name
of that technique
✓ Cyclically load cracked specimen and monitor with a camera

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 Necessity of Testing

• Material properties must be known before

modelling anything

• New manufacturing processes need to be

assessed before implementing them on the
production line

• Safety and reliability need to be

demonstrated for regulators

5
 Testing Pyramid

Too expensive to test

6 Image Source: Airbus

 Coupon Testing
• Models need a lot of material
properties

Typical metal:
𝐸, 𝐺, 𝜈
𝜎𝑌𝑆 , 𝜎𝑈𝑆
Failure
stresses
Typical composite:
𝐸11 , 𝐸22 , 𝐺12 , 𝐺23 , 𝜈12 , 𝜈23
𝐹1𝐶 , 𝐹1𝑇 , 𝐹2𝐶 , 𝐹2𝑇 , 𝐹12 , ⋯

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 Full Scale Testing
Multiple actuators
allow for multiple
load cases
Boundary
condition

Hydraulic jacks to
apply loads

Simplification
(Jet engine
removed)

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 Validation

• If failure puts lives at risk then computer

models need validation

• Computer models are created for every

conceivable load case

• Select load cases are experimentally tested

• Experimental and model results are

compared

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 Other Reasons for Testing

• Identify failure modes well before they occur in

service

• Develop and demonstrate capability of NDE

techniques to locate defects

• Determine most effective way to repair

structures and confirm safety of repair methods

10 Image Source: Aussie DSTO

 Testing Coupons

• Study failure behaviour

• Test different materials and geometries
• Simulate loading conditions
• Develop non destructive testing (NDT)
techniques
 Thermoelastic Stress Analysis (TSA)

• Determine surface stresses

• Non contact
• Accurate and quick analysis
 Digital Image Correlation DIC

• Non contact
• Determine surface strains
• Large areas can be monitored
 DIMES system
FLIR Lepton 3.5 8MP Sony IMX219
Microbolometer Visual camera
£200 £20

350Ω RSG quarter bridge Raspberry Pi 4B 4GB

configuration with ADC £54
£20

Dimensions: H 55mm x W 92mm x D 95mm

Additional items Inc. case, SD card, ring light
Mass: 290g
£40
Total cost: £334
DIMES system

Pre-cracked Crack propagation

 TSA from low-cost sensor
16:30 19:00 19:30

20:00 20:45 21:30

Damage in structures
Visual image TSA overlay
DIC from low-cost sensor
16:30 19:00 19:30

20:00 20:45 21:30

 Condition monitoring
9.5 hours

8.25 hours
Feature Vector Difference

0.25 hours 4.5 hours

 Full Scale testing

• Monitor structures under load

• Use results to improve design
• Test and find limits
• Provide structural readiness
DIMES in the LOV wing
 DIMES on LOV wing
Installed System

Field of View

Approx Lepton FOV

 Cockpit fatigue loading
• Cockpit fatigue test at Airbus
• Cockpit is pressurised over 110 seconds to <700mbar and then de-pressurised over 5 seconds
 DIMES installation
Installation Camera FOV
 FEA and DIC
Before repair After repair

Load ≈ 400mb Load ≈ 400mb

 Inspections
• Holes create stress concentrations
• Aircraft have a lot of holes
• How can manufacturers improve
structural integrity?
Cold Expansion
 Cold Expanding holes

Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_yOTga_3eTM
 Cold Expanded hole Activity
CE UX
Crack trajectory Crack trajectory

• Observe both specimens and their

Fracture surface Fracture surface
fractured surfaces
• Why do you think cold expansion
is used?
 Discussion

• Why use cold expanding?

• Is it possible to have too much of a good thing….?
 Recap

• Considered how and why

structures are tested

• Next week:
• Guest lecture from Lloyd
Fletcher of UKAEA

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