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Friday, January 13, 2012

What's the Impact on an Airplane Wing?

Imagine this: You are sitting on a plane getting ready to take off and you see a mechanic working on the wing of the plane you are in. The mechanic is making some last minute checks when he or she accidentally drops a wrench on the wing that puts a sizable dent on the surface of the wing. It's instances like this that Compression After Impact (CAI) testing is done. After performing this type of test, a composite manufacturer can fully understand the structural affects that any impact would on a given material.

Seen in this video is an CAI test in accordance to ASTM D7137/7137M. This test is used to determine the residual strength of multi-directional composite laminate plates that have been subjected to quasi-static indentation. This particular test requires a CAI Fixture that is designed in accordance to the standard.

For more on this test, read Lorenzo Majno’s blog post.

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