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Structural Testing, Testing Philosophy and Loads Prediction for Rotary Wing Vehicle Components

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  04 July 2016

Lee C. Cowgill
Lee C. Cowgill*
Affiliation:
Lockheed-California Company, Burbank, California
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Extract

The high cost of new weapon systems and the loss of tactical capability when vehicles are out of operation for unscheduled repairs are forcing the military services to require a higher order of structural reliability. Fleets are being kept in operation for many years beyond the time originally anticipated during design, resulting in many cases, in the need for costly structural repairs and modification to cure fatigue problems. Consequently, new weapon system procurement contracts are being written with a “fatigue-life” guarantee as a contractual requirement. This situation calls for careful attention to details during the design phase. More testing, both exploratory to aid in detail design decisions, and confirmatory to validate the design and demonstrate compliance with the contractual requirements, is required. Better test methods and more meaningful test results are demanded from the test laboratory. Methods for more accurate predictions of the loads experience during the entire service usage are required of the structural analysts.

Type
Test Facilities for Helicopters
Information
The Aeronautical Journal , Volume 74 , Issue 715 , July 1970 , pp. 559 - 572
Copyright
Copyright © Royal Aeronautical Society 1970 

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