Sunday 18 July 2010

COMPOSITE STRUCTURES

The very welcome arrival of Boeing's 787 at Farnborough today rekindles in my mind the debate about the integrity of composite structures in the wake of impact damage. There is an argument that says when a catering truck hits a metal aircraft, the dent and/or split is clear to see - it will be cut out and repaired, whereas the same impact on a composite hull may only temporarily distort the shape but leave permanent damage to the fibres and resin, which cannot easily be detected.

On the other hand I have spoken to composite specialists in several industries and they maintain that fibre composites retain many times more residual integrity following impact and rarely fail spontaneously, even if damaged. It would be interesting to hear from the experts, and those with experience in this field.

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